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Prompt for the SLOA Essay (10 points)

Please pick a region of the world or a span of time that we covered in the course and which you particularly like. Write an argumentative essay telling

(1) what your preconceptions about this region or this time were before learning some of the course material and

(2) what stands out in the course material that gives you better understanding or relevance to your own life.

write please about ( see the file below)

and you can add good comment for the course

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CHAPTER 10 FORMATION OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION TERMS AND LECTURE I. GENERAL A. Read “Global Perspective.” Use Focus Questions to guide your reading. B. Write and know all the Review Questions. C. Know the following Lecture for Midterm Two. D. Vision and importance of the Quran Islam is based on the Quran (or Koran), which means “the Revelation.” THE QURAN IS ABSOLUTELY CENTRAL TO THE FAITH. There are several aspects of its vision: (1) The Quran is believed by Muslims to be the actual words of God. These are not words of an inspired prophet or a translation, but supposedly the exact words of God Almighty. The God meant is not an idol. “God” is the SAME concept as Jehovah for the Jews and God the Father for Christians. It is the SAME GOD. The Arabic word for God the Father (who is the Absolute Power of the Universe) is Lah. Al means “the.” Thus “Al-lah” translates as “The Absolute Power of the Universe,”or what believers in the Trinity call God the Father and Jews call Jehovah/Yaweh/Adonai. Please remember this; this is widely misunderstood by non-Muslims. (2) The Koran has ideals which are not realized yet. Muslims are struggling to realize these ideals, just as people of other faiths are trying to realize their own faiths’ ideals. So it pays to be patient and hopeful in all cases. (3) One of these ideals is “jihad,” which fundamentally means conquering or getting rid of your personal sins and shortcomings. Secondarily, jihad means getting rid of others’ sins and shortcomings. Jihad is supposed to be done peacefully if at all possible, but a more militant and martial approach is also in the Quran. One of the controversies in Islam today is the meaning of a militant approach. (4) The main goal of the Quran is UNITY OF BELIEVERS in the message of the Quran. Since this message is supposed to be the wishes of God, the main goal of the Quran is unity of all people doing the will of God. (5) The Quran is supposed to be a logical extension of the tradition of Judaism and Christianity. Parts of the Old and New Testament are mentioned with great reverence in the Quran. All three religions are part of ONE tradition. Jews, Christians, and Muslims are called “People of the Book (i.e.,, Old Testament, New Testament, and Quran, rolled into one). (6) The basic difference among the three religions is the highest prophet. All three religions venerate Abraham as the founder, so to speak. But the central prophet for Jews is Moses, for Christians, Jesus, and for Muslims, Mohammed. E. The Second Axial Age Notice that c.500 AD, a bit before that date in some places, and a bit later in others, various revisions to the original Axial Age belief systems occurred. Judaism evolved in part into Christianity; Zoroastrianism evolved in part into Manichaeism; Hinduism evolved in part into Bakhti; Buddhism evolved in part into Mahayana sects like Zen; Christianity evolved in part into Islam. GO TO FILM CLIP QURAN PT. 1 AND QURAN PT. 2 TAKE A BREAK. REST YOUR NEURONS! II. ORIGINS AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT (PRE-ISLAMIC ARABIA) Have the Metahistory Time Chart at hand as you go through the evolution of Arabia and Islam. A. The Setting: Traits of pre-Islamic Arabia which continue in Arab culture Arabia prior to Mohammed was characterized by tribal conflict above all. (1) Tribes fought over water, grazing land, and women (2) Competitive trade was common, since the tribes were nomads (3) Oral language, especially poetry, was esteemed, especially praising tribal victories (4) There was a mixed attitude towards women due to tribal conflict (5) Family and tribe were the all-important protectors of a person in an insecure region (6) Mecca was the most important social, political, economic, artistic, and religions center and the one place which prohibited tribal fighting. It was the place where the Kaaba stood. The Kaaba was the enclosure and building housing sacred artifacts (see text photo). B. Trading Emporiums c.1000 BC: Ubar and Saba (Sheba) 1. Ubar Not long ago the legendary trade center of Ubar was unearthed in the great Arabian desert within the Kingdom of Oman. It was only one of dozens of major trade cities which dotted the Arabian desert in time of wetter climate. The story of its dangerous and daring discovery is fascinating. 