The Rise and Spread of
Islam
Chapter 8
Why Important???
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Islam spread quickly to become one of the
world’s most popular religions
– Remains so to this day
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Muslim merchants played a crucial role in
trade and cultural diffusion
Geography
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Islam originated on the
Arabian Peninsula
Mostly desert
Cities on coasts or near
an oasis, thrived on trade
– Mecca and Medina most
impt
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previe
ws/942/663946.JPG
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Bedouin tribes controlled
caravan routes b/t cities
– Nomadic, clans based on
kinship
http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=5769&rendTypeId=4
Pre-Islamic Arabia
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Polytheistic religion, animistic
– Some Jewish and Christian influence
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Polygamy
– Some allowed women multiple husbands
(polyandry)
Relatively high status for women
 Poetry main form of artistic expression
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Rise of Islam
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By 500’s, Arabia was very fragmented
– Rivalry among Bedouin
– Christianity and Judaism increased in
influence
 Religious disunity

Prophets began to call for unity among the
Arabs
– Believed a common religion was needed
Muhammad
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Born around 570
Educated to be a merchant
– Moved to Mecca as an adolescent
– Heavily influenced by monotheistic religion (Judaism and
Christianity)
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610: received revelation from Allah
– Believed his revelation was the final word of god
 Following, yet superseding, those of Noah, Abraham, Moses, and
Jesus
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Muhammad’s beliefs and teachings became the basis of
a new religion- Islam
– Beliefs and teachings recorded in Arabic to compose a holy
scripture known as the Qur’an
http://theinsanityofthesane.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/quran1.jpg
Muhammad
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His teaching made him unpopular among
the polytheists in Mecca
– Fled to Medina
– Began to buildup base of followers; became
skilled politician and spiritual leader
– Islamic community became known as umma

Muhammad’s teaching quickly spread
– Unified the people of Arabia
http://spicetrader.net/immortal/mecca-medina.png
Teaching of Muhammad
Tenets of Islam
Muslim: follower of Islam
 5 Pillars of Islam
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– Acceptance of Allah as one true god and
Muhammad as his prophet
– Prayer 5 times daily in direction of Mecca
– Fasting during day-light hours of Ramadan
– Charity for the less fortunate
– Hajj- pilgrimage to Holy Land
http://www.theodora.com/wfb/photos/saudi_arabia/grand_mosque_mecca_soudi_arabia_photo_2.jpg
Beliefs of Islam
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Islam:
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Is monotheistic
promotes equality of all believers in the eyes of God
Encourages charity for the poor
Belief in judgment in the afterlife (paradise or hell)
Because its beliefs were similar to those of
Judaism and Christianity, Islam was an appealing
religion that spread quickly
Caliphate

632: death of Muhammad
– Uncertainty about leadership in Muslim community
– Some renounced faith due to lack of leadership

Caliph: political and religious successor of
Muhammad
– Some wanted Ali (Muhammad’s first cousin) to take
over
– Others felt Abu Bakr (Muhammad’s father-in-law)
would be better
Sunni-Shi’a Split
Sunni Muslims supported Abu Bakr and
the Ummaya clan
 Shi’a (Shi’ite) Muslims supported Ali to be
caliph
 The Sunni-Shi’ite conflict still continues to
this day.

– Over time the two groups developed many
differences that makes their union even more
difficult
Ummayad Caliphate

Abu Bakr of the Ummaya clan became
caliph (from 632-634)
– Began to standardize the Islamic faith,
oversee compilation of the Qur’an, reassert
Muslim authority among the Arabs
– Temporary peace
Ummayad Caliphate

632-750, ruled over an Arab Empire
– Capital in Damascus, Syria
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Major Features of Ummayad Caliphate
– Est. Arabic as official language
– Muslims enjoyed highest social position
 Only pay taxes for charity
 Most people were dhimmi (non-Muslim)
– paid the bulk of taxes
– Very little attempt to convert non-Muslims
Muslim Conquests
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Muslims began to engage in campaigns
against neighboring empires
– To gain wealth and glorify their religion
– At first, not interested in conversion
Seized territory from Byzantine Empire
 Territorial gains in: Syria, Egypt, Tunisia,
Spain, Algeria, Morocco
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Ummayad Caliphate
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Gender/Family under Ummayad
– Teachings of Muhammad influenced the role of
women
 Muhammad taught respect for women, saw marriage as
important social institution
 Saw men & women as equals in eyes of Allah
– Under Ummayad, men were allowed 4 wives
 So long as he could support them equally
– Very little evidence of the use of veils during the
Ummayad Caliphate
– Women involved in various occupations (law,
commerce, scholars)
Abbasid Caliphate
750-1258
 750: Ummayad overthrown during
rebellion

– Abbas family took over and established the
Abbasid Caliphate
Capital at Baghdad
 Abbasid was a “Golden Age” for Islam

– Court-life, literature, learning
Abbasid Caliphate
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Dramatic increase in converts to Islam
during the Abbasid
– Missionary work to promote conversion
Urban expansion; Baghdad became a
cultural center and economic hub
 Trade boomed

– Use of lateen (triangular) sails on ships
known as dhows Extensive trade increased
wealth
Arabian
Dhow
trade ship
Lateen (triangular)
sails
http://www.mikewashburn.com/frcamp/dhow.jpg
Abbasid Caliphate
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Cities were filled with artisan and craft
shops
– Unskilled labor performed by slaves
 Slavery was not a hereditary condition
 Slaves were Non-Muslims, usually captives from
Africa
– Qur’an forbids enslavement of Muslims, Jews, Christians,
or Zoroastrians
Islamic Law

Over time, Muslim scholars developed an
Islamic law code
– Based on traditions passed down since times
of Muhammad

Islamic law known as Shari’a
– Designed to promoted legal stability and a
common moral code for all Muslim followers
 Followed to varying degrees and in slightly
different forms throughout the Islamic world
Islamic Learning
Muslim scholars preserved and recopied classical
works from the Greek and Hellenistic period
 Adopted the Indian Numeral system & spread it
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– Made advances in algebra and trigonometry
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Architecture became a form of artistic expression
– Mosques with elaborate mosaics inside
– Elaborate palaces for entertaining the elite
Dome of Rock- Jerusalem
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_of_the_Rock
Declining Position of Women
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During the Abbasid, the position of women
began to decline
– Harems very popular
– Veiling became a common practice and women were
secluded
 Only slave women allowed to appear in public unescorted
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However, women did have some rights
– Own property, right to divorce and remarry, right to
testify in court, and the right to go on hajj
Decline of Abbasid Caliphate
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By mid-800’s Abbasid began to lose power
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Internal unrest (Sunni-Shi’ite conflict)
Courtly excess became a financial drain
Conflicts over succession led to civil wars
Revolts by non-Muslims and Turkish slaves (Mamluks)
Abbasid also faced outside pressures
– Seljuk Turks (nomadic group) seized territory to
create the Seljuk Sultanate
– Crusaders
– Mongol Invasion
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Abbasid eventually fell in 1258
Spread of Islam
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Islam quickly spread beyond the Muslim
Empire
– Aided by trade
Expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa, the
Swahili Coast of East Africa, parts of
Europe and Asia
 More on this later!!!
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