Islam

Question 1

Sharia

Answer 1

Means Islamic law or a path
Acts as code that all Muslims should obeys

Question 2

Veil names

Answer 2

Niquad - everywhere but eyes
Hijab - headscarf, neck and hair not faice
Burka - covers all

Question 3

mono/poly?

Answer 3

monotheistic,

Question 4

The Arabian Peninsula

Answer 4

• Islam originated on the Arabian Peninsula, which today is one of the richest regions in the world because of its oil reserves.
• However, when Islam began, (before modern times) the nation states we now know as Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Israel, Palestine and Saudi Arabia did not exist as political entities.
• The peninsula consisted of vast areas of desert, but at particular focal points, and along the routes linking them, there was intense activity.
• Flourishing centres of trade and culture existed, including pastoral, agricultural and trading activities. Wealth resulted in class differences.
• People moved from region to region following caravan routes, whether in search of wealth, learning or driven by religious yearnings.
• Occasional rains, wells, springs and oases, coupled with port settlements, provided water and provisions for travellers

Question 5

What does islam mean

Answer 5

submission to the will of God

Question 6

Muslim

Answer 6

Adherents, means people of peace

Question 7

Bedouin Culture

Answer 7

• The Arabian Peninsula was inhabited by Bedouin (nomadic) tribes as well as settled communities.
• The Bedouin were once the principal inhabitants of the Holy Land and it is likely that the Jewish patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) were of Bedouin descent
• Bedouin tribes were semi nomadic shepherds, merchants and artisans. Shepherds herded their flocks and constantly moved from oasis to oasis in search of food.
• Caravan traders worked the main trade routes. Merchants, trades people and crafts people were city dwellers who took advantage of the trade routes that passed through their territory from Syria and Egypt in the north, and the Indian sub continent in the east.
• The most important connections for the Bedouin at this time was to their family, clan (a small group of families) and tribe (a group of clans)
• Tribal law based on kinship ties governed the Bedouin and communal life was influenced by the ideology of muruwah (meaning courage, patience, endurance, a dedicated determination to avenge any wrong done to the group and to protect its weaker members).
• Due to muruwah the peninsula intermittently broke out in fueds as relationships between the tribes were often volatile. This prevented tribes from uniting.
• Many tribes were also influenced by the peoples of various cultures who moved through or into the region
• Women in this society were treated differently under different traditions. Some had quite low status while others had significant wealth and titles
• In general, while women made a significant economic contribution to tribal life, they were considered inferior to men because they could not serve as warriors.
• Women were treated as chattel
  (the property of men).
• A woman’s value was equated with
  her worth in camels (a beautiful
  looking woman being worth around
  fifty camels).
• Many men were embarrassed at the
  birth of a baby girl and female
  infanticide was not uncommon.

Question 8

chattel

Answer 8

women treated as property of men

Question 9

Religious Beliefs and Practices

Answer 9

• The peninsula was home to a wide range of religious faiths including Judaism and Christianity.
• Most religions were pagan (a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main or recognized) and animistic ( the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence).
• Against the great powers of the Christian Empire of Byzantium and Persia, the Bedouin felt religiously and politically inferior.
• Some of Muhammad’s relatives, contemporaries and early supporters were called hanif (renounced idolatry and retained some or all of the tenets of the monotheistic religion of Abraham) and their theological position prepared the way for Islam.

Question 10

Mecca

Answer 10

• One tribe, the Quraysh, controlled a large part of the economy of Mecca which was situated on the trade route.
• A number of areas in this society gained the title of ‘sacred sites’ based on the belief in the magical properties of particular areas and the concept of jinn (spirits that could be helpful or malevolent). The areas around these sites were regarded as consecrated
• The Quraysh regulated trade coming into the city which included the highly profitable supply of provisions, idols and other religious images for the large numbers of pilgrims coming to visit the sacred sites and shrines.
• Among the sacred sites at Mecca was the Ka’ba and not far from the Ka’ba was the spring of ZamZam (an inexhaustible source of fresh water).
• The Ka’ba had the makings of a traditional Arab sacred site as it was the home of idols and the scene of fertility rituals.
• The Ka’ba is believed to have been built by the prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael (centuries before Muhammad) and the Qur’an says that next to it was the place where Abraham prayed.
• Originally, the Ka’ba was a wood and
  stone structure and later was made all
  stone.
• Images of Abraham and his son
  Ishmael were also in the Ka’bah, as well as a statue or painted image of Mary with Jesus on her lap.

Question 10

pagan

Answer 10

person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main or recognized