2. Saba (Sheba) Saba was another such city. Its ruins in modern Yemen have long been known. It wealth and the wealth of Ubar was based on the rare and extremely costly incense that only grows profusely in this part of the world and was indispensable for religious, medical, burial, and cosmetic purposes. The wealth, renown, and beauty of one of the queens of Sheba gave rise to the tale of Solomon and Sheba. The story goes that King Solomon of Israel, c.1000 BC, had a relationship with the Queen of Sheba which resulted in a baby boy whom they placed as the ruler of Ethiopia and gave the title “Negus Negusti” or “King of Kings.” This tale forms the basis of much of Ethiopian culture to the present. GO TO FILM CLIP A JOURNEY TO ANCIENT ARABIA PT. 1 ANCIENT ARABIA PT. 2 GO TO FILM CLIP UBAR GO TO FILM CLIP QUEEN OF SHEBA PT. 1 QUEEN OF SHEBA PT. 2 C. Muhammad and the Quran As Ubar, Saba, and other trade cities fought to control the incense and other valuables, empires rose and fell in the Arabian peninsula. Unfortunately, the sands have buried most of the evidence. From 1000 BC to 500 AD we can presume these empires followed the pattern of other empires of their time. Towards the end of all the empires, including the Arabian , that is, c.300-500 AD, the rich got richer, the poor poorer; there was overextension, corruption, and decline. This is the same story in all classical empires (see Time Chart). Then all the empires are taken over in part by new invading powers. In the case of Arabia, the invaders came from within, but they were new. Muhammed lived during the waning days of empire and experienced the social problems of the times. Women and orphans were left to fend for themselves. Traders cheated and even murdered each other for profit. Materialism was rampant. Muhammed was a highly sensitive and philosophical young man who was orphaned early in life. He came from a wealthy and powerful tribe which protected him. His merchant uncle took him all over Arabia and other areas and introduced him to people and ideas like Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. When Muhammed was in his twenties, he fell in love with and married a rich, older woman, Khadija. She was his partner in life and no doubt his superior is business. The couple were successful in business and in their personal life. They had children, among whom Fatima is very important in Islam. Note here the high position of women in Muhammed’s own life. Muhammed was troubled by the greed and indifference to suffering of so many of his fellow Arabs. He had a series of revelations which he believed were God’s own words spoken by the Angel Gabriel. The core of the message was ,”There is one God, and Muhammed is his prophet.” Further, this one God wants every person to submit to God’s will (“submit” in Arabic is “Islam”). God wants you to treat all people as brothers and sisters and show generosity and compassion, especially to the disadvantaged. Muhammed’s message from God was not well-received by merchants who did not want to be curtailed or criticized in their search for profit and personal advantage. Thus Muhammed was forced to leave Mecca and resettle in Yathrib (Medina), north of Mecca (see map). There were already many Jews in Yathrib, and Muhammed and his followers came into conflict with them. During this conflict, the Five Pillars of Islam, acts which all Muslims must do, were developed to distinguish Muslims from Jews. The Five Pillars are also central to Islam: (1) Say there is one God and Muhammed is his prophet (2) Pray facing Mecca five times a day (See text photo) (3) Make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in your lifetime (4) Fast once a month during Ramadan (5) Give charity to the poor Those persons who follow these Five Pillars are then part of the community of believers in Islam, the “umma.” GO TO FILM CLIP ISLAM EMPIRE OF FAITH PT. 1 2 ISLAM EMPIRE OF FAITH PT. PLEASE READ THE SECTION “WOMEN IN EARLY ISLAMIC SOCIETY” FOR YOUR OWN KNOWLEDGE. THERE WILL BE NO TEST QUESTIONS ON IT. TAKE A BREAK III. EARLY ISLAMIC CONQUESTS A. Course of conquest In the early days of Islam, the sword was sometimes brought in. That arguably changed the message of Muhammed from a purely peaceful message. The first conflicts stemmed from the fact that Muhammed died without naming an heir or successor (Arabic “caliph”). Various contenders based their argument for power on either who was most closely related to Muhammed by blood or who followed his teachings the best. The group that stressed following his teachings, in all their complexity and various interpretations, ultimately became the Sunnis. The family descended from Muhammed’s daughter Fatima’s husband Ali became the Shia (in Arabic “followers of Ali”). Then Muslim conquerors traveled West and East--West across North Africa, through