THE
WORLDS OF
ISLAM
The Making of an Arab Empire
&
Women in Early Islam
THE MAKING
OF AN ARAB
EMPIRE
• In the centuries that followed the
transformation of Arabia (8th century &
beyond), the new Arab state became an
empire encompassing all or part of:
– Egypt
– Roman Empire/Byzantium
– Persia
– Mesopotamia
– India
• Within & outside of that empire the
Islamic faith spread along with the
culture and language of Arabia
THE MAKING
OF AN ARAB
EMPIRE
• 3rd wave civilization of Islam
– Emerged from the mixing and
blending of these many
civilizations
– United through a common faith
– Divided by
• Culture
• Class
• Politics
• Gender
• Religious understanding
WHY WERE
ARABS ABLE TO
CONSTRUCT
SUCH A HUGE
EMPIRE SO
QUICKLY?
• Arabs were newly organized into a
single state and were able to mobilize
the military power of the entire
population
• The Byzantine & Persian empires were
weakened by decades of war with each
other
• Byzantium & Persia were also dealing
with internal revolts
• They did not respect the new Arab state
as a true threat, just a mere nuisance
WHY WERE
ARABS ABLE TO
CONSTRUCT
SUCH A HUGE
EMPIRE SO
QUICKLY?
• By 644 the Sassanid Empire of Persia
was defeated
• Soon after southern Byzantium was lost
• Spain was conquered in the early 700’s
• Reached the Indus River by 750
• 751 Chinese forces were defeated at the
Talas river
– Stopped further Chinese expansion
west
– Central Asia’s Turkic speaking
people converted to Islam
MOTIVATIONS
FOR
CREATING AN
EMPIRE
• Merchant leaders of the Islamic
community wanted to control the best
trade routes & most productive
agricultural regions
• Individual Arabs saw military expansion
as the way to personal wealth & social
promotion
• External expansion gave the members
of the new Arab state a common task
purpose to stay united around after the
death of Muhammad
EARLY
SPREAD OF
ISLAM
EARLY
SPREAD OF
ISLAM
RELIGIOUS
TOLERANCE
• Imposing Islam on newly conquered
people was not a part of the Arab Empire
• “Believers” included Muslims, Christians,
and Jews
• This religious acceptance made it easier
for newly conquered people to accept the
new political order & be incorporated into
the new growing empire
• Familiarity with the core ideas & practices
– Prayer
– Fasting
– Pilgrimage
– Divine revelation
– prophets
RELIGIOUS
TOLERANCE
• Formal agreements recognized Jews,
Christians, and Zoroastrians as “people
of the book”
• Gave them status as protected 2nd class
citizens
– Served in the highest offices in
Muslim kingdoms
– Served in their armies as well
• Permitted to freely practice their
religion as long as they paid a special tax
LIMITING THE
DISRUPTION
OF CONQUEST
• Muslim armies stayed in separate
garrison towns, segregated from
conquered peoples
– Prevent indiscriminate destruction
and exploitation of native people
• Local elites and bureaucratic structures
were incorporated into the Arab Empire
CONVERSION
•
•
•
•
•
In the ~400 years after the death of Muhammad
millions of individuals & societies within the
Arab Empire became Muslim
Major elements of Islam were familiar to many
– Monotheism
– Ritual prayer
– Cleansing ceremonies
– Fasting
– Divine revelation
– Heaven, hell, final judgement
From its beginning Islam was associated with
the sponsorship of a powerful state
Conquest called the power of older gods into
question
Prestige of the Arab Empire attracted many to
Allah
INCENTIVES
FOR
CONVERSION
• Deliberately forced conversion was rare
• Living in an Islamic governed state
provided incentives for claiming Muslim
identity
– Slaves and POWs were early converts
– Converts could avoid the tax on nonMuslims
– Merchants found a religion friendly
to commerce
– Arab Empire provided a huge &
secure area for trade
– Those aspiring to official positions
found conversion an aid to their
social mobility
DIFFICULTIES
IN
CONVERSION
