Religion- Islam Flashcards
Mohammed
A Mecca trader
A prophet, not god
Arabia in c6th CE
Remote
Sparsely populated
Desert
Nomadic Bedouin clans with pagan beliefs
Hijra
When Mohammed was condemned by traders and forced to move to Medina where he started a following (umma)
= beginning of Islam faith
Medina in control of Mecca caravan route and in 624Ce conquest of Mecca and Mohammed returns
5 pillars of faith
- Allah as only god and Mohammed his prophet
- Daily prayer
- Fast during Ramadan
- Alms for the weak and poor
- Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)
Why such rapid conquest?
Part of a divine plan
Mastery of desert warfare and establishment of garrison towns (Arabs in Byzantine and Sassanid armies)
Followed trading routes
Weakness of Byzantine and Sassanid empires
Tribute from non-converts
Who should be leader after Mohammed’s death?
Shi’a- family line of Mohammed
Sunni- Arab clans wanted own leadership
Umayyad Caliphate
Only time of Moslem political unity
Umayyads a prominent Mecca merchant clan but move to capital of Damascus
Taxation if non-Moslems
Assertiveness of non-trinitarianism
From Ummayad Caliphate to Abbasid Empire
Resentment by non Arab Muslims
Shi’ite opposition
Condemnation of Ummayad decadence
Abbasid rebellion in Persia led by Sunnis and Shia support
Shift to Baghdad
Survival of Ummayad kingdoms in north agrica and Andalus
Abbasid empire
Golden age
Not expansionary
Centered on Baghdad-Persian influences
Tensions with ulama loyal to ideal caliphate
Economic expansion
Urban growth Long distance trade Agricultural experimentation New crops (rice, sugarcane cotton) Crop rotation Fertilization Use of paper
Sufism
Concerned with experience over doctrinal detail
Roots in Persia and India
Appealed to non-monotheistic believers
Opposed by orthodox
Mali empire
Fictive kinship- mail rules as descendants of companions of Mohammed
Strength of Sufism
