Intro to Islam Final

Sharia Law

body of jurisprudence unique to regions; organic law (not codified) --> subject to differences from interpretations

Fiqh

judges

Mufti

Muslim legal experts who all have equal authority

Madrassas

Muslim legal schools (9) that have determined ways of exercising Fiqh

Fatwa

legal decisions in Muslim courts; a balanced and moderate application of laws

types of Sharia law

1. divine, abstract - fixed norms, focus on abstract motion in divine plans and laws
2. classical - rules by early Islamic scholars
3. historical - across ideological spectrum; focusing on implementation at a certain time/place
4. contemporary - Sharia in the present

al-Shafi'i

est concept of Sharia law by using jurisprudence to define laws as discovering new truths

sources of Fiqh

1. al-Quran
2. Hadith
3. Ijma - collective reasoning and consensus from Muftis
4. Qiya - legal analogies in cases of no consensus

schools of learning

1. Hanafi (Sunni)
2. Hanbali (Sunni)
3. Maliki (Sunni)
4. Shafi'i (Sunni)
5. Jafari (Shi'a)

Hanafi

use analogy and learned personal opinion

Hanbali

most literalistic; Salafis and Wahhabists

Maliki

uses consensus and customs; Rashidun actions as legal precedence

Shafi'i (school)

no use of human rationale

Jafari

use rationale, context, though they distrust analogies; rely on living authorities over text

the Golden Age of Islam

a period of peace, urbanization, integration of culture, and unity in Islam; a cultural revival

conquest and trade in Golden Age Islam

led to exchange of ideas throughout the empire, creating a unique Islamic art style

the Path of Reason

Islam adopted Greek thought and philosophy to unify reason and faith; used Christian and Jewish traditions of education and learning; translated texts to Arabic

medicine in the Golden Age

learned from Greeks; 4 humors --> understood circulation; ophthalmology using geometry; drugs (hemp, opium, hasheesh)

math in the Golden Age

- al-Khwarizmi - invented algebra
- imported Indian numerals and discovered 0
- geometry + algebra = trig

mechanics in the Golden Age

used hydraulics to move machines

theology

take doctrines as normative and then apply reason

Ilm

religious knowledge

religious authority in the Golden Age

- ulama challenged to defend doctrines
- no central living authority, leading to disagreement on Quran interpretation

theological problems

1. God and his attributes
2. freedom and the power of God
3. nature of the Quran (created vs. uncreated)

Mu'tazilis

those who hold themselves apart because of their rational knowledge of Scripture

Kalam

Islamic theology (rational discourse about God)

Kalam answers to theological problems

1. God has no attributes, confirm absolute oneness
2. everything God does is just according to his divine criteria
3. Quran is given in the human language (created)

Ahmad ibn Hanbal (answers to theological problems)

1. Quran gives God attributes so he must have them
2. no real freedom/responsibility because God's justice is superior
3. the Quran is uncreated and eternal in heaven
- founds literalist Hanbali school

shirk

idolatry and polytheism

Asharite middle way

- use reason, but accepts some things humans cannot understand e.g., God's attributes
- reasons defends Islam against outsiders
- God gives us free will, as evidenced by our rationality
- Quran is uncreated in essence but created in words
- dominant Sunni school

Greek philosophy summary

- 4 elements
- Heraclytus = only change
- Parmenidean Revolution - being/existing underlies the universe
- nothing comes from nothing
- other extreme: denial of change and exaltation of permanence

Socrates

- excellent human?
- opposed cynics and sophists
- concerned w truth and virtue

the Four Causes

1. formal - essence/nature
2. material - potency from which a thing is produced
3. efficient - agent of change
4. final - purpose

substance vs. accident

- something that exists
- a feature not essential to being

3 axioms of demonstration

1. Law of Identity - x = x
2. Law of Noncontradiction - x =/= not x
3. Law of the Excluded Middle - either X or not X

3 acts of knowing

1. understanding - terms, definitions
2. judging - propositions (true/false)
3. reasoning - syllogisms (argument)
--> major premise, minor premise, conclusion

