Islam

“Islam” means submission or surrender to God or Allah

ISLAM is the religion…..a MUSLIM is a

person who follows the religion of Islam

Crescent Moon and Star

Green

Nairobi, Kenya

The Arabian peninsula In MuhaMMad’s tIMe 570 CE

ORGANIZATION: A decentralized and egalitarian

system of tribes

CLIMATE: Mostly desert

WORK: Trade, camels (transportation and raising),

pastoralists (raising sheet and goats), cultivated dates

and other crops

Tribal conflicts (a lot of violence)

Religion: polytheism/animism

Muhammad in MeccaMuhammad was born around 570 CE

He annually went on a meditation retreat to a cave

In 610 CE he received revelations from the angel

Gabriel (which makes Muhammad a prophet)

These revelations became the holy Islamic book:

The Quran (Koran)

Muhammad taught a monotheistic religion

The cave where Muhammad received his revelations from

the angel Gabriel

Oversized Koran in the annual Koran exhibit in Tehran (2007)

The Quran/Koran is the holiest text

in Islam

Corrupt government (Quraish), people believed in many

gods, a lot of inequality (women, slaves)

Muhammad‟s initial followers were his wife and other

family members

Islam offered social equality, especially for women

Why would the Quraish be afraid of this and what

would they do?

Muhammad‟s insistence on one God threatened the

position, power and roles of tribal leaders, including the

Quraish.

Tolerance of the religion but not acceptance….until

Muhammad‟s protectors died in 619 CE

The Quraish debate the impact of a new religion and

what to do about Muhammad (16th Century painting)

The Hijra (migration)

•The migration started on July 16, 622 CE

•This is the beginning of Islamic communal history and

calendar

•What year is it on the Islamic calendar?

(2010-622 = ?)

Uses AH, After Hijra instead of AD (Anno Domino)

•Muhammad and his followers fled to Medina where he

was welcome and had many followers

•In Medina Muhammad also became a government

leader

•He built an army and in 630 CE defeated Mecca's

army and took over the city.

•Muhammad passed in 632 CE

Tribes in the Arabian peninsula united and started conquering

other places.

Spread & adoption of Islam: political/economic advantage

(protection tax, ability to join army = advancement, religious

tolerance, stability, charged lower taxes)

The Five Pillars How a Muslim should live

Based on what is written in the Koran and on

Muhammad‟s life.

1. Faith

- Shahadah = “to bear witness”: “I bear witness that

thereis no God but Allah. I bear witness that

Muhammad is his Messenger.”

2. Daily Prayers

-Five prayers a day facing Mecca

- Pray at a mosque or on a mat

-Men and women can not pray together in a mosque

-Friday is the Muslim holy day

Night Journey to Jerusalem

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/islam/architecture/mosque.htm

SalatMK Storm is a prayer time reminder for

Muslims who own a blackberry storm. Prayer times

are calculated based on celltower information or

based on the internal GPS, therefore its not required

anymore to select the city you are currently in.

SalatMK Storm Also contains a Hijri calander with

notification of important date

Indonesia

New Delhi, IndiaMarrakech, Morocco

Kampala, Uganda

Istafahan, Iran

Moshi, Tanzania

Kunming,

China

http://www.jonathantan.org/355/

The Koran

- It is the literal word of God, directly transmitted

to Muhammad who then recited it to his followers

- Written in 644-656 CE

- It is the focus of traditional Islamic education

- Oral recitation is highly valued

3. Zakat, “poor tax”

- Purifies one‟s profits and property

- 2.5% of accumulated annual wealth

4. Observance of Sawm, Ramadan

- Gives Muslims a sense of what it‟s like being

poor and to suffer

- 9th month of the lunar calendar

- Reminds people of their dependence on God

- Increases compassion

- It is a time of renewal

- Fasting (no food, no liquids, no injections

from dawn until dusk)

