WHI.08: Islam and WHI.10: Africa - Loudoun County Public ... · PDF fileWhat were the characteristics of civilizations in sub-Saharan Africa during the medieval period? 1. As the world’s

Notes WHI.08: Islam and WHI.10: Africa 133

WHI.08: Islam and WHI.10: Africa

WHI.08 The student will demonstrate knowledge of Islamic civilization from about 600 to 1000 A.D. by

a) describing the origin, beliefs, traditions, customs, and spread of Islam;

b) assessing the influence of geography on Islamic economic, social, and political development,

including the impact of conquest and trade;

c) identifying historical turning points that affected the spread and influence of Islamic civilization,

with emphasis on the Sunni-Shi’a division and the Battle of Tours;

d) citing cultural and scientific contributions and achievements of Islamic civilization.

WHI.10: The student will demonstrate knowledge of Africa by describing east African kingdoms of Axum and

Zimbabwe and west African civilizations of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai in terms of geography, society,

economy, and religion.


Essential Understandings of WHI.08: Islam and WHI.10: Africa

Essential Questions about WHI.08: Islam and WHI.10: Africa

Why do I need to know this?

Due Date Assignment Points Points Possible

1. The revelations of Muhammad form the basis of the Islamic religion, a monotheistic faith.

2. Muhammad and his followers spread Islam.

3. Islamic traditions and customs developed over centuries and created a distinct Muslim culture.

4. In the first three centuries after Muhammad’s death, Muslim rule expanded rapidly, overcoming

5. geographic barriers, and facilitated by weakened political empires.

6. Political unity and the Arabic language facilitated trade and stimulated intellectual activity.

7. Major historical turning points marked the spread and influence of Islamic civilization.

8. Early Islamic civilization was characterized by achievements in science and the arts that transformed

the Islamic world and contributed to world civilization.

9. African civilizations developed in sub-Saharan west and east Africa.

10. Trade brought important economic, cultural, and religious influences to African civilizations from

other parts of the Eastern Hemisphere.

11. States and empires flourished in Africa during the medieval period, including Ghana, Mali, and Songhai

in west Africa, Axum in east Africa, and Zimbabwe in southern Africa.

1. Where did the Islamic religion originate? Where did it spread?

2. What are the beliefs, traditions, and customs of Islam?

3. How did geography influence the rapid expansion of territory under Muslim rule?

4. How did political and cultural geography facilitate trade and cultural activity in the early Islamic lands?

5. What were some major historical turning points that marked the spread and influence of Islamic

civilization?

6. How did Islamic civilization preserve and extend ancient Greek, Persian, and Indian learning?

7. What were some contributions of Islamic civilization?

8. What were the characteristics of civilizations in sub-Saharan Africa during the medieval period?

1. As the world’s fastest growing major religion, Islam has a strong impact on the lives of millions today.

2. Muslims’ influence on three continents produced cultural blending that has continued into the modern

world.

3. Many of the ideas developed during this time became the basis of today’s scientific and academic

disciplines

4. Ancient Aksum, which is now Ethiopia, is still a center of Eastern Christianity.

5. Migration continues to shape the modern world.


The Rise of Islam

The Arabian

Peninsula

1. Arabian Peninsula is a crossroads of trade for Asia, Africa and Europe

2. Bedouins – Arabian nomads who were organized into tribes and clans

2. city of Mecca became an important stop on one of these caravan routes

3. Ka’aba – simple house of worship in Mecca that was filled with many idols

a. associated with Abraham, a believer in one God

b. the Arabs called their God, Allah

The Hijrah 1. facing hostility, Muhammad and a small band of supporters moved to Yathrib

a. the journey is called the Hijrah

b. Yathrib was renamed Medina – city of the Prophet

2. Muhammad was a great political, religious and military leader

The Prophet Muhammad

Revelations

Early Life

1. when Muhammad was 40 (610 A.D.), he had a revelation from the Angel Gabriel

a. told Muhammad that he was a messenger of God

2. Muhammad became convinced he was a prophet and the Allah was the one and

only God and all others must be abandoned

3. Islam – submission to the will of Allah

4. Muslim – one who submits

5. began preaching in Mecca

1. born around 570 into a powerful Meccan clan; began working for Khadijah (a wealthy

businesswoman); married her when he was 25

Returning to

Mecca

1. many of the Bedouins converted

2. in 630, the Prophet returned to Mecca with 10,000 followers

a. the leaders of Mecca surrendered

3. Muhammad destroyed the idols in the Ka’aba

The Holy

Book

1. The Qur’an (Koran) – Muslim holy book; main teaching is there is only one God, Allah


Directions: Using what you learned about Islam, fill in the Venn Diagram showing the similarities

and differences between the basic beliefs of Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

