Living World Religions Exam 2-- Important Figures

Muhammad

-believed by Muslims to be God's final messenger

-"Seal of the Prophets"

-born in Mecca in 570 CE

Khadijah

-Muhammad's first wife

Uthman

collected copies of the Qur'an and burned variants; Shi'as claim that he deleted Muhammad's instructions for recognizing Ali as his successor

Ali

cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad whom Shi'as believe Muhammad appointed

killed by Shi'a followers who believed he was compromising too much

Sunnis

-majority of Muslims

-follow law composed of Qur'an, Hadith (tradition), and elders

-less dependent on imams than Shi'as

Shi'ites or Shi'as

trace heritage to Ali as rightful successor to Muhammad and with similar authority and "divine guidance"

"Fivers"

-sect of Shi'a also called "Zaidis"

-live mostly in Yemen

"Seveners"

-called "Ismailis" in India

-believe that after the 7th imam, the imam was to come from the same family

-current imam is Prince Karim Aga Khan

-founded al-Ashar University in Cairo

Twelvers

-also called imamis

-believe the imam line ceased after 12th imam past Ali who mysteriously disappeared and will return as madi

Sufi Movement

Muslim mystics

Salafi Movement

"Salafiya" is preferred name, which means "ancestors"

Malcolm Little (Malik Shabazz or Malcolm X)

went to court in Cairo to prove he was a genuine Muslim and get permission to make Hajj; prominent leader in "Nation of Islam," assassinated by "Nation of Islam" members

Louis Farrakhan

revived Nation of Islam in 1978 as a separate movement with racist agenda

Alawites

-minority sect of Shi'ite Muslims, mainly living in Syria

-practice a syncretistic faith that honors Ali as a deity

-understand the Five Pillars as symbolic and do not practice them

-gained political power when one of their own, Hafiz al-Assad, was elected President of Syria in 1971

---his son was overthrown by Ha'yat Tahrir al-Sham on December 8, 2024

Hamas

-Arabic acronym for "Islamic Resistance Movement," but also means "zeal"

-committed to the destruction of the State of Israel

-attack on October 7, 2023 killed more than 1200 Israelis and launched the war between Israel and Gaza that has killed thousands

Ha'yat Tahrir al-Sham (HST)

-Sunni Islamist rebel faction that overthrew Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad December 8, 2024 and controls most of Syria

-declared religious freedom for all Syrian minority groups including Alawites and Christians

Taliban

-Pashtun word for "students" or "disciples."

-Ultra-conservative sect that emerged in Afghanistan and seized political power when the Soviet Army withdrew in the 1990s

-Returned to power when the U.S. withdrew in 2020 after 20 years of war.

Swami Narayan

-claimed to be incarnation of Vishnu

-gathered following who chant his name

-BAPS organization has built 100 temples in the U.S. including largest Hindu Temple in North America (in Robbinsville, NJ)

Swami Ramakrishna

-emphasis on "God consciousness"

-won a large following in America through his disciple that visited in 1893

Mohandas Gandhi

-political and religious Hindu reformer

-championed civil rights and Indian independence from the British through non-violent civil disobedience

-given honorific title "Mahatama" ("great soul")

Amma, the Hugging Saint

-said to have hugged more than 34 million people worldwide as a spiritual practice

Shiva

-Hindu god of destruction and reproduction

-represented by reproductive organs; married to Parvati (Kali), had son Ganesha

Hindu trinity

Shiva, Vishnua, Brahma

Vishnu

-Hindu god of love and benevolence

-preserver, sustainer

-at least nine known avatars (incarnations) including Krishna and Buddha

Brahma

-Hindu creator god

-oldest and least popular of the 3

Devi

an amalgamation of all Hindu goddesses

Agni

god of fire

Soma

god of hallucinogenic plant (mushroom)

Varuna

god of heavenly morality

Indra

god of weather