history: Unit VI/ sub-saharan africa

STUDY.

**Origins (Historical Background) of Islam**

Muhammad (570 to 632 CE)


1. Founder of Islam who was also a military and political leader
2. Muslims believe he was greatest prophet of Allah (God)
3. Led Muslim armies who conquered much of the surrounding territory
Early rulers
4. Ruler was called a caliph (successor) who was both a religious and political/military leader
5. Conquered people were encouraged to convert but often Jews and Christians (“People of the Book”) were tolerated and treated with some respect
First four leaders after Muhammad called the “rightly guided” caliphs because they were seen as loyal to Qu’ran and Muhammad’s teachings

**Origins (Historical Background) of Islam (pt. 2)**

Umayyad Caliphate (661 to 750)


1. Took over after last “rightly guided” caliph murdered in struggle for power
2. Moved capital to Damascus in Syria
3. Many Muslims felt they were too concerned with wealth and power and not true to Muhammad’s/Qu’ran’s teachings

\-According to Muslims, in 610 an angel told Muhammad that Allah had chosen him as a prophet. Throughout his life, Muhammad continued to receive messages that he believed came from God.

\-This idea that there is only one God was unusual for Arabs at the time. Many people in Muhammad’s hometown of Mecca disliked the new religion because of that belief. To avoid their hostility, Muhammad encouraged his followers to move to the nearby city of Medina. Muhammad’s journey to Medina ended on September 24, 622, which is considered the starting point of Islamic history.

\-During the 600s and 700s, Islam spread far beyond Arabia, from the western Mediterranean region to Central Asia. Holy wars called jihads were fought to gain political control over societies so that they could be run using Islamic principles.

**Key Beliefs of Islam**

1. Monotheistic and worship the same God as Judaism and Christianity
2. Believe in the Jewish prophets and that Jesus was a prophet but not divine \`3. The Qu’ran (Koran) is the holiest book
in Islam and contains the divine messages Muhammad received from the angel Gabriel
4\. Mecca in modern day Saudi Arabia is their holiest city
5\. Muslim places of worship are called mosques

In 610 an angel told Muhammad that Allah had chosen him as a prophet. Throughout his life, Muhammad continued to receive messages that he believed came from God

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Key Beliefs of Islam (pt. 2)

Five Pillars of Islam

\-Testimony of Faith: “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet” -Pray towards Mecca five times a day -Give charity to the poor -Fast during the month of Ramadan -Make a hajj (pilgrimage or holy journey) to Mecca at least once in your lifetime

\-Muslims believe that Allah created the universe and that humans must submit to his will. -The two major religious holidays in the Muslim calendar are ʿId al-Fitr and ʿId al-Adha. ʿId al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan. Families share special meals together, gifts are exchanged, and children wear new clothes. ʿId al-Adha marks the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca. It is a time for prayer, visiting with friends and family, and giving gifts. Many families sacrifice an animal and share the meat with family, friends, and the poor.

**Sunni Muslims**

* Sunnis accept Umayyads
*  one of the two major branches of Islam
* Majority of followers are Sunni
* regard their denomination as the mainstream and traditionalist branch  
* recognize the first four caliphs as the Prophet Muhammad’s **rightful successors**
* regarded the leadership of Islam as being determined **not by divine order or inspiration** but by the prevailing political realities of the Muslim world
*  acceptance of unexceptional and even foreign caliphs
*  the caliph must be a member of Muhammad’s tribe, the Quraysh, but devised a theory of election that was **flexible enough to permit others**
* emphasis on t**he views and customs of the majority of the community,** as distinguished from the views of peripheral groups
* institution of consensus **(ijmāʿ) evolved by the Sunnis** allowed them to **incorporate various customs and usages** that arose through ordinary historical development but that nevertheless **had no roots in the Qurʾān**
* recognize the six “sound” books of Hadith, which **contain the spoken tradition attributed to Muhammad**
* accept as orthodox four schools of Islamic law: Ḥanafī, Ḥanbalī, Mālikī, and Shāfiʿī
*  numbered about 900 million in the early 21st century and constituted a majority of all the adherents of Islam

**Shia Muslims**

\-Shi’ite (Shia) reject Umayyad’s authority and think caliph should be a descendant/relative of Muhammad

\-a. Currently, only about 15% of Muslims are Shiite but they have a majority in Iran and Iraq

\-generally regarded as the most conservative

\-members supported Ali, Muhammad’s son-in-law as the prophet’s heir after the murder of the 3rd caliph.

\\n -Members of the smaller Shiʿite branch are called Shiʿites. They believe that the truths of the Koran are revealed only through a community leader called the imam. Interpretations by other people are not accepted. For this reason Shiʿites are not as open to other views as Sunnis are

**Abbasid Caliphate/Golden Age of Islam**

Abbasid Caliphate (750 to 1258)


1. Overthrew the Umayyads in 750
2. Moved the capital to Baghdad
3. Controlled trade routes in central Asia
4. Ended in 1258 when the Mongols destroyed Baghdad and killed the caliph
D. Other Caliphates


1. One Umayyad prince fled from Abbasids and established a Umayyad caliphate in Spain that lasted until 1031
2. The Shia Fatimid caliphate ruled north Africa and parts of Middle East (909 to 1171)

ibn al-Haythm invented the first camera and was able to form an explanation of how the eye sees
Doctor and philosopher Avicenna wrote the Canon of Medicine, which helped physicians diagnose dangerous diseases such as cancer
Al-Khwarizmi, a Persian mathematician, invented algebra, a word which itself has Arabic roots
established a House of Wisdom in Baghdad—a dedicated space for scholarship.
made a special effort to recruit famous scholars to come to the House of Wisdom. Muslims, Christians, and Jews all collaborated and worked peacefully there

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**Abbasid Caliphate/Golden Age of Islam (pt. 2)**

Golden age

\-coincided with Europe dark age

\-Abbasid dynasty -Arabian Peninsula, Mediterranean, north Africa -Qu’ran and hadith influence

\-science art and commerce

\-first astronomical observatory and closest to modern day math -smallpox vs measles and pharmacies became a constant and there were 24-hour hospital

\-ended with the Mongols and Genghis Khan

-threw books into Tigris River and river turned black (other conquerors would save architecture and art because it was beautiful)

mosque

an Islamic place of worship

hajj

a pilgrimage to Mecca, performed as a duty by Muslims

pilgrimage

a journey to a shrine or sacred place

Qur’an

the holy book of Islam

minaret

a tall slender tower, typically part of a mosque, with a balcony from which a muezzin calls Muslims to prayer.

muezzin

a man who calls Muslims to prayer from a minaret in a mosque

caliph

a supreme political and religious leader in a Muslim government