The Arabian Peninsula and the beginning of a new Monotheistic religion: Islam Monotheism: Belief in one God.

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The Arabian Peninsulaand the beginning of a
new Monotheistic religionIslamMonotheism
Belief in one God.

• Mecca

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Arab people learned how to live withvery few
resources.
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Many moved from place to place to make a living.
Caravan A group of travelers journeying
together.
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Mecca was built around an
oasis on the trade route that linked the
Mediterranean world with South Arabia, East
Africa, and India. People stopped there to get
food and water.
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Mecca developed into an important religious
center too.In the center of town there was a
shrine where people put their idols.Shrine a
building where people put something sacred or
special.

• KABA
• 
  
  

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An Idol An image used as an object of worship.

• There were 360 idols stored in the Kaba in Mecca.

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Muhammad was born into this polytheistic and
unjust world.

• (The rich were treated special. Slaves and women
  were not treated well.)
• He received messages from an angel named Gabriel.

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Muhammad was told that he was Allahs messenger
(Prophet) and that he was to spread the message
that there was only 1 God and that his name was
Allah. All the other idols in the Kaba were
powerless.
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Islam was the third monotheistic religion to
enter the Mediterranean world.

• 2000BC .33AD.610 AD
• Religion Judaism
  Christianity Islam
• People Abraham/Moses Jesus
  Muhammad
• Holy books Torah Bible
  Quran

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There are MANY differences between the 3
religions.

• But they are all Monotheistic.
• Islam sees Jesus as one of many prophets.
• Only Christianity believes that
• Jesus is the promised one, the
• Only son of God.

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By the time of Muhammads death, Islam had spread
throughout most of the Arabian Peninsula.

• Within another 90 years, it had spread into much
  of the old Roman Empire.

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What do Muslims do differently than other
Monotheistic religions?

• Muslims (The people that believe in Islam) do
  many things to help them to always think about
  Allah (obligatory acts).
• They call them the 5 Pillars of Islam.
• (These 5
  pillars
• provide the structure
• for their faith.)

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Pillars
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Shahada

• 1. They profess (declare, admit) that ,There is
  no god but God and that Muhammad is his
  messenger.

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Zakat

• 2. They give a portion of all they own to the
  poor (giving alms).
• (Alms Money or things that are given to the
  poor.)

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Salat

• 3. They pray 5 times a day.
• They follow a special format
• when they pray.

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Saum

• 4. During one month of the year (The month called
  RAMADAN), Muslims go without eating or drinking
  from sun-rise to sun-set
  (Fasting).
• This is a yearly reminder of what it feels like
  to be poor and in need of food.

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Hajj5. Once in their lifetime they go to the
holy city of MECCA.
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Islam and the Arabic Language will travel along
trade routes to transformless developed areas of
the world.

• The Arab people knew how to get around in the
  desert.

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When they heard of Gold being mined below the
Niger river they were not intimidated (scared) by
the Sahara Desert.
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They found a way to make a lot of money.by
picking up salt and trading it for gold that was
BELOW the Sahara.Sub-Saharan Trade
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The kings of Western Africa collected taxes on
all the loads of salt and gold that went through
their kingdoms.
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There were two separate kingdoms that got very
rich (built strong economies) through collecting
these taxes (levies).

• Ghana
  Mali
• 750 C.E. to 1076
  1230 CE to 1600
• Both kingdoms controlled the area around the
  Niger river, but they were at different times in
  History.

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Mali was bigger and it controlled more of the
Niger River. This helped them to transport goods
in a more efficient way.
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But how do we know that these kings collected
taxes to build up their economies?
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Islamic traders wrote down about their economic
system in journals (primary sources).

• On every donkey load of salt when it is brought
  into the country, their king levies (taxes) one
  golden dinar (coin) and two golden dinars when it
  is sent out.

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• Thanks to the cleverness of their kings, the
  people of ancient Ghana and Mali were rich!
• These kingdoms never owned the gold or salt
  mines.
• Salt came from the salt mines controlled by
  kingdoms in the north Sahara Desert.
• Gold came from the gold mines controlled by
  kingdoms to the south of Ghana.
• What Ghana and Mali did was to find a way to
  make money by controlling the trade route
  between the salt mines and the gold mines.  

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This trans-Saharan trade brought new ideas to
the tribal people that lived in WEST AFRICA as
the trading of gold and salt increased.
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Islamic traders took their religion with them
every where they went.

• It caught on and the religion and culture of
  West Africa began to change.

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How do we know that Islam took hold in West
Africa?

• The city of Ghana consists of two towns, which
  is inhabited with Muslims. One of these towns is
  large and possesses 12 mosques in which they
  assemble for Friday prayer. In these mosques
  there are religious leaders, muezzins (men who
  call Muslims to prayer) as well as scholars.

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• Islamic traders also shared their written
• language (Arabic) with the West Africans too.
• This meant they became literate.

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The Islamic World Today