• Strong resistance by the Berbers in
North Africa delayed conversion for
centuries
• Zealous Spanish Christians insulted the
Prophet leading to their own
martyrdom
• Some Persian Zoroastrians fled
DIFFERENCES
IN
CONVERSION
• In Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and North Africa
converts to Islam abandoned their
native languages, adopted Arabic, and
came to view themselves as Arabs
• In Persia (Iran) the vast majority of
people had become Muslim, but Farsi
remained the language, though
enriched by Arabic words
• A distinct Persian identity remained in
Iran
IMPLICATIONS
OF PERSIAN
IDENTITY
• Many ideas of Persian Zoroastrianism
found their way into Islam
• In Iran, Central Asia, India, and the
Ottoman Empire Islam was
accompanied by Persian influences
– Administrative & bureaucratic
techniques
– Court practices – palaces, gardens,
garments
– Architecture
– Poetry, music, painting
WOMEN &
MEN IN EARLY
ISLAM
• The impact of the rise of Islam & the
creation of an Arab state on the daily
lives of women & their relationship to
men still remains debated & highly
controversial to this day
• At the spiritual level of life, the Quran is
clear: men & women are equal!
• In social terms, especially within a
marriage, the Quran views women as
inferior & subordinate
HOW DID THE
RISE OF
ISLAM
CHANGE THE
LIVES OF
WOMEN?
• The Quran provided rights, restrictions,
and protections for women
• Female infanticide was prohibited
• Given control of their own property
• Granted rights of inheritance
– At ½ the rate of men
• Marriage was considered a contract
between two consenting parties
• Multiple husbands was prohibited
– Polygyny was permitted, but men
could have no more than 4 wives &
must treat them all equally
HOW DID THE
RISE OF
ISLAM
CHANGE THE
LIVES OF
WOMEN?
• Prescriptions of the Quran were only
one factor shaping the lives of women
• Other factors:
– Long established practices of the
societies into which Islam spread
– The growing sophistication,
prosperity, & urbanization of
Islamic civilization
HOW DID THE
RISE OF
ISLAM
CHANGE THE
LIVES OF
WOMEN?
• Upper class women were more restricted
as Islamic civilization grew & flourished
culturally & economically
– Women were asked to offer prayers
at home
– Veiling and seclusion became
standard practices among the upper
& ruling classes
– Wealthy women were given
separate quarters in their homes
from which they could only emerge
totally veiled
– Such seclusion wasn’t possible for
lower class women who didn’t have
servants & had to leave home for
shopping & work
HOW DID THE
RISE OF
ISLAM
CHANGE THE
LIVES OF
WOMEN?
• These practices originated more so from
the established traditions of Middle
Eastern culture than from the Quran
• Other signs of a tightening patriarchy
were derived from local cultures, not from
the Quran or Islamic law
– Ex. Honor killings
• Other negative views of women emerged
from the Hadiths, which became an
important source of Islamic law
– Traditions about the sayings or
actions of Muhammad
– Presenting women as weak,
deficient, a sexually charged threat
to men & social stability
HOW DID THE
RISE OF
ISLAM
CHANGE THE
LIVES OF
WOMEN?
• Islam offered women new outlets in
religious life
• Sufis
– Some Sufi orders had parallel
groups for women
– A few welcomed women as equal
members
– The spiritual equality ascribed to
men & women in the Quran
allowed women to aspire to union
with God
HOW DID THE
RISE OF
ISLAM
CHANGE THE
LIVES OF
WOMEN?
• Islam offered women new outlets in
religious life
• Shia Islam
– Women teachers of the faith were
called mullahs, like men
– Islamic education allowed women
to become literate & for a few to
achieve higher education
– Visits to sacred sites, ritual prayer,
and public baths provided the
opportunity for women to interact
with women outside of their family
circle.