And its Impacts on the World
By: Kirsten Schulz, Caroline Dickensheets and Shaina Patel
 Sunni Islam is a branch of Islam that follows the belief
of having the community choose its religious leaders.
 This contrasts the Shi’ite branch of Islam who believes
that religious leadership should have belonged to Ali,
Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, and his
descendants.
 The term caliphate is used to describe offices that were
established to takeover the teachings of Muhammad as
well as rule the Islamic empire.
 Imams were considered to be spiritual leaders of
Islam.
 Muhammad: an Arab prophet, later the founder of Islam.
 Abu Bakr: Friend and advisor to Muhammad. Muhammad
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chose him over Ali to succeed him.
Ali: cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad. He felt as if he
should have succeeded Muhammad and not Abu Bakr.
The Umayyad Caliphate: They were the first hereditary
dynasty of Muslim caliphs. They ruled from Spain to India
but were eventually overthrown by the Abbasid Caliphate.
The Abbasid Caliphate: They were descendents of the
prophet Muhammad’s uncle. They overthrew the
Umayyad.
Osman: Founder and later sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Babur: He was founder of the Mughal Dynasty.
A map showing
the spread of
Islam from the
beginning of
Muhammad to
the 1700s.
Men
during
traditional
prayer
Woman in
traditional
Abaya
A
traditio
nal
Islamic
Mosque
A depiction
of the
Prophet
Muhammad
A depiction
of Ali
People
during their
pilgrimage to
the sacred
mosque of
Mecca
 610: The beginning of Muhammad's mission and revelation of the Qur'an.
 613: Public preaching of Islam begin.
 630: Led by Muhammad, the Muslims conquer Mecca.
 632: Muhammad dies and chooses Abu Bakr to be his successor. A small
group favors Ali as caliph and become known as Shi’at Ali, or party of Ali.
 656: Ali becomes the fourth caliph after the one before him is assassinated.
Some of the Muslims rebel against him (Sunnis).
 661: Violence breaks out among the Muslims and Ali is assassinated.
 680: The son of Ali, Hussein, marches against the army of the Caliphate at
Karbala. He is defeated and the split between the Shi’ites and the Sunnis
deepens.
 750: The Umayyad caliphate rules from Damascus but later falls. The
Abbasid Caliphate begins.
 755: The Abbasid Caliphate rules from its capital in Baghdad.
 873: The 11th Shi’ite Imam dies and no one succeeds him.
 873-940: This period was known as the Lesser Occultation . The son of
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the 11th Shi’ite Imam disappears and leaves his advisors as
representatives of the Shi’ite faith.
940: The Greater Occultation of the 12th Imam begins (Imam that
disappeared). No Imam or representative is present.
1258: Led by Hulagu, the Mongols destroy Baghdad, and end the Sunni
Arab caliphate.
1300: The ottoman empire begins to rise to power. Islam begins to make
its way to southeast Asia.
1453: The Byzantine empire falls to the Ottomans.
1500s: The Safavid Dynasty is established in Persia, and it declares
Shiism the state religion. The Mughal dynasty is established in India
and declares Sunni Islam the state religion.
1791: Beginnings of European Colonization.
1820-1870: Rise of British colonization in India and French
Colonization in North Africa.
 After three years of preaching only to his family and close friends,
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Muhammad’s teachings become public.
A split between believers of Islam occurs after the death of Muhammad and his
choice of Abu Bakr to succeed him.
After the assassination of Ali, the split between Shi’ites and Sunnis grows after
a defeat by Ali’s son Hussein.
Caliphates begin to establish to continue and rule the teachings of
Muhammad.
Advancements in technology such as science and math. Improvements in
social order, including the status of women and an increase and expansion
regarding trade.
Caliphates are beginning to collapse as empires and dynasties such as the
Ottoman and Mughal rise to power.
These empires and dynasties no longer have caliphates but are declared states
with either Shi’ite or Sunni beliefs.
European colonization begins which drills out Islamic beliefs of those
particular regions.
Politics:
Technology:
•Established by an escapee of the
Umayyad Caliphate ('Abd al-Rahman)
after being overthrown by the Abbasids.
