Development of Islam and creation of Dar Islam

1
Development of Islam and creation of Dar Islam

• Post Classical Era

2
how was Islam was able to spread from Spain to
India in a relatively short amount of time,
dominating a wide range of territories and
societies?

• Both religion and nationalism in precipitated
  Muslim expansion.
• Islam and Arabic combined
• Another contributing factor was the flexibility
  of the military
• The social structure and hardy nature of Arab
  society lent itself to military operations of the
  sort that conquered vast empires.
• Emphasis should also be placed on the strength of
  the Muslim economic, military, and political
  systems, while recognizing that the conquered
  territories were weak in those same areas.

3
Describe the evolution of Islamic civilization
and its impact on Europe.

• The foundation of Islamic civilization is the
  Sharia, the law of Islam.
• The Sharia envisions a community of believers
  who are brothers and sisters and who share the
  same moral values.
• The adherence to the Sharia provided a common
  cultural and secular set of laws throughout the
  Islamic world despite ethnic or political
  divisions.
• The growth of urbanization contributed to the
  rise of Islamic civilization.
• Because of the growing number of converts to
  Islam, the cities became a centerpiece for
  conversion activities and the sharing of cultural
  traditions.
• The cities were the centers of Islam.
• They were the hub of commercial activities and
  spread the knowledge of new crops to the
  countryside, in particular, citrus fruits, rice,
  sugar cane, and cotton. Intercity and
  long-distance trade flourished, providing
  important linkages between the city dwellers and
  the countryside.
• The manufacturing sector grew as well, especially
  the production of cloth, metal goods, and
  pottery.
• The market economy grew under the strong
  influence of Islamic ethics and law.
• Science and medicine also flourished building on
  the Hellenistic tradition and their own
  experience, Muslim doctors and astronomers
  developed skills and theories far in advance of
  their European counterparts.
• The Muslims shared their scientific and
  intellectual traditions with Europe, in
  particular, Spain and the Iberian peninsula,
  creating in Spain the most diverse and
  sophisticated agricultural economy in Europe.
• The Spanish cities were larger and richer than
  comparable European cities, and a unique
  architectural and literary style emerged there.

4
Compare and contrast the Umayyad and Abbasid
caliphates, particularly regarding religion,
politics, and the military

• The Umayyads, coming to power in the seventh
  century C.E., controlled an empire that was more
  ethnically Arab than Islamic.
• The military was primarily Arab, and the
  political system was closely linked to their
  Byzantine and Sasanid forebears.
• y the time the Umayyads fell from power in 750,
  less than 10 percent of the population consisted
  of converts to Islam.
• Rebellions against the legitimacy of the Umayyads
  were frequent.
• The Abbasid Caliphate was defined from the outset
  by its Islamic foundation.
• More and more converts were attracted into the
  military and politics.
• The Abbasids put a renewed emphasis on theology
  and religious law.
• They also marked a change in intellectual
  tradition by translating Persian, Greek, and
  Indian scholarship and thought.
• The government became more complex and
  cosmopolitan, and a new capital was built in
  Baghdad. As more non-Arabs converted to Islam,
• Islamic society included Greek, Iranian, Central
  Asian, and African elements.
• This sharing facilitated greater cultural
  exchange, of which papermaking technology is a
  great example.
• This golden age of the Abbasid dynasty is also
  demonstrated by the translation of works of
  Aristotle into Arabic and the writing of the
  stories of The Arabian Nights.

5
After Muhammads death why was there
fragmentation in the Empire ultimately creating
three different paths?

• The story of Ali is both personal and political
• He has a personal relationship with Muhammad that
  leads to the conflict over the legitimate ruler
  and the formation of the new position of caliph.
• This continues with the Battle of the Camel and
  the martyrdom of Husayn.
• These conflicts result in
• the Sunni
• Shiite
• and Kharijite sects

6
Compare the status of Muslim women with the
status of women in other parts of the world at
that time.

• Nowhere in the world offered women equality.
• Women did not have equality as it is envisioned
  in the modern sense anywhere in the world,
  however, Muslim women did have certain rights
  guaranteed them by Quranic law.
• While European women did not have the right to
  own property, divorce, and testify in court,
  Muslim women are guaranteed these things by
  Quranic law.
• The topic of veiling is of particular interest as
  well.
• Although not an indigenous Arab custom, it is
  adopted from the Byzantine and Sasanid Empires
  and becomes a widespread custom in the Muslim
  world but it performed in a variety of ways.
• Elite women were restrained from public view more
  strictly than lower status women.
• Elite women were often secluded in the home or
  went out covered completely to avoid the lustful
  gaze of men outside of the family.
• By covering or staying secluded, some women were
  given access to the public world or the world of
  scholarship.
• Some elite women also were permitted to study and
  become literate.
• Women were also permitted to practice birth
  control.
• Muslim women have the same religious obligations
  as Muslim men, including the pilgrimage to Mecca.
  
• Women in the Muslim world and most of the world
  did not play a direct role in public affairs,
  however, they did play an indirect role through
  their husbands and sons.