Hinduism and Islam Flashcards
ICA (2)
What does the word ‘Islam’ mean?
“submission to God”; root meaning of word ‘slm’ means peace, safety, security
What does Muslim mean?
“person that submits to God”
When + where was Muhammad born?
570 CE in Mecca, Arabia
Muhammad facts
- Tribe he’s from called Quraysh
- His family were guardians of the kaaba in Mecca– hundreds of diff gods in kaaba **
-Died 632CE
When did Muhammad’s vision happen + what happened?
610 CE, during Ramadan he was doing lonely cave prayer, gets visited by Gabriel; tells Muhammad there’s only 1 God & that he’s now God’s messenger
- Muhammad was illiterate– he recited God’s revelations aloud and it was written down in what’s now the Qur’an
Hijrah
622CE – Muhammad’s followers go from Mecca to Medina
- sidenote: This date marks year 1 in Islamic calendar
Return to Mecca year?
630CE; Muhammad comes w/ massive army– Mecca immediately surrenders peacefully– Muhammad destroys false idols in Kaaba
What caused Sunni-Shia split?
Abu Bakr (Muhammad father-in-law) elected as first caliph
- Sunni believe Abu Bakr was rightly elected
- Shia believe Muhammad chose Ali (his son-in-law) as first caliph
- Split violent; lead to Husayn (Ali’s son) being killed
- Last 4 leaders referred to as Rightly Guided Caliphs; last 4 ever recognized by entire muslim population
Caliph
Successor
Sharia
Islamic Law
Accounts of Muhammad’s actions and words outside of the Quran
Hadith
- The Creed
No God but God; Muhammad is messenger of God - declaration of faith
- Salut (prayer)
Pray facing Mecca at specific time of day - obligatory prayer
- Sawm (fasting)
Fasting during month of Ramadan – during month that Muhammad had Quran revealed
(sunrise-sunset; follows lunar calendar)
- Hajj (pilgrimmage)
Visit Mecca during specific time of year, go to Kaaba and circle it counterclockwise 7 times to honor it (goal is at least once in a Muslim’s lifetime to visit it)
- Zakat (Almsgiving)
Give certain portion of income to charity (~2.5%) - compulsory giving
Prayer performed 5x/day
Salat
One who issues the call to prayer from the minaret of a mosque
Muezzin
(Islam) building for public community worship
Mosque
The holiday that celebrates Husayn’s martyrdom (Shia-specific)
Ashura
Scientific and Cultural Achievements:
- Due to drawing ppl. banned ornate and creative caligraphy came about
- Astronomy and geography huge development
- Gardens and fountains developed in really cool ways
- ** Philosophy; ‘Western Canon’ was preserved by Muslims during European Dark Ages
- (Sufi-Specific) Quawwali; Sufi-devotional music that got popular even w non-Sufis; popular in Northern India
Not pork; ritually slaughtered in proper way (Islam)
Halal
Islamic mysticism
Sufism;
- word came from woolly scarf or the term for ‘divine one’
Sufi term referring to a saint
Wali
Sufism notes:
- Began as reform movement to counter material value + wealth accumulated by empire
- Taught to experience god’s presence + abstinence
- Emphasis on past sufis; people wld go to their burial sites to pray kinda like catholic saints
- Song and dance rhythm incorporated into practices
- Turkey had whirling dervishes; spinning to imitate divinely ordained motions of universe
Person who practices self-discipline and abstention
Ascetic
(1058-1111) practiced Sufism and wrote work known as ‘The Revivification of Religious Sciences’ and argued that mysticism and orthodoxy can be compatible
Al-Ghazi
Indus Valley Civilization
- Came into India ~1500 BCE; their merging resulted in Hinduism
- Brought in caste system
- Brought in ritual slaughter (ritual fire-sacrifices; goats; eagle-fire thing)
- Brought in political system based on nomadic movement; cattle worship
Ancient language of Hindus
Sanskrit
Belief in one Universal soul
Brahman;
- formless, genderless source of all reality
-Brahman is the universe and all the material that makes up universe
Belief in an immortal, individual soul
- When you die, soul moves to new body
- Kind of body soul inhabits next is called karma
Soul in Hinduism
Atman
What is karma?
Karma is action–
- Usually good or bad actions that affect society
- our actions today affect our souls’ future
Belief in Moksha
- Goal in Hindu life is to get back to Brahman; if Hindu does this they’re freed from moksha aka cycle of life and death
- Achieved via realizing yr one-ness w/ Brahman
What are the Vedas?
- Hindu books of secret knowledge (written in Sanskrit)
- Four of them– divinely revealed to ancient Hindu sages
What is dharma?
Proper behavior; maintains balance in universe– every being has its own dharma
- For humans its based on caste
The creator, swan, not commonly worshipped
Brahma
Preserver, several avatars, bird, blue complexion on snake, incarnated nine times with one still to come
Vishnu
God of intellect and remover of obstacles, rides mouse, son of Shiva and Parvati, elephant head
Ganesh
A god and mythical king; a form of Vishnu, ramayana, wife sita; bravery, strength
Rama
The monkey god - A noble hero and devotee of Lord Rama
-courage, hope, knowledge, intellect, and devotion
- holds a mace and has a picture of Lord Rama tattooed on his chest.
Hanuman
A god associated with divine playfulness; a form of Vishnu, always carries flute, child and prankster, around cows for cowherding
Krishna
goddess of time and death, portrayed as dark and violent, the goddess who was born of the forehead of Durga to kill demons; Shiva’s consort
kali
mother goddess, god over evil, tiger, created from Shiva’s left half, god of retribution and justice, fiercer form of parvati, rides tiger
Durga
God that the V-Shaped forehead symbol symbolizes
Vishnu
God that 3-shaped horizontal lines symbolizes
Shiva
Who’s symbolized by the dot symbol on forehead?
Goddesses
What is Hindutva?
“Hinduness”; founded by V.D. Savarkrar; need ancestor blood in India and see India as fatherland (Right-wing)
Involved in R.S.S and assassinated Gandhi
Godse
WHPA
Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America
- tries to change U.S. textbooks thru lobbying
BJP
India People’s Party (rose to power)
-plays on middle-class desires and economic growth
- Babri Masjid dispute (train violence); police step aside or actively participate– governor complicit – said governor (Shri Narendra Modi) now prime minister
Whom do Hindutva consider their enemies?
Muslims and those w/ non-Indian blood
Why do they dislike Gandhi?
Hindu nationalists have long resented Gandhi because they believe that he pioneered the appeasement of religious minorities.
What were the ways that Hindutva gradually gained popularity and power in India?
- Played on anti-Muslim rhetoric
- R.S.S coming to villages; trained w/ youths— direct mimicry of European fascism
- Modi (current India prime minister) played on middle-class issues to gain power while instilling tidbits of Hindutva rhetoric into his governing
What are the goals of hindutva?
Asserting that Indian national identity and culture are inseparable from the religion of Hinduism
A human-value ranking system based on your lineage; not about ‘class’ but about ‘purity’
Caste
Top of caste system
Brahmin (priests)
Second-place in caste system
Kshatriyas (warriors)
Third-place in caste system
Vaisyas (Merchants)
Fourth place in caste system
Sundra (Laborers)
People who are excluded from caste system; seen as untouchable
Dalits (outcasts)