Greek philosophical breakthroughs critical for religion

1. philosophical monotheism - 1 efficient cause
2. immorality of the soul - immaterial power of humans
3. moral action - final cause
4. 4 cardinal virtues - prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude

Falsafa

the Path of Reason; Islamic philosophers

the House of Wisdom

center of learning est in the Abbasid Empire; learned from Jews and Christians too

al-Kindi

- argued the teacher shouldn't matter as knowledge is universal and valuable from anyone
- advancements in math and reason
- made Greek thought accessible
- faith and reason must be reconciled (fideism?)

al-Razi

- physician who argued religion was useless when reason could be used
- knowing > believing

al-Farabi

- philosopher
- contradicts Quran since God can only have one effect, limiting him
- divides society into philosophers and everyone else
- everyone else needs religion to understand the world

tensions between philosophers and religious

- philosophers proposed an elitist society for themselves
- faith and reason constantly clashed conceptually

Ibn Sina (Avicenna)

- universal genius, math, medicine, philosophy
- wanted to reconcile Islam and reason
- essence (what is it?) vs. existence (why is it?)
- levels of Intelligences between us and God; Agent Intellect is the closest and allows us to understand abstract concepts
- the "Floating Man" - the soul and our self-consciousness is separate from our physical body

al-Ghazali

- theologian
- Incoherence of Philosophers
- turns towards mysticism

The Incoherence of the Philosophers

- reject skepticism
- occasionalism - use Quran as foundation; God is the direct cause of everything
- rejects philosophy, but can use logic to understand theology

Ibn Rushd (Averroes)

- philosophers
- "The Commentator" on Aristotle
- The Incoherence of the Incoherence
- the pyramid of knowing - social hierarchy
- "The Closing of the Islamic Mind"

The Incoherence of the Incoherence

philosophical response to The Incoherence of Philosophers
- God operates through secondary causes
- God wills us to have free will
- occasionalism - "God-willing"

The Closing of the Islamic Mind

- end of Golden Age
- philosophers and theologists both fell to jurisprudence and outside invaders

Sufis

- Islamic mystics using inner jihad to conform their life to the will of Allah to unite their souls with him
- search for purity and perfection
- membership by apprentice spiritual masters

Tasawwuf

"wool"; Sufis weave their life for God by being pious and meditating on the Word

practices of Sufism

- Dhikr - reciting Allah's 99 names
- meditation - on the Prophet
- visitation - pilgrimage to saints' tombsR

Rumi

famous Islamic mystic poet who wrote about love for God

Abdullah al-Mahdi Billa

descendant of Ali and Fatima, founded Fatimid Empire

Fatimid Empire

- Cairo = capital
- invaded by Berbers (literalist), Turks (literalist), and Crusaders (Christian)
- collapses 1160s

Mad Caliph Hakim (r. 996-1021)

- very strict policies especially for minorities
- destroyed Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, triggering the Crusades
- proclaimed his own divinity, starting the Druze community

the Druze

gnostic monotheistic community who worshipped Mad Caliph Hakim as divinely appointed by God for his cosmic intellect

Islam in Europe

- siege in the Mediterranean, establishing bases
- S Italy conquered in 840s
- conquest of Thessalonica triggers Crusades
- Al Mansur the Victorious - hired Berber mercenaries in Spain
- Almoravids (puritans) under Yusuf ibn Tashfin as a threat unify Spanish
- Almohads follow Almoravids but fall at Las Navas de Tolosa
- Cordoba, Valencia, and Seville fall

Sub-Saharan Islam

- refugees from Mecca
- Kanem Empire - Islamic W Africa
- Empire of Mali - gold-rich empire ruled by Mansa Musa, who dissolves tribal rivalry
- Timbuktu - mosque built by Musa
- Songhai Empire - slave trade; eventually colonized

Seljuk Turks

- steppe tribe who migrated to Persia and converted to a literalistic Islam
- Tughril Beg est empire
- drives Shi'a out of Baghdad for Abbasids, though they really have power
- defeated Byzantines at Manzikert
- decline until 1156

causes of the Crusades

- constant warfare
- Mad Hakim
- Seljuk closure of pilgrimage to Jerusalem
- persecution of Christians
- Manzikert, Byzantium
- reformed Christianity in Europe made them stronger under the Pope