Jews Believe: Christians Believe:

All Believe:

Muslims Believe:


Beliefs and Practices of Islam

Five Pillars 1. Faith (Shahadah) – “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”

2. Prayer (Salat) – five times a day facing Mecca

a. at a mosque (Islamic house of worship) or anywhere

3. Alms (Zakat) – giving money to the poor through a religious tax

4. Fasting (Sawm) – during the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims may not eat or drink

anything from sunrise to sunset

5. Pilgrimage (Hajj) – all Muslims must perform at least one pilgrimage to Mecca in their lifetime

Sources of

Authority

1. ultimate source of authority is Allah

2. expressed his will through the Angel Gabriel to Muhammad

3. the Qur’an is a collection of the revelations from Gabriel to Muhammad

a. written in Arabic and is the only true word of God

b. Muslims believe Muhammad’s mission was to receive the Qur’an and demonstrate how to

apply it in life

Way of Life

1. forbidden to eat pork or drink alcohol

2. Friday afternoons are set aside for communal worship and prayer

Links to

Judaism and

Christianity

1. Allah is the same God as the Christian and Jewish God

2. Muslims trace their origins back to Abraham through his son Ishmael, Christians and Jews trace their

origins back to Abraham through his son Isaac

3. Moses is a prophet for all 3 religions

4. Muslims view Jesus as a prophet, Jews view Jesus as a teacher, not the Son of God

5. the Qur’an is the word of God revealed to Muhammad, the Torah is the word of God revealed

to the Jews; Muslims believe the Qur’an perfects the earlier revelations of God and it’s the

final book, as Muhammad is the final prophet

6. law required Muslim leaders to extend religious tolerance to Christians and Jews


Byzantine Empire Muslim World


Muhammad’s Successors

Rightly

Guided

Caliphs

1. when Muhammad died in 632, he had not appointed a successor

2. Muslim community elected Abu-Bakr as the first caliph

a. caliph – title that means successor or deputy

b. ordered the Qu’ran be written

b. Umar, Uthman and Ali were the other “Rightly Guided” Caliphs

3. used the Qur’an and Muhammad’s actions as guides to leadership

4. by 750, they had conquered over 6000 miles of land (2 times the size of the US)

a. from India in 35)

parts of Asia, through the 36)

Middle East, across 37)

North Africa and into 38)

Spain

b. Muslim advance into Europe halted in France at the Battle of Tours

Reasons for

Success

1. Muslims drew energy and inspiration from their faith

2. Muslim armies were well disciplined and expertly commanded

3. Byzantine and Persian Empires had been in conflict

4. Byzantine and Persian Empires persecuted those who didn’t practice the official religion of their empire

Treatment of

Conquered

Peoples

1. many conquered peoples chose to convert to Islam; attracted by the appeal of the message of Islam; also,

Muslims did not have to pay a poll tax

2. allowed conquered peoples to retain their own religion

a. Christians and Jews were given special treatment because they’re “people of the book”

b. required to pay a tax so they didn’t have to participate in the military

c. many served in the Muslim government

Internal Conflict Creates a Crisis

Umayyad

Dynasty

1. Uthman’s murder in 656 sparked a civil war

2. Ali, as Muhammad’s cousin, was the natural selection for Uthman’s successor

a. Muawiya a governor of Syria, challenged Ali’s succession

b. Ali was assassinated in 661

3. Umayyad family, under Muawiya, came to power

4. established a hereditary form of succession

5. moved the Muslim capital to Damascus; Arab Muslims thought it was too far away from Mecca


The Muslim World

Timeline

Directions: Using the pages indicated next to the dates on the timeline, fill in the important events that

trace the growth of Islam. Then pick one of the events and draw a picture to represent that event at the

bottom of the page.

