Islam

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Islam

• Origins and Basic Principles

Courtyard of the Great Mosque at Herat,
Afghanistan. Photo http//www.islamicity.com/
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Origins

• Arabia (Mecca Medina)
• 7th century social and political life
• Pre-Islamic Religious Life
• Muhammad the Prophet
• 570-632 C.E. (Mecca)
• Member of the Quraysh tribe
• Messenger of God visited by angel Gabriel and
  begins recitation (the Quran) in 610 C.E.

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Basis of Islam Quran, Sunna, Hadith

• Quran
• Word of God (Not Muhammad)
• One god
• Ethical monotheism God as just judging
• Oral written
• Most authoritative source of Islamic doctrine
  practice

• Hadith
• Based on Sunna custom of the Prophet
• Hadith customs in written form
• Confirm, extends, elaborates on the Quran

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Doctrines Pillars of Islam

• Five main pillars of Islam
• Shahada (faith)
• There is no god but God. Muhammad is the
  messenger of God.
• Prayer (salat), 5 times a day at set times
• Almsgiving (zakat)
• Fasting (sawm) during Ramadan
• Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

• Main doctrines of Islam
• Faith in the unity of God
• Angels as helpers of god
• Belief in the scriptures the prophets
• Final judgment day

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The spread of Islam

• Muhammads migration to Medina (Hijra) 620 C.E.
• Return to Mecca, 620 C.E. city converts to Islam
• Muslim conquests 630s-720s
• North of Arabia (present-day Syria, Iraq, etc)
• Egypt 640 C.E.
• North Africa 655 C.E.
• Spain 718 C.E.

The Great Mosque , Cordoba, Spain. (Built 784-6 ,
961-6 , 987-90 , and other restorations). Photo
IslamiCity.
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Expansion of Islam Major Cities
Map Thomson/Wadsworth
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Current Distribution of the Worlds Religions
Map Thomson/Wadsworth
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Major denominations Sunnism Shiism

• Source of the division political differences
  over leadership of the Muslim community
• Dispute over successorship Ali or Abu Bakr?
• Household/family vs companions
• Shiite belief in the Imamate leadership of the
  Muslim community through familial connection to
  the Prophet
• Most Shiites believe in 12 Imams
• Beleaguered minority 12-15 worlds Muslims are
  Shiite
• Themes of sacrifice

A young Shiite woman of Iraq worshipping at the
end of the Ashura holiday commemorating the death
of Hussein in 680 C.E.
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Family relations
Abdullah
Abu Talib
Fourth Caliph Assassinated, 661 CE
Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, Iraq
Mohammad
Ali
Khadija
Fatima
Hassan
Huseyn
Killed at Battle of Karbala, 680 CE
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Beliefs and customs Shiism

• Common acceptance of the Quran, but Shiites
  reject some Hadith
• Different prayer times
• Different inheritance laws
• Different laws about marriage and sex
• Different ceremonies and commemorations

Imam Ali commemorated in art, from
http//www.imamalinet.net
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Sufism
Miniature painting of Rumi by Hossein Behzad

• Islamic mysticism emphasis on spiritual
  interpretations of Islam
• Emphasis on Gods love, piety, simplicity,
  informality, the inner way (tariqa)
• Organized into Sufi orders (tariqat)

• Dance, as though no one is watching,Love, as
  though you've never been hurt before,Sing, as
  though no one can hear you,Work, as though you
  don't need the money,Live, as though heaven is
  on earth.Jalal al-Din Rumi

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Other topics

• Sharia Law
• 4 Sunni schoolsof
• Jurisprudence
• Jihad (Striving)

An astrolabe, developed by Muslim scientists in
the 7th century.
University Mosque at al-Azhar, established in
969 in Cairo one of the oldest universities in
the world.