First Crusade

- not aimed at Muslims, just wanted land
- created the idea of a Europe

Christian Levant

creating a stronghold for Christians in the Middle East, especially during the Crusades

Islamic response to the Crusades

- the Assassins
- Ayyubid Dynasty replaces Fatimids
- Salad al-Din (Saladin)

Ayyubid Dynasty

- esoteric Islam
- rigid hierarchy
- fatidi'i = self-hating

Salah al-Din (1137-1193)

- 1168: Emir of Egypt
- 1174: takes Damascus
- 1182: conquers Iraq
- 1187: defeated Crusaders at Horns of Hattin to take Jerusalem
- 1191-1193: ties with Richard the Lionheart

consequences of the Crusades

- stronger united Europe religiously and politically
- Christians in Levant
- stopped Muslim advances
- Renaissance with more trading
- W/E tensions

Mamluks

- slaves imported by Abbasids, Fatimids, and Ayyubids
- Qutuz defeats Crusaders and Mongols, gaining prestige for slaves
- Burji dynasty loses power to Ottomans and Portuguese
- defeated by Ottomans, becomes vassals

early Islam in India

- fail to invade in late 700s, though they convert lower classes
- Mahmud of Ghazni rules in Indus Valley
- intellectual golden age, tradition of tolerance for all religions
- Muhammad of Ghor invades N India (assassinated)
- Sultanate of Delhi - aggressively converted Hindus
- new sultanates in S in conflict
- last major Hindu kingdom falls in 1565

Timurid Empire

- est. by Tamerlane (Timur) taking advantage of sultanate civil wars and fall of Delhi
- war on Ottomans, Mamluks, Georgians, and Armenians
- destroys Baghdad
- captured Ottoman Sultan Bayezid
- collapses after death of Tamerlane

Mughal Empire

- Zahir Babur defeats Delhi sultanate
- Akbar the Great
- Shah Jahan builds Taj Mahal for his wife
- Aurangzeb Alamgir (Conqueror of the World) - at peak; no tolerance
- British control following Battle of Buxar
- decline of Mughals after Sepoy rebellion

Akbar the Great

- military genius, tolerant leader, many reforms
- married Hindu princesses
- created (unpopular) syncretistic religion

Osman I

- constantly trying to conquer Constantinople
- created a country made of Turkish refugees
- defeated Byzantines at the Battle of Nicaea, leading to development of a navy

Orhan I

- led fully independent Ottomans
- established Janissaries and the Devshirme system
- brought Asia Minor under the Ottomans

Janissaries

elite, loyal soldiers made up of children taken from people conquered by the Ottomans to serve as the sultan's personal standing army; distinct social class

Murad I

- approached Constantinople from SE Europe
- won Battle of Maritsa against Serbs
- assassinated before Battle of Kosovo by Miloc (Serbian hero)

Murad II

- wanted to finish conquering Constantinople by controlling the W-E bridge and the Black Sea

George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg)

defected from Janissaries and joined Crusaders; secured Albanian independence with the 1st Albanian victory

Jan Hunyadi

defeated Murad II, ending the Ottoman siege on Albania with the Battle of Belgrade

Mehmed II the Conqueror

finally conquered Constantinople for the Ottomans with a siege using a stronger navy, fortresses, and a massive cannon

Ottoman culture

- multi-ethnic, multi-reliigous
- succession to oldest male
- household of sultan = eunuchs, concubines (harim), Valide Sultan
- Grand Vizier and Divan (council) makes bureaucratic (Kalemiye) decisions at the Sublime Porte (Ottoman gov't)
- production, sales/tariff, and jizya taxes
- Asker (fighting, rulers) and Reaya (common) classes
- Sheik-al-Islam (mufti in Istanbul had absolute religious authority)

Valide sultan

the sultan's mother; had lots of influence

eunuchs

slaves that had lots of power since they were trusted by the sultan

Ottomans at the height

- conquered the rest of Byzantium
- destroyed Bosnia vs. military Christian orders
- 1st siege of Rhodes to get to Italy
- expulsion of Moors from Spain to Ottoman
- 1209-1512: civil war after Mehmed II dies
- Battle of Chaldiran to get Mecca and Medina

