The+Rise+and+Spread+of+Islam

Rise of Islam ESPIRIT

You must include main ideas and details in each category Civilization/Nation/Group --- Rise of Islam Time Period ---
 * ESPIRIT Chart**


 * E || * Main Idea: The ideal location of Mecca on a trade route gave it economic importance and significance.
 * Mecca was an important trade center on a major trade route that connected Eastern Asia to the Mediterranean.
 * Economic status of Mecca was enhanced with the Ka'baa, which held religious shrines that brought in many merchants.
 * Merchants bring in products from China and Rome, also bring in many ideas.
 * Medina is able to sustain sedentary agriculture and engages to some degree in the large trade route to Mecca. ||
 * S || * Arab society was dominated by clans and tribes, each emphasizing the importance of loyalty and honor
 * Shaykhs - Leaders of tribes and clans, were chosen by a group of elders.
 * Bands of free warriors were ranked under the Shaykhs and were under his command
 * Slaves families were at the bottom - usually defeated people in war
 * Wars were fought along a code of chivalry.
 * Women in Bedouin times enjoyed much freedom; holding a large economic standing and social importance. ||
 * P || * Clan loyalty was enforced by inter-clan rivalries over resources and pasturelands.
 * Clans engaged in a revenge-type system in which clans fought any aggressors of allied clans.
 * Constant war weakened unity within Arabia and also weakened Bedouin interactions with other societies. ||
 * I || * Constant Bedouin fighting weakened relations with surrounding nations.
 * Ideas were brought in through intercontinental trade.
 * Arabia still served as a mediator between East and West. ||
 * R || * Polytheistic religion ruled the land.
 * The Ka'baa was home to hundreds of gods that were worshipped all over Arabia.
 * Bedouin religion was a combination of animism and polytheism.
 * The worship of many gods in the Ka'ba was closely related to economic revenue that may result from merchant interaction. ||
 * I || * Poetry held a great standing among the people
 * Oral recitation and delivery of poetry were competitions in Arabia; poets recounted history or mythical tales about their respective clans.
 * Poetry preserved Arabian taste in the humanities ||



The Five Pillars Of Islam


 * 1) The **Shahadah -** The Declaration that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of God. This defines the role of a Muslim, a continuous striving throughout life. It affirms the solid belief in the unity of God and that Muhammad did indeed bring revelations in the form of the Quran. This build a sense of community by making Muslims strive everyday to improving their communities.
 * 2) **Salah -** Salah are the five daily prayers in which Muslims perform recitations of the Quran as taught by prophet Muhammad. Prayers and their timeliness are highly regarded and prayer in large groups helps bring communities together. Also, all prayers are perform in the Arabic language, which also helps unite Muslims.
 * 3) **Sawm -** During the month of Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise till sunset as a form of worship. Fasting is described as an obligation is the Sunnah and the Quran for every able-bodied human. Communities come together to break their fasts in large dinners, which also units Muslim communities.
 * 4) **Zakah** - Sakah is the giving of charity to the needy and poor. It is an obligation for every able Muslim as mentioned in the Sunnah, and the Quran stated it must be at least 2.5% of one's yearly income. Zakah brings communities together with a sense of generosity and purpose, helping the those in need.
 * 5) **Hajj** - Hajj is the pilgrimagge to Mecca and must be performed if one is capable of doing so. It occurs once a year, and one must do it at least once. This brings people from all over the world together for a common purpose.

Islam: Empire of Faith Notes on Islam Video
 * Addan- Muslim call for prayer
 * Cultures worldwide are shaped by Islam.
 * Muhammad born in 570 A.D.
 * Both parents died at the age of 6; he was taken in by his Uncle
 * As an orphan, he became familiar with everybody
 * Poetry was of great importance to Bedouins and brought them closer together.
 * Family and tribal loyalties were crucial for survival.
 * Bedouin tribes worshipped many gods; mostly nature based.
 * The Kaaba made Mecca a vibrant center of trade.
 * Mohammed became a merchant; he married Kaddija when he was 25 years old.
 * Communication and charisma were qualities of Muhammad.
 * Was well known as a trustworthy man in Mecca before Islam.
 * After Mohammed receives revelation from angel, the message of **//__only one god__//** was revolutionary yet radical.
 * Universal appeal of equality was why Islam spread so rapidly.
 * Quran is a teaching of both ethical and social guidance.
 * Persecution and killings in Mecca caused Mohammed and his followers fled to Yathrib, the city of the prophet.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">They left everything they had in Mecca, but they were bounded by faith.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Meccans mobilized against Muslims in Medina, 330 Muslims vs. 1000 Meccans.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Muslims were victorious, and they returned to Mecca in three years with 10,000 troops.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Muhammad entered Mecca peacefully, and the pagan idols in the Kabaa were destroyed.

Summary:

Pre-Islamic Arabia was a peninsula of polytheistic, pagan beliefs. The majority of the people were Bedoiuns, and they seemed to have held poetry and oral history very important. Family and tribe loyalty were critical to one's survival in Arabia because of constant warfare over natural resources. Muhammad was born around 570 A.D. to a Meccan family and he is orphaned at the age of 6. This lack of parents enabled Muhammad to become friendly with all people, as he was a very generous and humble man. His personal characteristics were known by all Meccans before Islam. At the age of 40, Mohammed began to receive many revelations from Allah. He began teaching a religion of equality and justice, something that held a universal appeal that attract followers from all over the globe. The notion of one god was revolutionary, and Islamic values and ethics encouraged people of all races and all classes to convert. After establishing a powerful religious base in Arabia, Islam spread rapidly to many other different parts of the world.

Questions:


 * 1) The death of Mohammed led to expansion because Muslims began reuniting Arabia after it had fallen into chaos, and these Bedouins joins Muslim armies in their conquests.
 * 2) Motives for expansion included were the sense of a common cause and unity. Bedouins saw these conquests as ways to earn food, collect booty (which I disagree with) and glorify the religion of Islam.
 * 3) Because of already an already weakened Sasanian Empire and support from Christians in Syria and Lebenon, Muslims were able to overtake the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire. North Africa (Ex. Egypt) was also conquered in this explosion. The Ridda Wars were an example of these conquests in Arabia.
 * 4) The question of political succession after caliph Uthman caused a rift in Muslim society. On one said were the Shi'a, or supporters of Ali, and on the other were the Sunni, supporters of the Umayyads.
 * 5) Under the Umayyads, the Islamic Empire extended from Spain in the West all the way to China in the East. A bureaucratic-like system was created in on order to maintain control over this vast area. Islam also interacted with Buddhism in India and China, sparking a religious rivalry.
 * 6) Muslims were generally tolerant of the People of the Book, as they were allowed to worship as they pleased. They also maintained their local systems of rule and were not persecuted by the Muslims.