5. Hajj, Pilgrimage to Mecca

- 5 day journey by all physically and financially

able persons

- Once in a person‟s life

HISTORY

-2000 BCE/BC

-Ishmael (son of Hagar and Abraham) and Hagar

were stranded in the desert

-Ishmael was dying of thirst

-Hagar ran back and forth between the hills of Safa

and Marwa

looking for water when Gabriel (angel) descended

and created

a fresh water well which was named Zemzem

Muhammad made the first hajj in 630 AD to

Mecca when he went to the rock and removed all

polytheistic idols and re-dedicated the rock to Allah.

http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/index.shtml

Only Muslims are permitted to enter

Mecca

Entire city is a holy site for Muslims

• You are required to

dress only in an ihram,

a garment consisting of

two sheets of white

cloth draped over the

body

– Intended to show the

equality of all pilgrims

in the eyes of Allah

• The holiest part of the hajj is the

journey to the Kaaba

– The Kaaba is considered the

first sanctuary on Earth

dedicated to the worship of the

one God

– spiritually considered by

Muslims to be the center of the

world

– In the Masjid al-Haram mosque

in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

– The Kaaba is the building

towards which Muslims face 5

times a day, everyday, in prayer

– must circle the Kaaba 7 times in

a counter-clockwise direction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCe4bOlBE1k

• Pilgrims next travel to visit the city of Medina and the

Mosque of the Prophet, where Muhammad is buried

-pilgrims then travel to the city of Mina

just outside of Mecca, and participate in

the stoning of the devil.

-Requires throwing 7 stones at the three

pillars at Mina, which represent the devil.

-The pillars stand at three spots where Satan is

believed to have tempted Abraham to defy God

- -After stoning the devil, many pilgrims will

then shave their head

- -women cut off a lock of their hair, as a symbol

of rebirth, to show that their sins have been

cleansed by completing the Hajj

Sharia Laws

- Primary source: Qur‟an/Koran and Hadith (a

book that tells you how Muhammad lived his life)

- “the path to the oasis”

- Aim: Build a just and peaceful society

- A path to reaching paradise

- Interpretations change with time and place but

the will of God to have a Sharia law in place

doesn‟t change.

Hadd offenses= sexual intercourse with someone outside

of marriage, alcohol consumption, highway robbery,

theft, murder

PUNISHMENTS OF HADD OFFENSES:

- Adultery: Stoning to Death (not written in Koran)

-Theft : Amputate Hand

- Alcoholism: 80 Lashes

- Being alone in the company of an unrelated person of

the opposite sex: 80-90 Lashes

Lawalli Isah from Nigeria who was

sentenced to have his right hand cut off

for stealing 3 bicycles

In 2004, the province of Aceh in northwestern Indonesia adopted sharia

Egypt recognizes Sharia but chooses not to enforce severe

Hadd penalties as part of state law. Instead, adultery is often

punished with short prison sentences.

Not all Islamic countries use Sharia

Parts of Sudan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran

are all known to have adopted the Sharia punishment code

but still enforce its harshest penalties with varying levels of

consistency

In 2000, 12 predominantly Muslim northern states in Nigeria adopted Sharia

• What can you conclude about Sharia and how it

compares to the system of law you may be most familiar

with, the American system, in terms of flexibility and

interpretation?

• What do you think should be allowable forms of

punishment for the most severe crimes? Why?

• Are harsh punishments, such as amputations and

death ever justified? Explain.

• Who should determine what the most serious crimes are

and how frequently the most severe punishments should

be used?

• When should individual freedoms (including freedom from

harsh punishments as well as intrusions into one's privacy)

be protected, regardless of the costs to society?

• What do you think about the charges?

Islam and Women

Single set of rules meant women were treated better in

Islamic society than they had been before

War meant that women could be widowed. So, men

could marry up to 4 women

as long as he could treat them EQUALLY

Women had rights in decision making and community

participation, and property/inheritance. Economic rights as

individuals and security (European women didn‟t gain

these rights until the 19th century)

“O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the

women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round

them (when they go abroad). That will be better, so that

they may be recognised and not annoyed. Allah is ever

Forgiving, Merciful.” (Quran 33:59)

“And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and

guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and

ornaments except what must ordinarily appear therof; that they should

draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except

to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands‟ fathers, their sons,

their husbands‟ sons, their brothers, or their brothers‟ sons or their

sisters‟ sons, or their women or the servants whom their right hands

possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children

who have no sense of the shame of sex, and that they should not

strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments.