Suleiman the Magnificent

- lawgiver = unified Sharia and Cannus (secular) law
- facilitated an Ottoman culture
- marries Roxelana (slave) and had no harem, providing stability to his reign
- occupies Belgrade (2nd siege of Rhodes) but left them with honor
- Battle of Mohacs = showed division in Christians as Hungarians lost
- Siege of Vienna = Ottomans lose to temperate climate
- N Africa = lost Morroco
- captures Aden and pacifies Shi'a by controlling Indian Ocean
- siege of Malta = Ottoman retreat

decline of Ottomans

- Selim II (The Drunkard) = lost to Russians, putting them in power
- gov't passes to viziers
- Battle of Lepanto = Selim II lied about safe surrender and massacred, forming Holy League in Europe
- Ottomans withdraw from Mediterranean, losing naval power
- military tech falls behind as calvary becomes outdated
- Sultanate of Women = Valide Sultan runs empire
- weak and incapable sultans

Waning of the Ottoman Empire

- last siege of Vienna = Ottomans defeated by arrival of Polish
- Treaty of Carlowitz = Hungary liberated as European capitalism undercut Islamic trade
- Napoleon = 1st into Middle East since Crusades; start of W interventionism
- Selim III the Reformer = attempt to modernize
- Greece secedes
- Janissaries dissolved
- Barbary Raids = beginning of W intervetionism
- France takes Algeria = first colonial acquisition

Fall of the Ottoman Empire

- Tanzimat Reforms = Europeanization of Ottomans; helped religious minorities
- Crimean War = fought in Ottoman Empire between France and Russia
- Lebanese Civil War = increased European occupation
- Suez Canal = Ottomans lost trading power as British gain control in Far E
- Bulgaria secedes
- 1st Constitutional Period = 2 yrs then sultan returns
- Russo-Turkish War = led to Triple Entente and Alliance and increase armament
- bankrupt which meant Europe could claim territories
- Young Turks
- WW1 = ended Ottoman power for good
- Mehmed VI the Last = Turkey founded

Young Turks

secularist movement to create Turkish ethnic country;
led to 1st genocide on Armenians and Greeks

movements in the postwar Islamic world

- Arab nationalism
- Islamic Secularism
- Islamic Modernism
- Islamic Revivalism
- Islamism, both moderate and fundamentalist

Arab nationalism

movement focused on uniting Arabs politically based on their ethnicity and language instead of religion; centered on Western ideas, though it declined after WW1

Islamic Secularism

completely privatized religion; most popular in Turkey, as it is enforced by the government; influenced by French Revolution

Islamic Modernism

movement whose goal is to adjust Islam to the modern world; most popular in the W
1. acknowledges both W achievements and colonialism
2. Islamic law should change over time with context
3. reform in reason and modern tech
4. difficult teachings reinterpreted in light of modernity

Islamic Revivalism

various movements responding to nationalism and new power (petro-Islam) by trying to reinstate Shari'a law into daily life by codifying it i.e., restoring public Islam

Islamism

moderate or fundamentalist; move to reinterpret Islam politically outside of W norms e.g., university, gov't (democracy), housing, using Hadith and other traditions

fundamentalist movements

Salafist, Wahhabist, Qutbism

Salafis

most literalist Islamic school;
1. quietist/purist tradition - wait for apocalypse
2. activist/Haraki - nonviolent opposition to gov't
3. external jihad - militaristic struggle to spread Dar-al-Islam

Qutbism

Egyptian literalist movement that claimed violence could be used as a means for spreading Islam because the Quran's teachings only apply in Islamic times, not when it is the equivalent to pre-Islamic times

Post-Ottoman Arab World

- League of Nations Mandate = arbitrarily splits Mid E into spheres of influence
- Mesopotamia, Syria, Palenstine under England for ports
- oil industry skyrockets in 1920s
- French Morocco, Italian Libya
- Iraq independence
- war with Britain --> Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran during WW1 to prevent alliance with Hitler
- American Invasion (of Morocco)

forms of Judaism

orthodox (tradition), conservative (middle ground), reform (modernist)