Islam Review Reading
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Islam Review Reading The Rise of Islam Islam is the second largest religion in the world. It is a monotheistic faith, meaning people who practice it, called muslims, believe in only one god -- Allah. The word Allah means God in Arabic, and Muslims worship the same God as Jews and Christians. Islam began in the 600’s A.D when, according to Islamic belief, a man named Muhammad spoke to the angel Gabriel. At first he was terrified, but his wife Khadija encouraged him to spread the message he had received. She became the first convert to Islam; Islam literally means “to submit to God.” At first very few people listened to what Muhammad had to say. He was telling the people of the city of Mecca to stop worshiping pagan, or polytheistic Gods. This angered the merchants of Mecca because many people traveled and spent money there in order to come worship pagan gods at temples and idols throughout the city. So angered were the merchants of Mecca that they chased Muhammad out of the city. Muhammad fled to the city of Yathrib, his journey to Yathrib is known as the Hijra. Later, when Islam caught on, Yathrib was renamed Medina which means “city of the prophet.” After Muhammad gained enough converts to his new religion of Islam, he took his muslim army to the city of Mecca that he was at first chased out of. There he won a battle against the merchants of Mecca and destroyed the temples and idols to ‘false gods.’ Teachings of Islam The holy book of Islam is called the Quran. The Quran is to Muslims as the Bible is to Christians. The Quran teaches that Allah (God) is all powerful and compassionate. Unlike many other religions Islam does not believe that priests are needed to mediate between a believer and Allah. Muslims also believe that the Quran is the direct and unchangeable word of Allah. This is different than the way that Christians view the bible -- Christians believe that the Bible was inspired by God and his messengers, but not the direct and exact word of God. 5 Pillars of Islam The 5 central duties of Muslims according to Islam are Dedication of Faith, Daily prayer, Alms for the poor, fasting during Ramadan, and the Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca. ‘Jihad’ The idea of Jihad in Islam is extremely controversial. Many millions of Muslims interpret the idea as meaning an internal struggle within an individual person to overcome sin. Other Muslims, however, interpret it to mean a ‘Holy War’, or war blessed by God, in defense of Islam. Terrorists in our modern world use the idea of Jihad to justify the killing of innocent people. People of The Book Muslims believe that Jews and Christians believe in the same God. However, they believe that Muhammad is the last and final prophet of God and that the Quran is his ultimate word. In many societies throughout history Muslims have been tolerant of Jews and Christians. However, there are exceptions to this both historically and today, where Jews and Christians have been mistreated. Islam as a Way of Life Islam is a culture as well as a religion. The teachings of Islam shape the lives of over 1 billion people, or 1/7th of the world’s population!!! Sharia law is a body of law that includes interpretations of the Quran and examples of behavior from the prophet Muhammad. This law regulates moral conduct, family life, business practices, and government. Unlike Jesus and Christianity, Muhammad was a political leader as well as a moral teacher. Jesus never led an army or controlled a government, but Muhammad did. This has lead to many Muslim societies mixing their government and religion. The country of Iran in the Middle East is one example. In Iran, rules and ideas from the Quran are directly part of social law. Compare this to The United States, where although most people are Christians, the government does not call itself a “Christian Government.” Islam Spreads and Splits Islam spread very quickly during and After Muhammad's life in the 600’s A.D. It largely spread through military conquest! Muslim armies were great fighters for a number of reasons. One of them being their religious ideas. Dying in the name of ‘Allah’ is seen not as something to fear, but often times as the highest good a person can attain. The shared religious ideas and culture also made for strong and cohesive armies. The Map Above Shows the Spread of Islam out of Modern Day Saudi Arabia in the 600’s A.D After Muhammad died, there were arguments within the Islamic community over who should take over after him. The men who are the successors to Muhammad have historically been called Caliphs, they are still called this today. Shiite Muslims believe that Muhammad's father in law, Ali, should have taken power after Muhammad's death. They also believe that the Caliph should always be someone closely related to Muhammad. Sunni Muslims on the other had believe that any pious Muslim could be the religious leader of the Muslim community. This split between Sunni and Shiite still causes a great deal of tension in the Muslim world today! The Islamic Golden Age The first Muslim empire after Muhammad was called the Umayyad dynasty. The Umayyad dynasty fell apart and was replaced by the Abbasid dynasty around 750 A.D. It is under the Abbasid rule that the Islamic world experienced what scholars call a “Golden Age.” What this means is that the Islamic world went through a great period of cultural, scientific, economic, and general success! While Medieval Europe was facing ‘The Dark Ages,’ the Islamic World centered in the city of Baghdad was at its peak. The city of Baghdad is in the modern day country of Iraq. During the Abbasid empire, it was a magnificent city, often referred to as “paradise on earth.” Scholars would travel from all over to come discuss ideas in Baghdad. Advances in math, science, poetry, literature, philosophy, and many other academic disciplines took place within this golden age for Islam. Algebra is an Arabic word and was invented by Muslims during this period! Another testament to the scientific advances in the Islamic world during this period is the fact that most stars in the sky have arabic names! Public Intellectual (smart person) and AstroPhysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson argues that one of the major reasons the Islamic world fell scientifically and intellectually is because of a drastic shift towards what is called ‘Fundamental Religion.’ Fundamentalist interpretations of Religions often times lead to direct conflict with science! In the 1100’s a prominent Islamic thinker argued that the manipulation of numbers was the work of satan. This interpretation of Islam lead to an obvious downfall in the math and science that was coming from the Islamic world. Astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson Pictured Above India’s Muslim Empires Islamic armies spread to the modern day country of India for hundreds of years. Ultimately creating at first a ‘sultanate’ and then the Mughal empire! At first Muslims were quite violent and cruel to many Hindus. Muslims saw Hindus as polytheistic and thus not practicing what they saw as the one true faith of Islam. Over time however, the two cultures came to blend. A perfect example of this is the famous Taj Mahal that still stands in India today. It is a blend of Islamic and Indian culture and architecture. The Ottoman Empire!! The Ottoman empire lasted for about 600 years, and was one of the most powerful empires in history. It spanned much of North Africa, southern Europe, and the Middle East. It was an Islamic empire that in 1453, put an end to the old Eastern Roman (Byzantine) empire by conquering Constantinople (“New Rome”) and renaming it Istanbul -- which it is still named today! .