Islam/Africa

Flashcards for Islam/Africa test

5 Pillars

1. Make a declaration of faith

2. Pray toward the direction of Mecca 5 time a day

   ↳ Often prayer is conducted in a Mosque - a Muslim house of worship

   Give charity to the poor

3. Fast from sunrise to sunset during the Holy month of Ramadan

4. Make the hajj (a holy trip/pilgramage to Mecca) if one is able to.

Shiites

Believed the successor should be Muhammad's cousin, Ali

Sunnis

• Believed the successor should be Muhammad’s close friend, Abu Bakr.

• Today, 90% of Muslims are Sunnis

Similarities in Sunnis and Shiites

• Follow the Quran

• Believe in the same God

• Follow the 5 pillars of Islam

Mecca

• Market town at the crossroads of several caravan routes between Europe and Asia.

• Major town for pilgrimage to visit the Kaaba

Kaaba

• Temple used to pray to Arab gods and goddesses.

• Eventually turned into the first temple dedicated to Allah.

Quran

• Direct, unchangeable word of God.

↳ Muslims are encouraged to learn Arabic to read the Quran in the original form.

• Shared language - unity among Muslims.

The Jihad

• Mean’s “struggle in God’s Service”

↳ A spiritual struggle with oneself against sin.

• Could also be interpreted as “Holy War” to defend Islam.

Effects of Islamic Trade

• Spread the Muslim language and religion to places outside the Middle East.

• Led to the rise of Islamic Empires

Caliph

A successor of Muhammad and a chief Muslim leader.

Caliphate

An empire ruled by a Caliph

Abbasid Caliphate

• Leader during the Golden Age of Islamic Culture

• Made the Muslim Empire one of the longest and most influential Islamic empires.

House of Wisdom

• Major learning center for Muslims

• Taught subjects such as philosophy, math, and science.

• Scholars preserved the learning of earlier civilizations by translating ancient Persian and Greek into Arabic.

Math and Science

• Pioneered algebra.

↳ Wrote the book that became the standard mathematics book in Europe.

• Utilized astronomy to fulfill religious obligations.

Medicine

• Established hospitals for quick treatment like an ER.

• Muslim surgeons developed a way to treat cataracts.

• European physicians began to attend Muslim universities in Spain

The Ottoman Empire

• Turkish-speaking nomadic people who migrated from Central Asia into Western Asia/Middle East.

• Spread from across West Asia to the Balkan region of Eastern Europe.

Constantinople Falls to the Ottomans

• Became the new capital of the OE and was renamed Istanbul.

• Captured because it was a crossroad between Europe and Asia.

• The capture of Constantinople marked the rise of power in the Ottoman Empire.

• Major Leader: Suleiman the Magnificent

Decline of the Ottoman Empire

• The Europeans captured Ottoman lands while local rulers in the North.

• Africa and elsewhere broke away from Ottoman control.

• Disappeared completely in 1922

Africa

• 2nd largest continent and 1/5 of the Earth'‘s surface.

• Many climates, vegetation, and terrains→ diverse cultures

• Made up of savannas, deserts, and rain forests.

Resources Spur Trade

• The Great River Valleys of Africa served as interior passageways for trade.

• The Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea provided trade routes to Southwest Asia and Europe.

• Camel Caravans brought goods across the Sahara.

• Resources that were traded: Salt, Gold, Iron, Copper

Bantu Migration

• Due to the desertification of the Sahara, many Neolithic people migrated across.

• The movement of the Bantu people of central Africa migrated East and South.

• Brought agriculture to the southern half of Africa.

• Created great empires like the Great Zulu kingdom, and continued to expand.

• Population increases put pressure on agriculture, making it hard to plant and harvest.

  ↳ Needed to find land for farming and grazing.

Bantu Impact

• Discovered through language.

• Bantu migration had the greatest impact on the development of modern African languages.

• Bantu refers to a “family” of languages that can be found throughout central and southern Africa.

  ↳ Led to the diffusion of language throughout the continent.

Trans-Saharan Trade

• Migrating towards the savanna was caused by the Sahara drying up.

• settled agricultural villages were expanding.

• Transitioning agricultural villages to towns expanded trade.

• The Gold for salt trade expanded.

Gold for Salt Trade

• Gold/Salt trade dominated the Sahara desert between North and West Africa.

• Gold was widely available in the areas of Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal.

• Gold was found in the soil along rivers in various forms, besides nuggets and dust.

• Salt = Gold

Importance of Salt

• It was a key food preservative.

• Needed in people’s diets to replace lost salt in perspiration (sweating).

• Salt was in an ambulance in the Sahara, but was scarce in other areas.

• 1 Ib gold → 1 Ib of salt.

Silent Barter

• Locations of the gold mines were a well-kept secret.

• Gold traders piled their salt along a stream or river for the traders to inspect

• Drumbeats played declared the beginning of trade and the traders ran and disappeared from sight.

• Traders came quietly and carefully inspected the salt.

• They placed bags of gold dust next to each pile of salt and left.

Ghana

• “King of gold”

• The first great African Empire

• Known for its rich culture, wealth, and power as a key trading state in the Gold for Salt trade in West Africa.

The Kingdom of Mali

• Grew strong enough to take over the kingdom of Ghana

Most noted for:

• Dominating the Gold/Salt trade from 1235 to 1400s

• Creating the city of Timbuktu – a major Islamic learning center

• Spreading of Islam through North/West Africa

• Well-known explorer of Mali – Ibn Battuta (explored other Muslim Regions)

Mansa Musa

• The greatest ruler of Mali

Famous for:

• Expanding Mali’s borders westward to the Atlantic Ocean

• Converted to Islam and made the hajj to Mecca

Kingdom of Sanghai

• Mali declined in the 1400s

• Sanghai people broke away from Mali.

• Built up an army and extended their territory

• Gained control of the all-imagined trade routes.

• Heavy muslim influence

African Civilization Legacy

Ghana, Mali, and Sanghai had a rich history and developed great civilization/empires long before contact with Europeans.