1. The Middle East (Southwest Asia)
FSMS
7th Grade Social Studies; Unit 2
Culture (Religions; Islam)
September 12 – 13th; Days 9-10
Georgia Standard SS7G8(c)

2. First Five
Agenda Message: Ethnic & Religious Groups Vocabulary Quiz is September 21st. Study Guides for the quiz go home today.
Standard: Describe the diverse cultures of the people of SWA.
E.Q. for Tuesday 9/13/16: What is the fastest growing religion in the world?
Warm Up:
Explain why Judaism is unique in the history of world religions?
TODAY WE WILL:
Start History of Islam
Continue to fill-out of SWA Religions Beliefs & Customs Worksheet

3. ANSWERS
Essential Question Answer for Tuesday September 13th: Islam. Warm-Up Answer: Judaism is unique because they were the world’s first monotheistic religion.

4. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Standard
SS7G8 The student will describe the diverse cultures of the people who live in Southwest Asia (Middle East).
(c) Compare and contrast the prominent religions in Southwest Asia (Middle East): Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

5. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Islam/History
Islam is a religion that began in the city of Mecca on the Arabian Peninsula around 600 A.D.
Mecca was a trading center located along the main route on the Red Sea connecting the Byzantine Empire with the shipping and trading centers coming from the Indian Ocean and Far East.
As a stop on the trade route, many different people visited the city of Mecca.

6. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Islam/History cont.
In the center of Mecca stood a rectangular building, the Ka’aba, which held several hundred different idols inside.
Meccans believed the building had originally been built by Abraham and his son, Ishmael, to honor God for saving them from dying in the desert.
Over the centuries, however, statues of many other idols and gods were placed in the building.

7. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Islam/History cont.
Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 A.D.
Orphaned at an early age, he was taken in by his uncle and trained to become a merchant. He married an older woman and took over her caravan business, becoming a respected member of the Mecca community.
At age forty, while spending an evening in one of the cool caves in the hills around Mecca, Muhammad began to hear the voice of the Angel Gabriel, calling on him to tell the word of God to the people.

8. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Islam/History cont.
Muhammad decided the voice was real, and he began to tell others about what he had heard.
He told people they needed to re-dedicate themselves to the worship of one God, whom he called Allah.
Those who were willing to agree to this belief became known as “Muslims,” or “ones who submit” to the will of God.

9. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Islam/History cont.
Many in Mecca worried that his teachings would hurt their trade by angering those who were polytheistic, and as a result some of his followers began to face threat of violence.
To escape these threats, in 622 A.D., Muhammad and his followers moved about 200 miles north to Yathrib , a city Muhammad named Medina, which means “the city of the prophet.”
This move came to be known among Muslims as the “Hijrah,” and the date serves as the first year of the Islamic calendar. The people of Medina accepted Muhammad as both a political and religious leader, and many joined the new religion.

10. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Islam/History cont.
Muhammad returned to Mecca as the head of an army in 630 A.D., and the city surrendered rather than face a war. One of his first acts on entering Mecca was to go to the Ka’aba and remove all the idols.
He then dedicated the building to Allah, the one God. Mecca and Ka’aba remain central to Muslim worship.
After Muhammad’s death, his followers collected the teachings from the angel Gabriel into the Quran (the holy book of Islam).

11. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Islam/History cont.
Muslims believe there is only one God, and they view Muhammad as his final prophet.
Much of the Old Testament and the New Testament are also included in the Quran, so Muslims see the Quran and Islam as the final and complete word of God.