Unit 2: Muslim Empire Flashcards
What is religion
In order for a belief system to be considered a religion it must have the following:
Beliefs: in something greater than man
Rituals: actions that are repeated over and over again
Moral code: rules of behavior, a sense of right and wrong
Followers: religion is a communal experience
5 pillars
First, they are required to testify the following statement: “There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is the messenger of Allah”.
Second they must pray 5 times a day and must face Mecca as they do so.
Third, all muslims must help those who have less by giving charity and by paying a religious tax for charitable services
Fourth, during the holy week of Ramadan all muslims must fast from sunrise to sunset
Fifth, all muslims at some point of their life must make a pilgrimage to mecca
Umma
Name for the islamic community
Koran
Holy book of islam
Sunna
The islam moral code, also known as Mohammed’s example. The sunna was created by islam followers based on things he said and also on observations of how he behaved
Jihad
Means struggle or striving
Azan
Call to the prayer
Hijrah
The name given to the move by mohammed from mecca to medina, it also marks the start of the muslim calendar. (2015=1437)
Life of mohammed
Born in 570 AD in mecca. Was an orphan by age of 6 and was raised by his uncle abu talib
Becomes a merchant and marries wealthy woman called khadija
Begins to have visions, begins preaching that there is 1 god, people in mecca respond angrily.
Flees to medina where he preaches freely
Returns to mecca as a religious, political and spiritual leader
Dies in 632 without leaving a succesor
Sunni vs Shia
Sunni believed that the best person from umma should lead
Shias (or Shiites) believed someone in mohammed’s family should lead
Rashidun
Means rightly guided caliph
They were: abu bakr, omar, uthman, ali
Dhimmitude
Means a non muslim, living in an islam society
Umayyad power
The umayyads move capital to damascus, introduce arabanization, expand wealth
Abassids power
Come into power after moving the capital to baghdad and islaic golden age begins
Islam expands
Shi’a groups rebel, they create their own dynasty known as the fatimid (named after mohammeds daughter) established in egypt, create the city of cairo as its capital
The umayyad family
Surviving members of the umayyad re-establish their dynasty in soain and make cordoba thier capital
3 periods of islamic history
Caliphate: consolidated, expanded, and eventually showed signs of corruption
Umayyad: increased wealth, expanded and began moving away from the founding islam principles. Focused on wealth instead of religion. Created social classes. Were eventually overthrown
Abbasids: experienced the golden age with innovations in almost all fields (mathematics, agriculture, physics, chemistry, health etc,) also had a huge standing army
Main accomplishments of the muslim empire
Banking and checking Trade Arabic numerals Trigonometry and algebra Paper Optics Hospitals Translations of greek and roman texts Spread of arabic language Engineering
Characteristics of a mosque
Qibla: the direction of the kaaba, to which the muslims turn at to pray
Minaret: a tall tower with a balcony they are used to call to a prayer
Mihrab: a niche in the wall that points to mecca, so the muslims can pray facing that way
Minbar: a raised platform in a mosque from where the preacher speaks
Sahn: a courtyard
Statement of inquiry
Communities participate in an ongoing global process of interaction in which they accept, reject and negotiate cultural identities
Abu Bakr
One of mohammed’s closest friends. He was the first caliph and started what is known as the caliphate. Implemented the jihad
Ali
Mohammed’s younger cousin. Some believed he should have been the new leader after mohammed. His death is what started the division in the muslim empire
Mecca
A very important commercial city. It was viewed as sacred by many groups of people. It was holy especially to the many polytheistic religions of the middle east. When mohammed started preaching there, he had to flee to medina because many people were against his teachings
Medina
In medina, mohammed was successful in solving its problems. The people of medina had invited him there after he fled from mecca
Abrahamic religions
Religions that come from Abraham. They are judaism, christianity and islam
