Chapter 9: The Rise and Spread of Islam: A New Religion
Homework
Multiple-Choice Questions:
1. The word Islam means
a. Chosen.
b. Recitation.
c. Servant.
d. Submission.
2. The Kaaba is significant to Muslims because it is believed to
a. Represent the physical center of the planet and universe.
b. House the remains of the prophet Muhammad.
c. Be the largest mosque ever built.
d. Be the oldest madrasa ever built.
3. Muslims believe that in 610 CE the Archangel Gabriel first visited Muhammad to
a. Command him to found a new religion.
b. Deliver messages from the one and only God.
c. Guide him to the Islamic promised land.
d. Warn him to leave Mecca for Medina.
4. All of the following are included among Islam’s five pillars EXCEPT
a. Prayer.
b. Fasting.
c. Education.
d. Pilgrimage.
5. The surahs in the Qur’an are arranged
a. Chronologically.
b. From shortest to longest.
c. Alphabetically,
d. From Longest to Shortest.
6. Why do Muslims believe that the Qur’an cannot be translated?
a. Arabic does not translate well.
b. The rhyme scheme would be lost.
c. Muhammad forbad translation.
d. It is believed to be the direct word of God only in Arabic.
7. The word “hadith” refers to
a. The history of Islam.
b. Islam’s five pillars.
c. Muhammad’s sayings.
d. The verses in the surahs.
8. The Arabic word masjid means
a. “Friday worship”
b. “Stepped pulpit”
c. “Direction of Mecca”
d. “Place of prostration”
9. The design of most mosques is inspired by
a. The Kaaba in Mecca.
b. Muhammad’s house in Medina.
Chapter 9: The Rise and Spread of Islam: A New Religion
Homework
c. Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.
d. Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.
10. Found in a mosque, a qibla serves to
a. Support a flat roof.
b. Provide a place for ablution
c. Indicate the direction of Mecca
d. Elevate the preacher.
11. The Qur’an advises Muslim women to dress modestly to
a. Distinguish themselves from Christian women.
b. Demonstrate submissiveness to men.
c. Distinguish themselves from Jewish women.
d. Avoid Harassment.
12. Why was Islam able to spread so quickly after Muhammad’s death?
a. Rome’s collapse left the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia
leaderless.
b. A long war had exhausted the Byzantine and Persian Empires.
c. The people in these areas embraced Islam as an alternative to paganism.
d. Muslims viewed converting non-believers as a requirement for entrance to
heaven.
13. Islam appealed to Christians in the Byzantine and Persian Empires because it
a. Was deemed less conservative than Greek Orthodox Christianity.
b. Promised freedom from persecution.
c. Allowed converts to continue to hold land.
d. Offered converts freedom from military service.
14. Contributing to Islam’s rapid spread, the mosque held appeal for its
a. Inexpensive housing available to the poor.
b. Similarity to secular architecture, promoting familiarity.
c. Hierarchical architecture, promoting a sense of a defined society.
d. Provision of a sense of community.
15. Muslims generally avoid figurative imagery in the decoration of their mosques
because
a. Cleanliness is a worship requirement, so walls and windows must be free
of paint.
b. Muhammad warned that image makers would face punishment on the Day
of Judgment.
c. Creating images is considered an act of people’s vanity and thus a sin.
d. The Qur’an states that art in any form is an abomination against God.
16. Why did Islam become the dominant faith of West Africa?
a. West Africans felt that Islam offered greater freedoms than Christianity
did.
b. Muslims forced most West African women into marriage.
c. Muslim dominated the trans-Saharan trade routes.
d. West Africans dominated the trade routes to Arabia.
17. Conquered Africans were perhaps eager to convert to Islam to
a. Receive parcels of land in Arabia.
b. Avoid becoming griots.
Chapter 9: The Rise and Spread of Islam: A New Religion
Homework
c. Avoid Enslavement.
d. Gain military positions in Mali.
18. Spanish Jews welcomed the Muslim invasion because the
a. Muslims exempted them from taxes.
b. Muslims promised to help them defeat the Christians.
c. Visigothic rulers had persecuted them.
d. Muslims offered to resettle the Jews in Jerusalem.
19. A natural feature of the Alhambra is the
a. Abundant water.
b. Distinctive red soil.
c. Enclosure of trees.
d. Mountainous backdrop.
20. Muslim calligraphers placed great emphasis on beautiful writing style primarily to
a. Aspire to Muhammad’s exemplary handwriting.
b. Best express the intonations of the Arabic language.
c. Reflect the beauty of the Muslim faith as fully as possible.
d. Promote literacy among the faithful.
21. Muhammad and his followers initially thought that music would
a. Incite the baser passions of the people.
b. Distract the faithful from their true purpose.
c. Make Islam too similar to Christianity.
d. Cause Muslims to commit the sin of vanity.
22. Traditional Arabic music is based on the intonations and rhythms of
a. The four seasons.
b. The gurgling of water.
c. Algebraic equations.
d. Words.
23. The explosion in book availability in the Arabic world was enabled by the eighthcentury
a. Invention of the printing press.
b. Development of schools in mosques.
c. Introduction of the art of papermaking.
d. Expansion of African trade routes.
24. Authors generally use framing tales to
a. Introduce more characters.
b. Unite different stories.
c. Establish objectivity.
d. Augment the emotional impact.
25. In The Thousand and One Nights, Scheherazade tells her husband a story each
night to
a. Prove her intelligence to him.
b. Teach him the ways of Islam.
c. Prevent execution the next morning.
d. Avoid having sexual relations with him.