•Advances in sciences such as medicine,
engineering and even hydraulic
technologies. This was aided by the
alliance between the Jews, Christians
and Muslims.
Intellectual Innovation:
Economy:
•One library is said to have housed
500,000 manuscripts including Islamic
texts and a staff of researchers,
illuminators, and book binders.
•The alliance with the some of the Jews
and Christians also helped improved
trade and agriculture as well as
navigation for trade.
Religion:
Society:
•Established an Umayyad caliphate with
Islamic beliefs.
•Established powerful cities such as
Cordoba.
•They treated the Christians and Jews
with respect especially since many of
them embraced Islam.
Arts and Architecture:
•The city of Cordoba had about 700
mosques, 60, 000 palaces and 70
libraries.
Politics:
Technology:
• Islam was brought into the Balkans
region by means of European conquest
during the Byzantine empire (The
Ottoman Empire)
•Adopted the military of the Ottomans.
•Had advances in science and math due
to experimentation brought on by the
Renaissance.
Intellectual Innovation:
Economy:
•Teachers of Islamic law were brought
into this region to spread the culture
•Many new languages were introduced as
well as the Arab languages of the
Ottomans.
•There were no known trade routes
regarding the Balkans region until
recently .
•New research indicates that Muslim
cities may have been established to trade
on the Silk Road.
Religion:
Society:
•After capturing many of the Byzantine
regions, Islamic belief and culture had
been adopted by some of the Christian
population.
•Had divided social classes like the
Ottomans.
•Based on being Muslim or not. A
persons role in society also determined
what portion of the army they were in.
Arts and Architecture:
•Forts and mosques were also built.
Politics:
Technology:
•Had sultanates and kingdoms
established based on Islamic belief.
•Had advances in Medicine.
•Adapted the Canon of Medicine and is
still used in parts of Southeast Asia
today.
Intellectual Innovation:
Economy:
•Established mosque centers and schools
to continue the preaching of Islam.
•Were considered to have
“mystical/magical” powers.
•Islam was passed to the Islands of
southeast Asia through trade. The
sultanates were established on ports and
important trade routes.
•It also increased trade with surrounding
regions.
Religion:
Society:
•There was some conflict among those
who were devout Buddhists and did not
want to convert.
•Inheritance continued to be traced
through the females after the coming of
Islam despite its efforts to promote a
male dominated society.
Arts and Architecture:
•Had shadow plays based on the
Brahmanic age of India that became
more defined after the introduction of
Islam.
Politics:
Technology:
•The Shari'a is used in African Muslim
countries as the land's law
•West Africa used Islam as the base for
state-building.
•Introduced various mills such as wind
and sugar
•Islam brought new ways of measuring.
Intellectual Innovation:
Economy:
•Mixed with the native language
•Introduced a new written language
•Increased trade with Iran
•Arab traders and travelers spread the
religion further down the African coast.
Religion:
Society:
•Tolerated traditional African traditions
but incorporated many Islamic ones as
well.
•Turned original communities into
Islamic based communities
•Had groups of people, such as the
Berbers, who were strict followers of
Islam.
Arts and Architecture:
•Introduced coral rocks, limestone, and
sundried bricks as building materials in
Somalia and reinforced the use of
geometric design in crafts and textiles.
•Built mosques and inscribed amulets
with verses from the Quran
Politics:
Technology:
•Muslims became political rulers.
•An example would be the Mughal
Dynasty which was founded by Babur.
•Muslims spread the Indian knowledge
of science and math to the world
Intellectual Innovation:
Economy:
•Muslim language mixed with the local
languages to create Urdu which is still
used today.
•increased cotton production
•promoted trade expanding from
Morocco to Indonesia
•Established Karkhanas (Small factories)
Religion:
Society:
•Temples of different religions were
turned into Islamic mosques
•Urbanization increased along with the
rise of many cities
•Most of the converted population
belonged to the lower class
Arts and Architecture:
•The Taj Mahal is considered to be one of
the greatest Muslim art creations
•Islamic architecture is also used in the
Tomb of Humayun
Politics:
•There have been many caliphates in control of the
Middle East such as the Umayyad, the Abbasids,
and the caliph Haroun al-Rashid.
Technology:
•Developed and incorporated units of math such
as zero as well as reasoning.