630 (p. 235) 661 (p.239)

732 (p.240) 762 (p. 240)


Internal Conflict Creates a Crisis

Sunni-Shi’a

(Shiite) Split

Sunni

1. accepted the Umayyads’ rule

2. followers of Muhammad’s example

3. about 90% of Muslims today

Shi’a

1. resisted Umayyads and believed the caliph should be a relative of Muhammad

2. “party” of Ali

3. only about 10% of Muslims today

Sufi

1. mystical sect of Islam

2. pursued a life of poverty and devotion to a spiritual path

3. lots of meditation and chanting

Abbasid

Dynasty

1. overthrew the Umayyads in 750

2. moved the capital to Baghdad which is located on key trade routes

3. created a large organized government to run the affairs

a. taxed land, imports, and exports and non-Muslims’ wealth

Muslim Trade

Network

1. centered on two major sea-trading zones

a. Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean

2. the Muslim world was centered on the Silk Road too

3. had only one language (Arabic) and currency in the Muslim Empires

4. used letters of credit called sakks – today’s checks

Muslims Control Areas of Three Continents

Muslim Society

Rise of Urban

Centers

1. Damascus was the leading city until Baghdad was constructed

2. Baghdad was built in 762; population approached one million at its peak

Role of

Women

1. “Men are the managers of the affairs of women.”

2. Muslim women had more rights than European woman of the same time period

a. had access to education and could participate in public life



Muslim Scholarship Extends Knowledge

House of

Wisdom

1. opened by Caliph al-Ma’munin Baghdad in the early 800s

2. scholars of different cultures and beliefs translated ancient texts into Arabic

Medical

Advances

1. al-Razi was the greatest physician of the Muslim world

2. wrote the Comprehensive Book

Math and

Science

1. Muslims used scientific experiments to solve problems

a. Greeks used reason and logic

2. Al-Khwarizmi wrote a textbook explaining “the art of binging together unknowns to

match a known quantity”

a. called his technique al-jabr today called algebra

3. Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) wrote Optics

a. explained how people see

b. his studies in optics were used in developing lenses for telescopes and microscopes

4. adopted Indian numbers and helped invent the concept of zero

Philosophy

and Religion

Literature

Art and

Architecture

1. Ibn-Rushd tried to blend Muslim and Greek philosophy

a. faced opposition

2. Moses Ben Maimon (Maimonides) – Jewish philosopher who wrote The Guide

of the Perplexed that blended philosophy, religion and science

1. Qur’an is the standard for all Arabic literature and poetry

1. pictures of living things was prohibited (considered idolatry)

2. many artists turned to calligraphy – art of beautiful handwriting

3. created mosaics like the Romans

4. the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is said to be where Muhammad ascended into heaven


African Empires

Legend

Aksum

Ghana

Mali

Songhai


East Africa

Axum

1. located south of Kush on a plateau on the Red Sea, in modern Eritrea and Ethiopia

2. location made it an important trade center

3. Aksum reached its height under the strong ruler, Ezana

4. adopted Christianity in the 300s (the Ethiopian Orthodox Church still has over 22 million members)

5. Aksum lasted 800 years; fell to invaders Muslim invaders

West Africa (the Sahel)

1. grew rich and powerful by taxing the goods that traders carried through their territory

2. most important trade items were gold and salt

3. through trade, Ghana’s rulers converted to Islam

4. 1076, Ghana was overrun

1. began as a people under the control of Ghana

2. moved eastward when they found gold deposits

3. Mali’s rulers reestablished the gold-salt trade and converted to Islam

4. the leader Mansu Musa helped expand Mali to twice the size of Ghana

5. Timbuktu became one of the most important cities in the empire; it attracted

Muslim judges, doctors, religious leaders, and scholars to its mosques and universities

a. also key center of trade

6. Mali fell apart within 50 years of Mansu Musa’s death

1. began as a group of people under the control of Mali

2. most important trade items were gold and salt

Ghana

Mali

Songhai


Summary

DIRECTIONS: Choose one of the following:

a) write a summary (25-75 words) of what you believe was the most important aspect of the notes/lecture

b) write what you believe to be the most interesting or memorable part of the notes/lecture (25-75 words)

c) draw something that symbolizes the notes/lecture to you (has to be different than your title page)

Documents

WHI.08: Islam and WHI.10: Africa - Loudoun County Public ... · PDF fileWhat were the characteristics of civilizations in sub-Saharan Africa during the medieval period? 1. As the world’s