MuhammadProphet of Islam

Muhammad

• Muhammad was born in Mecca (Saudi Arabia)

• Founder of Islam

Mecca during Hajj

570 AD:

The Basics

• Believe in one god and Muhammad is his Prophet (person who speaks through Divine inspiration)

Muslim:• A believer in Islam

610 AD:• Muslims believe God spoke to Muhammad

Islam:

BeliefsMuhammad’s

Teachings:• Came from angel

Gabriel, who revealed the will of God

Qur’an:• Collection of

revelations, sacred text of Islam

Gabriel:• Sent revelations to Muhammad for 22 years

Muhammad:• Encouraged people to worship one God, aid the poor (included in the 5 Pillars of Faith)

622 AD• Muhammad left Mecca

for Medina (where he later died)

Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia

Blue Mosque Istanbul, Turkey

• Government thought he was a threat to traditions and business

• Muslim calendar begins from this year • Ramadan is at different times because of the Lunar calendar

• Mullah/Meuzzin (priest)

MedinaProphet Mosque- Supposedly where Muhammad is buried

The Qur’an (Koran)

• Muslims believe that the Koran was the direct word of god and Muhammad.

• Muslims read the Koran from right to left. • God spoke to Muhammad through the angel, Gabriel.

Muhammad could not read or write. Muhammad memorized what Gabriel revealed to him and began preaching about the messages. Muhammad dictated the Koran to scribes. The Koran is believed to be the actual word of god.

• Qur means “recite this”, thus the Koran means recitation.• Muslims must be able to speak Arabic to read the Koran.• Muslims believe that Jesus was a great prophet and was

sent to preach exclusively to the Jews; believe that He will return to judge everyone, including Muslims.

The Qur’an

Pages of the Qur’an

Religion’s Role in World Conflicts

“It’s not that simple!”

The “Pillars” of IslamProfession

“There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger.”Prayer

Pray formally five time a day. Almsgiving

Pay a specified amount of money to assist the poor and sick. Fasting

During Ramadan, no eating, drinking, & smoking from dawn to sunset. Pilgrimage

Make at least one visit to Mecca.

These are the Five Sunni Pillars of IslamDifferent Shi’i groups have seven or even ten pillars,

and recently some fundamentalist Shiites havebeen trying to add Jihad as a sixth pillar.

The Five Pillars of Islam

•All Muslims practice the five pillars of Islam. It is like a checklist and if you follow it, your faith is good.

•The pillar of prayer is at certain times of the day.•Muslims used to pray toward Jerusalem, then

restored the Kabba (rid of pagan idols)•Ramadan- You cannot let anything past your lips

once Ramadan begins from sun up to sundown, including water. You know that Ramadan begins if you can tell the difference between a white/black thread in the dark.

•Dietary restrictions: No pork! Beef must be drained of blood before you eat it.

The HajjMecca was a pagan city. The Kabba (black stone) was filled with idols. The black stone was built by Abraham and was a rock that fell out of the sky. Abraham built it, thus Muslims worship the god of Abraham. Muhammad tore out all the idols and restored it back to what Abraham built.

Hajj customs: Muslims circle it 7 times; counter clockwise. Saudi Arabia is holy for Muslims. Only Muslims are allowed to go to the holy land that they call Mecca.

The Pilgrimage:•Ishmael was to be sacrificed instead of Isaac; Muslims visit a well.•Muslims throw stones under a bridge; Muslims believe they are throwing stones at the devil.

Prayer at Mount Arafat

Hajj is not complete unless you make it to the afternoon prayers at Mt. Arafat.

Station of AbrahamThe Station of Ibrahim is the rock upon which Ibrahim stood while erecting the Kaaba. His son Ishmael helped him erect it, by passing him the rocks.

The Kaaba

Diagram of the Kaaba

A Turkish seamstress is hired to make velvet cloth for the Kaaba every year. Use gold/gilded thread. Kaaba is washed. At end of Ramadan, they start making the new curtain for the next year.

Mosques

minaret

Pilgrims wear special clothes: simple garments which strip away class distinction and culture so all are equal before God. Ihram, the two seamless white sheets of cloth

minarets

Muslims in New Delhi, India

Muslims in New Delhi, India

Notice the Muslim architecture

The stoning of the stone pillars at Mina exemplifies Abraham’s rejection of satanic temptations to prevent him from sacrificing Ishmael.

Someone is always watching!

Night at Muzdalifah

Location of the Zamzam Well

Zamzam- well that sprang up in the middle of the desert so Hagar and Ishmael could drink from it.

Dome of the RockJerusalem, Israel

The Dome of the Rock• Earliest Islamic monument, begun 684.

octagonal plan.• Site where Muhammad was taken to

heaven by the angel Gabriel and deemed the messenger of Islam.

• The story says that Muhammad actually died in Medina and was taken by horse to Jerusalem and ascended to paradise from the Dome of the Rock.