And O you Believers, turn you all together towards Allah, that you may

attain Bliss.” (Quran 24:31).

ISSUE: HEAD SCARF

Veils and headdress existed before Islam (Greece, Persia,

Byzantine Christian world, India.

Muslims in their first century at first were relaxed about

female dress. When the niece of Aishah Bint Abu Bakr (the

Prophet‟s wife), Aisha bint Talha was asked by her

husband Musab to veil her face, she answered, "Since the

Almighty hath put on me the stamp of beauty, it is my wish

that the public should view the beauty and thereby

recognized His grace unto them. On no account, therefore,

will I veil myself."

In the second century, only the wealthy women wore it

as a status symbol.

Important to understand that Sharia is

DECENTRALIZED (no central authority)

so that means Sharia is dependent on the traditions

of the country in which Islam was adopted (as it

spread).

Example: Afghanistan – the harsh laws against women are

more based on tribal laws than Islam

Example: Malaysia – their tradition give women important roles

so they ignore the law of secluding women

The Qu'ranic prescription to "draw their veils over their

bosoms" became interpreted by some as an injunction to

veil one's hair, neck and ears.

Only her husband and close relatives are allowed to see a woman with her hijab off, and it must be inside

Otherwise, the woman commits a sin and embarrasses her family

The main principle reason for the hijab is modesty, which is

not wishing to receive unnecessary attention from people,

such as admiration and flattery

Muslim women are required in Islam to cover themselves whenever they are outside of their homes or in the presence men

BASIC REASONS FOR WEARING A HIJAB

• An Iranian school girl states, "We want to

stop men from treating us like sex objects,

as they have always done. We want them

to ignore our appearance and to be

attentive to our personalities and mind. We

want them to take us seriously and treat us

as equals and not just chase us around for

our bodies and physical looks."

• “It represents beauty to me.”

• “It's not oppression; it's not that I'm accepting degradation --it's about self-respect."

Rowaida Abdelaziz, a 17-yr.-old

Egyptian girl living in the US

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jZIaL2ECgY

Muslim men typically wear an

embroidered cap known as a kofia

Men will also sometimes wear a kanzu, a white

robe-like outer garment

Sunni-Shia Split

Shia are a minority (10-15% of the Muslim population)

Shia

Sunni

Iran, Southern Iraq, Southern Lebanon

Saudi Arabia, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan

India

Muhammad dies…….so who‟s going to be the leader now?

Most of Muhammad‟s followers wanted the elders of the

Muslim community to choose who will be the next leader. A

person who is best able to lead the community (Sunni)

A smaller group believed that the Prophet‟s relatives or

descendants should become the next leader because they

have divine inspiration. (Shia)

Shia wanted Ali to become the next leader of Islam. He was

married to the Prophet‟s daughter Fatima.

The Sunni-Shia Split

-It‟s All About Family-

Abu Talib

Muhammad‟s Uncle

Khadija

(First Wife)Prophet Muhammad

Abu BakrFriend and Early Convert

Aisha

FatimaAliMuhammad‟s Cousin

Muhammad‟s Succession

• 632- Muhammad dies, leaving no confirmed successor*

• Disagreement among clans on who will lead the faith- bloodline (Ali) or the one most capable

• The Ummah (the Islamic community) elects Muhammad‟s father-in-law (through his wife Aisha) Abu Bakr to lead the faith. He becomes the first Caliph - the leader of the Ummah.

The Rashidun (632-661)The Rule of the Four Righted Guided Caliphs

Name Ruled Died Known For

Abu Bakr

1st Caliph

632-634

elected

Natural causes, appointed his

successor

Quelled rebellion and united

Arabia

Umar ibn al-Khattab

2nd Caliph

634-644

appointed

Stabbed in a Medina mosque by a POW with a personal grudge.

