Unit 3World Religions

Growth of Islam

uIslam developed from a combination of ideas from the Greeks, Romans, Persians, Indians, and Byzantines to create its own specialized civilization.

ØEarly in Islamic history, the empire consisted of several smaller regions (Arabia/Iraq, Egypt/Syria, Persia/Central Asia, Spain/North Africa, and Turkey) that were ruled by a variety of leaders. Many of these rulers did not survive long. They were assassinated or lost power due to civil wars

Growth of Islam

ØThe Islamic Empire came under the control of the Ottomans. The Ottomans were Muslims from Turkey and they successfully conquered much of the Islamic world.

ØMehmed II, the Ottoman ruler, wanted to conquer Constantinople, which was the capital of the Byzantine Empire. No Muslim ruler had ever captured the city. In 1453, he succeeded in his goal

Growth of Islam

-As a result of this territorial expansion, Islam’s influence expanded in Eastern Europe, North Africa, and South Asia during much of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.-Islamic soldiers and traders disseminated their religion, as well as goods throughout Western Europe. The influence of the Ottomans lasted for approximately four hundred years, but declined during the early twentieth century as a result of World Wars

Role of Islamu The Muslim culture originated on the

Arabian Peninsula, which is located between Africa and Asia. The Arabic people lived in social units called tribes, which were based on kinship along paternal lines. Tribal members were traditionally loyal to each other and to their elected leaders, called sheiks.

u Until the seventh century, Arabs worshiped many gods, with a priest or holy man who controlled the local shrine dedicated to one of the gods. This changed when the prophet Muhammad began his work in city of Mecca in Arabia.

u He was a religious reformer who condemned the worship of idols and multiple gods. He was forced to flee to Medina, where the people were more accepting of Islam, as a result of his attempt to bring reform to Mecca

His flight in 622 AD came to be known as the Hegira, and it marks the first year of the Islamic calendar. Muhammad’s teachings became the basis of the Quran, the sacred scriptures of Islam

In the years following Muhammad’s work, Arab tribes rapidly adopted the Islamic faith. During the seventh through the ninth centuries, the Muslim Empire grew to be the largest and most populous empire of the time

It extended from India to Spain, unified by the Islamic faith and military strength. In order to effectively rule their newly acquired territories, Muslims developed a central government. The government included a caliph (leader) and officials who constituted the caliphate.

After a period of decline, the Muslim empire was divided into smaller independent kingdoms under the control of various leaders. However, by the fifteenth century, the leadership of Mehmed II united most of the Muslim Empire under the control of the Ottoman Turks. Mehmed conquered Constantinople, which led to the end of the Byzantine Empire

As Islam spread, a group of North African people, known as Berbers converted to Islam. The Berbers crossed the Mediterranean Sea into the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), during the eighth century, where they were known as Moors.

The Moors attempted to invade France, but they were defeated. The Moors continued to control regions of Spain for over three hundred years. Christian kingdoms pushed the Muslims out of Europe, with the exception of Granada

Early Muslim invasion in Asia centered on India (between the eighth and tenth centuries) as Arabs conquered territories in the Indus River region in northwest India

These invasions led to the death and enslavement of Hindus, destruction of Hindu temples and works of art, and devastated the economies of rich cities in the region. By the late fourteenth century, Muslim invaders had conquered India’s northern region and established a new capital located in Delhi

Muslims attempted to convert their new subjects to Islam through persecution and economic incentives. However, Hinduism survived under Muslim rule for the majority in India. During the sixteenth century, the Mogul Empire became the last Muslim empire in India.

Akbar “the Great” (1556-1605) stimulated the Mogul Empire, extending its boundaries, providing a strong government, supporting religious tolerance for Hindus

The Muslim occupation of India led to increased religious diversity; many Hindus converted to Islam, but were distinctly separate from India’s majority Hindu population.

Although Muslims and Hindus tolerated each other, they generally regarded each other with hostility

The divide is traced to 632 A.D., when the Islamic Prophet Muhammad died and a debate emerged about who should be his successor.

Both sides agreed that Allah is the one true God and that Muhammad was his messenger, but one group (which eventually became the Shiites) felt Muhammad's successor should be someone in his bloodline, while the other (which became the Sunnis) felt a pious individual who would follow the Prophet's customs was acceptable.

"The original schism between Islam's two largest sects was not over religious doctrine. It was over political leadership

Sunni vs. Shiite

Both Sunnis and Shiites read the Quran, the sayings of the Prophet. Both believe Prophet Muhammad was the messenger of Allah. And both follow the five tenets of Islam: They fast during Ramadan, pledge to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, practice ritual prayer (which includes five prayers each day), give charity to the poor, and pledge themselves to their faith.

Their prayer rituals are nearly identical, with slight variations: For example, Shiites will stand with their hands at their sides, Sunnis will put their hands on their stomachs.

They also both believe in Islamic law but have different applications for it

Similarities

Their beliefs over who should have succeeded the Prophet Muhammad is the key theological difference between the two.

Sunnis also have a less elaborate religious hierarchy than Shiites have, and the two sects' interpretation of Islam's schools of law is different. Shiites give human beings the exalted status that is given only to prophets in the Quran, as saints, whereas Sunnis do not.

Differences