Muhammad’s Friends“Four Knightly Guided Caliphs”

Sunni◙ Followed Muhammad’s example◙ Always the majority (85%)

Abu-Bakar

Shia◘ Direct descendant of Muhammad’s grandson◘ Ali- cousin and son-in-law◘ 661 A.D.- Ali and grandson were killed◘ Minority 15%◘ Iran- 90% Shia◘ Iraq, Iran, Lebonan

“Shia-Ali”

Sunni or Shia?

• The Five Pillars are for Sunni only• After Muhammad’s death,

followers thought that Abu Bakr (one of Muhammad’s prominent disciples) should rule, so they claimed him as Caliph (leader or successor).

• The followers of Muhammad should lead.

• The civil war between the Sunnis and the Shiites began.

• Secular- what you do that is NOT determined by religion

• Saddam was Sunni; Sunni accept a more secular government (of the world).

• The Shiites wanted Muhammad’s son-in-law (Ali) to lead; thought that the rightful leader should be a direct descendant.

• During the battles, Ali was killed in southern Iraq, thus the south of Iraq is holy to the Shiites. The Shiites were the ones to break off from the Sunnis. Fighting led to Ali being killed on the banks of the Euphrates River.

• Some Muslims want to add additional pillars. Some have 7-10 in addition to the 5 pillars. Examples: Forbid what is evil; promote what is good; jihad (this will not happen because it is only the external struggle).

• Iran is Shiite

Sunni Shia

Typically 85% Sunni; 15% Shiite

Sum It Up!

Shia refers to the party of Ali (cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad). The Shia think that Ali should have assumed leadership. The highest concentration of Shia Muslims are in Iran.

Sunni Shia

Refers to traditions followed by Muhammad and early Muslims.

ARABS

Religion’s Role in World Conflicts

“It’s not that simple!”

KURDSSUNNI

ARABS

SHI’IARABS

SUNNI

The Basic Beliefs of Islam

Sharia is the legal and moral code of Islam. The Sharia is what Saudi Arabia and Iran use for their laws. Sharia means the way that leads to god. Both religious and non-religious aspects of life are covered in the Sharia. The Sharia is based on the Qur’an.

Sharia

•System of morals, religious observance, ethics, and politics•Covers religious and nonreligious ways

of life–Guidance on how Muslims:

•wash•eat •pray•maintain friendships•conduct business•govern

Islam, Judaism, and the Holy Land

Jerusalem is located in the West Bank of Palestine and is considered to be the Holy Land. The Israelis and the Palestinians fight over this piece of land for religious reasons. Israelis are mostly of the Jewish faith and Palestinian Arabs are mostly of the Islamic faith. People of the Jewish faith consider Jerusalem to be the holiest city and Muslims consider it to be the third holiest city. Jewish people consider Jerusalem to be the holiest city because this is where Abraham was ordered by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac at the Temple Mount. Muslims think of Jerusalem as a very holy city because this is where it is believed that Muhammad ascended to heaven from the Dome of the Rock. The Jewish built a temple which was destroyed by their enemies. They built a second temple which was also destroyed. The Dome of the Rock was built in the same location as the temples.

JihadJihad

Greater Jihad• “internal effort of each

person to overcome temptation and lead a

moral life”

Lesser Jihad• an armed struggle

against the enemies of

Islam

Effort or struggle on behalf of the religion of IslamEffort or struggle on behalf of the religion of Islam

Martyrs – Anyone who sacrifices their lives for their beliefs

(In fundamentalist Islam, martyrs are often celebrated)

Religion’s Role in World Conflicts

“It’s not that simple!”

Religion, War, & TerrorismJihaad is an Arabic word meaning “effort” or “struggle”

It can mean an external struggle like a war,or an internal struggle, like fighting sin and temptation

Some Muslims even speak of jihaads against poverty, political corruption, or disease

What type of jihaad is most important?

Is suicide terrorismtied to religion?

Do religious philosophies cause the most violence,

suffering, and war?

Tens of thousands ofAl-Qaeda terrorists…

out of roughly1.5 billion Muslims

Religion’s Role in World Conflicts

“It’s not that simple!”

Every religious group has many internal conflictsas well as external conflicts with other religions

Religion is a useful tool for attracting people to a political cause they might not otherwise support

The Breakdown

Therefore, understanding the religious factors canstill help people understand political conflicts

Religion’s Role in World Conflicts

“It’s not that simple!”

Islam’s Warriors• Most conflicts are world-wide due to political reasons,

not religion; It is who is going to be in control of the political structure?; Who will own the land?

• The PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) was originally political, for land, ethnic differences; later promoted a religious tone.

• Hezbollah means “Party of God”• In the Koran, Muslims talks about wars; much of this is

taken out of context by radicals; “kill the infadel” refers to wars during Muhammad’s time. Radicals take this out of context and use for present day.

• Jihad means “struggle” or “effort”. The most important struggle is the internal struggle. This means that if you have an urge for sin and temptation. There are jihads against poverty, political corruption, and disease.

Arabs and Jews are closely related. Islam is the fastest growing religion

Religion’s Role in World Conflicts

“It’s not that simple!”

Individuals and small groups often do political acts in the name of an entire religion

All groups of people, including religions,are made up of individuals & smaller groups

who often disagree with each other

Members of different religions have oftenlived side by side in peace all over the world

It’s never so simple…