Wars of expansion (power not religion

but religion followed) to the

greater Middle East

Uthman ibn Affan

3rd Caliph

644-656

elected

Assassinated by those from the elite of

Medina over the rise of status and power of

the Umayyad clan.

Expanded the empire to North Africa and

Central Asia- but with much political cost. Standardized the

Qu’ran.

Ali ibn Abu Talib

4th Caliph/1st Imam

656-661

elected

Assassinated by Kharajiites, a

group of dissenters to Ali’s rule

Ruled during the first Fitnah (civil war). His

place in history is denoted more for who

he was rather than what he did.

The first two caliphs (God‟s rep on earth) were killed,

including Ali. Ali was killed in 661 in Iraq.

Ali‟s son Hussein became the next caliph. He was

decapitated (head chopped off) and the head was taken

to the Sunni leader at the time who lived in Damascus

(Syria). Buried in Karbalah (Iraq). MARTYR.

Sunni Shia

Violence

The Martyrdom of Hussein is celebrated by Shia, this day is called Ashura. http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/12/29/world/1247466318663/ashura-in-afghanistan.html

Shrine of Hussein, Karbala, Iraq

The first 11 imams, led by Ali

Other differences between Sunni and

Shia

• Names of leaders

– caliphs (deputy, successor to the Prophet) or imams (religious leader)

- Shia call their leaders Imams, Ali being the first. The Imams have

taken on a divine qualities which the Sunnis view as going against

Islam and it is a sin because it is associating human beings with

divinity.

• Prayer

• Mosques

– Sunni mosques have domes and minarets, while Shi‟ites combine their mosques and community centers

– Sunni mosques also are more conservative, with no pictures as those are considered forms of idolatry, while Shi‟ite mosques are adorned with pictures of Imam Ali

There are only 4 majority-Shi‟ite countries:

Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Bahrain

Sunni Shia

Violence

Colonialism Bad government

decisionsPolitics

(=power)

Balance of power

Strategic interest: oil

RELIGIOUS VIOLENCEDifferent interpretation of religious text which

leads to sects and to sectarian violence

Blaise Pascal: "Men never do evil so cheerfully and

so completely as when they do so from religious

conviction."

Different levels: National, ethnic, family

Jihad- Important concept in both Sunni and Shia Islam, signifies a struggle. Two types, the struggle within (which the Qu‟ran deals mainly with), and the struggle (wars of religion) without. Shia consider the inner Jihad an essential element of the faith.

WAHHABISM

- Started in the 18th Century by Ibn Abd al-Wahhab in

present day Saudi Arabia to purify the corruption within

Islam

- Puritanical, extreme, austere, militant form of Sunni Islam

- They perceive non-Wahhabi Muslims to be sinners or

infidels.

- A belief that Islamic practice needed to return to a

"purer" interpretation of the religion's fundamental texts

“The religion of the Wahhabists may be called the

Protestantism or even Puritanism of the Muslims.”

J.H. Burckhardt in 1929

“The Wahhabi acknowledges the Quran as a divine

revelation; his principle is, „The Quran, and nothing

but the Quran‟… He reproves the Muslims of this age,

for their impious vanity in dress, their luxury in eating

and smoking. All of [the Wahhabists] dress in the most

simple garments, having neither about their persons,

nor their horses, any gold or silver; they abstain from

smoking… They reject music, singing, dancing, and

games of every kind…”

Wahhabism

• the guiding

ideology behind

modern Islamist

terrorism

– Osama bin Laden,

who grew up and

lived in Saudi

Arabia, adheres

to this sect

• True Muslims:

– Had to swear absolute loyalty to their imam

– Follow his teaching in every aspect

– Join him in armed jihad against all

apostates and unbelievers

• In return, followers were promised the

protection of God and were assured of

an immediate ascent to heaven if they

die as martyrs for Islam

• The Old City section of Jerusalem is

split up into 4 sections:

– Christian

– Jewish

– Muslim

– Armenian

• Muslims, Jews, and Christians each

claim the city is their holy site