islam

Question 1

Arabia

Answer 1

a peninsula of southwestern Asia, largely desert, lying between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf and bounded on the north by Jordan and Iraq. The original homeland of the Arabs and the historic center of Islam, it comprises the states of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

Question 2

Mecca

Answer 2

a city in western Saudi Arabia, an oasis town in the Red Sea region of Hejaz, east of Jiddah, considered by Muslims to be the holiest city of Islam; population 1,385,000 (est. 2007). The birthplace in AD 570 of the prophet Muhammad, it was the scene of his early teachings before his emigration to Medina in 622 (the Hijra).

Question 3

Muhammad

Answer 3

(c.570–632), Arab prophet and founder of Islam. In c.610, in Mecca, he received the first of a series of revelations that, as the Koran, became the doctrinal and legislative basis of Islam. In the face of opposition to his preaching, he and his small group of supporters were forced to flee to Medina in 622 (the Hijra). Muhammad led his followers into a series of battles against the Meccans. In 630, Mecca capitulated and by his death Muhammad had united most of Arabia.

Question 4

Islam

Answer 4

the religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah.

Question 5

the Qur’an

Answer 5

Qurʾān, or Koran, Sacred scripture of Islam, regarded by Muslims as the infallible word of God, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

Question 6

the 5 pillars

Answer 6

Shahadah: sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith
Salat: performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times each day
Zakat: paying an alms (or charity) tax to benefit the poor and the needy
Sawm: fasting during the month of Ramadan
Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca

Question 7

Mehmed II the conqueror

Answer 7

Mehmed the Conqueror expanded the Ottoman Empire, leading the siege of Constantinople in 1453 and extending the empire’s reach into the Balkans.

Question 8

the ottoman empire

Answer 8

the Turkish empire, established in northern Anatolia by Osman I at the end of the 13th century and expanded by his successors to include all of Asia Minor and much of southeastern Europe. After setbacks caused by the invasion of the Mongol ruler Tamerlane in 1402, the Ottomans captured Constantinople in 1453, and the empire reached its zenith under Suleiman in the mid 16th century. It had greatly declined by the 19th century and collapsed after World War I.