•Advances in chemistry, medicine, surgery and
anatomy.
Intellectual Innovation:
•Had schools to help continue Islamic teachings.
•Had developed poetry and literature, an example
would be the famous 1001 Arabian Nights.
• Had begun Islamic translations of ancient
science and philosophy texts.
Economy:
•The spread of Islam into parts of Asia brought in
paper from China.
•The spread of Islam greatly affected trade which
led throughout parts of Europe and formed the
basis of the European Renaissance.
•Also had advances in agriculture under the
Abbasids.
Religion:
•Birth place of the Prophet Muhammad.
•The Middle East served as a home to Mecca where
the Muslims make their pilgrimage.
•Were later challenged by the crusaders.
Economy (continued)
•Introduction of new livestock and crops
•Also improved the ancient network of wells,
underground canals, and water-wheels.
Arts and Architecture:
•Built schools, libraries, research centers and
observatories under the caliph Al-Ma`mun .
Society:
•Earlier in Islamic history of the Middle East there
was discrimination against non-Arab converts.
•Islamic woman had more freedoms than the
women of Judaism and Christianity but they were
still restricted from certain activities
•Had slaves but could not enslave other Muslims.
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All regions were similar in the sense that they were all established due to the spread of Islam and ruled by
Muslim caliphates or dynasties who established Islam as the prominent religion. However they differed by the
caliphates and dynasties who ruled them.
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Many of the regions established schools to continue the teachings of Islam. Libraries and research centers
were also established. They differed in languages due to the incorporation of pre-existing languages and the
rise of new languages. There was also the introduction of poetry and literature such as the world-famous
novel: 1001 Arabian Nights.
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The religions of the six regions were all fairly similar due to shared Islamic beliefs, except those who followed
the Shi’ite Islam faith instead of Sunni. Islam tolerated many pre-existing traditions but still discriminated
against those who did not want to convert.
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All built great mosques, tombs, and engaged in other monumental building. Some of the regions introduced
different building techniques and materials such as coral, sundried bricks and limestone. Southeast Asia also
performed shadow plays depicting the Brahmanic Age of India while the Africans enforced the use of
geometric design in crafts and textiles.
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There were many advances in science and math such as chemistry, astronomy and anatomy. Advances in
mathematics include the founding of zero and reasoning systems. Advances in medicine and surgery
occurred in the Middle East.
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The expansion of trade routes throughout Asia, India, the Middle East , Africa, parts of Europe, and maritime
trade began . There were advances in navigation regarding naval trade as well as the rise of new trading
products such as cotton and paper. The European Renaissance was greatly impacted by trade with the Middle
East who also experienced great developments in agriculture such as the introduction of new livestock and
crops.
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Islamic based cities were established where society greatly depended on being Muslim or not. While Spain
had respect for the Jews and Christians, regions such as the Middle East and the Balkans were not as
understanding and discriminated against non-Arab converts. Women also had few rights, but those who did,
such as women of the Middle East and Southeast Asia, had more rights than the women of Judaism and
Christianity.
 About 85-90% of today’s Islamic population of 1.5 billion is
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Sunni.
Most of the controversial publicity that Sunni-Islam is receiving
in today’s world is because of the Sunni-Shia split that exists in
the Middle East.
Since the American invasion of Iraq in the 21st century, the
Sunni-Shiite conflict has been aggravated in Iraq, Iran,
Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
There has also been a sharp increase in the number of split
mosques, arguments over the population, discrimination against
the Sunni in politics, economy, media and education.
Both groups have been launching terrorist attacks against one
another and this poses the biggest threat to the Islamic religion
today.
 Shaina Patel: PIRATES and the Direct Comparison part of 4 (1 and 4)
 Caroline Dickensheets: Chronology and the Change over time part of 4 (2 and
4)
 Kirsten Schulz: Pictures/Maps/Captions and Sunni Islam Today. (3 and 5)
 Links:
-http://www.mideastweb.org/islamhistory.htm
-http://history-world.org/islam.htm (Used all different pages)
-http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tsis/hd_tsis.htm
-http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/index.php?page=articles&id=150535
-http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/india/religion.htm#Islam
-http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/ihame/sec5.htm
-The AP World Text Book