northern Morocco, across the Straits of Gibraltar, and into Spain, where they were stopped at the Pyrenees Mountains dividing Spain from France. They moved East into the Byzantine Eastern Roman Empire, and into the Persian Empire, and then into the Indian Empire, all c.700-800 AD. (See map and photos.) The conquered empires fell largely because they had reached the end of their classical empire period and were rotting from within. Islam then took over as an invading force. (The Huns also invaded these empires a bit before the Muslims.) B. Factors of Success--Reasons for Islam’s rapid expansion, especially tolerance Islam was very attractive to many inhabitants of the older empires of the time: (1) Since the empires were fading, corruption was endemic, e.g., the Byzantine and Persian Empires (2) Islamic notions of social justice and unity were extremely appealing notions to the poor in these empires (3) Muslim leaders were moral and fair (4) Jews, Christian, and others were allowed to practice their religions and customs in return for a small tax. Early Islam was noted for its tolerance towards non-Muslims! In the context of today’s quarrels over “true” Islam, this is worth remembering IV. THE NEW ISLAMIC WORLD ORDER--THE CALIPHATE A. The “Caliphate” and conflict among early Muslim Dynasties The Caliphate is the state ruled by the main successor of Muhammed and upholder of Islam, who is the Caliph. The Caliphate is the medieval sacred state period of Islam, c. 1000-1300 AD. Due to the quarrels over who was the legitimate successor of Muhammed, as early as 700 BC, Islam split into different branches or sects (see below in “Umma” section). Thus, the Caliphate was from its beginning rent with factions. (See the Document and photos.) B. The “Ulama” Ideally, the ulama were men and women (yes, women in the beginning) scholars of Islamic doctrine. These theologians had many different interpretations of the words of the Quran (which they had to read in the original Arabic transmission from God). Eventually, as always happens with the elite, the ulama became dominated by conservative, establishment, wealthy status-quo scholars. By 1300 AD they had put a gap between them and many of the faithful. They were all wrapped up in who had the correct interpretation of tiny theological points in the Quran (reminiscent of Roman Catholic medieval theologians at this time). C. The “Umma”--Early division of Islam: Sunni, Shia, and Kharajite The faithful were the “umma” who looked to the ulama for guidance, but were confused and antagonistic as time went on. Referring back to the splits in Islam starting c.700 AD, the umma and ulama divided roughly into (1) Sunni—followers of the loosely interpreted Islamic teachings. Sunnis tended to be tolerant, all-embracing, moderates accepting of diversity (2) Shia—followers of Fatima’s husband, Ali. Shia are theologically less tolerant than Sunni and tend to focus on the sadder aspects of Muslim history like the martyrdom of Ali and his sons. (See text photo) (3) Kharajites—are very strict and unforgiving moralists and evolve over time into what the West calls “radical Islam” V. THE HIGH CALIPHATE and ISLAMIC CULTURE IN THE CLASSICAL ERA 1. Muslim High Culture: Abbasid Dynasty glory under Harun al-Rashid Around 800 AD, Sunni Muslims in Baghdad enjoyed a vibrant, literate, tolerant, and sometimes racy (wine, women, and song) culture in one of the most magnificent courts of the era, the court of the Abassid Caliphs. (See photo and map.) The most celebrated of the Abassid caliphs was Harun al-Rashid. During his time, Persian, Indian, and Greek science and arts mingled with those of the Silk Road. (See photos.) One of the products of this fusion was “The Arabian Nights,” which was a compendium of tales from all over the Muslim Caliphate, not only from Arabia. It was just one of the famous creations of this bookish and highly educated society. GO TO FILM CLIP ARABIAN NIGHTS 2. Muhammed’s “hadith” and language The traditions associated with Muhammed’s life and words and which were handed down orally are called the “hadith.” They are an important source of Muslim teaching, second to the Quran. They are controversial and hard to verify, as are all oral traditions.
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Running head: PRECONCEPTIONS IN ISLAMIC FAITH.

Preconceptions in Islamic Faith
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PRECONCEPTIONS IN ISLAMIC FAITH.

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Muslims follow the Quran as the holy book in exercising their Islamic faith, and like any
other religion, Muslims believes in the existence of a supernatural being called Allah (God’s
name in Arabic). Muslim believes that God revealed the Quran to Prophet Muhammad thus
majority emulate his life and some follow his ...


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