World Religions Islam

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World Religions - Islam

• Day 52 Semester 1

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Bellwork

• Are cities still centers of learning?

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Islamic World

• Very prosperous due to trade
• Prosperous cities
• Baghdad, Cairo and Damascus were the centers of
  administrative, cultural and economic activity
• Cordoba, the capital of Umayyad Spain had a
  population of two hundred thousand2nd largest
  city in Europe at the time
• All had impressive palaces, mosques, public
  buildings, public baths and bazaars

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Islamic Society

• To be Muslim you must worship Allah and live
  according to Allahs teachings as revealed in the
  Quran
• All people are equal in the eyes of Allah
• Arab Empire
• Upper class ruling families, wealthy merchants
• Slavery widespread (many captives of war)
• Military slaves
• Domestic slaves
• Sometime could purchase freedom
• Islamic law said they should be treated fairly

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Role of Women

• Quran granted women spiritual and social equality
  with men
• Had duties and responsibilities
• Males were dominant
• Women had to have male guardians
• Arranged marriages were practiced
• Women could divorce
• Adultry forbidden
• As Islam spread women did not enjoy same rights
  as the older customs allowed for
• Common for women to cover all parts of their
  bodies when appearing in public (more of an Arab
  custom, not from the Quran)

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Preservation of Knowledge

• Translated the works by Plato and Aristotle into
  Arabic, placed in library called the House of
  Wisdom in Baghdad
• Paper factories helped in this process
• Helped Europeans to recover the ancient Greek
  works Arabic was translated into Latin for the
  West

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Philosophy, Science and History

• Wrote commentaries on Aristotles works
• Used zero
• Arabic number system
• Algebra
• Observatory in Baghdad to study position of the
  stars
• Perfected the astrolabe, helped sailors determine
  their position by the stars
• Wrote a medical encyclopedia
• Cyclical view of history, civilizations go
  through cycles of birth, growth and decay

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Literature

• Quran, greatest literary work
• Rubaiyat and The 1001 Nights (Arabian Nights)
  most familiar works

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Art and Architecture

• Blend of Arab, Turkish and Persian traditions
• Best artist expression is the Islamic mosque
• Samarra is the worlds largest mosque
• Most famous section is the minaret, where the
  muezzin calls the faithful to prayer
• Most famous mosque is in Cordoba, Spain
• Palaces also reflect glory of Islam
• Alhambra in Grandad, Spain finest example of
  Islamic palace
• Art consist of Arabic letters, natural plants and
  abstract figures
• Use of arabesques (geometric patterns)
• Hadith (early collection of prophet sayings)
  warns against attempts to imitate God by creating
  pictures of living beings.

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Honors Assignments

• Compare and contrast the urban Islamic areas to
  the rural Islamic areas in the empire.

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Honors Assignments
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Regular Assignment
Muslim Culture