Islam: Shia-versus
Sunni/emergence of the
Caliphates
632-1500
Muslim Mosque in Mecca
Kaaba, sacred shrine to Allah in
Mecca
D144Kaaba
5 Pillars of Islam
 There
is but one god, Allah, and Muhammad
is his prophet.
 A faithful Muslim must pray five times a day
facing Mecca.
 During the daylight hours of the month of
Ramadan, a faithful Muslim must fast.
 A faithful Muslim must give Alms to the poor.
 If possible, a faithful Muslim must make a
pilgrimage to Mecca.
Hajj
Muslims performing
the Hajj (a pilgrimage
to Mecca).
The simple white
garments symbolize
the equality of
believers.
Muslim Pilgrimage
Muslims in Mecca
Muslims at Prayer
Muslim obligations: Almsgiving
Jihad

“Jihad” among extremists refers to “Holy
Wars” against the infidels or of Territorial
expansion.

Among moderates, Jihad refers to
“Defense” of one’s faith; and or an “inner
struggle” to rid oneself of evil and submit to
Allah.
Emergence of Shia—split with
Sunnis



Claim that ‘Ali’s descendents were the true
successors to Muhammad. Shia-Ali (party of Ali)
 Muhammad died without naming an heir; some
believed his cousin Ali should be his successor
 661 CE, Ali was murdered; 680 CE, his son,
Husayn, was killed in Iraq
 Ali and Husayn were the first martyrs of the
Shi’ites (Shia Ali)
Shia community recognizes the Imans, the
successors to ‘Ali’s Spiritual Authority
Recognizes Koran only, not Koran and Sunna
(traditional teachings) as authoritative.
Sunnis



Comprises 85% of
Muslims
Considered to be
mainstream
everywhere except in
Iran
Sources of religious
and legal authority are
the Qur’an and the
hadith (traditions)

Analogy and consensus
are used to arrive at
solutions

Sunnis often able to
adapt to different
cultures without losing
their own values or
beliefs
Imams


Spiritual leaders of Islam are the imams
 Imams are without sin and can interpret scripture
without error

Innovation possible only through an imam’s
approval

Belief in the Mahdi (guided one) - messianic figure
who will lead the world into a time of peace
Sunni and Shi’a disagree over the scope and power
of Imams: for Sunni, the Imam is a prayer leader;
for the Shi’a, the Imam is temporal leader—the True
Caliph.
Caliph
Caliph or “Deputy” refers to the Islamic
rulers after the death of Muhammad.
 Abu-Bakr is first Caliph (632-624)
 The first four caliphs expanded the
kingdom still further.
 Caliphs have both religious & civil
authority.

Eras of Islamic Civilization

570-632: Muhammad-Founder

632-661: First four Caliphs: - Expansion in
Mideast

661-750: Ummayad Dynasty-(Centered in
Damascus) Expansion in N.Africa & Spain
Eras of Islamic Civilization cont.

750-1258: Abbasid Dynasty, Golden Age at
Baghdad

1000s-1400s: Seljuks &Mongols

1453-WW I: Ottoman Empire; &
Fragmentation
D162Muslim Exp.Map
The Umayyad Caliphate






Expansion
Flourish from 661 to 750
Centered in Damascus
Nearly took Constantinople (674-77) but
were deterred by Greek Fire
Captured Spain but were defeated by
Charles Martel at Tours in 732.
Weakness of Umayyads—only Arabs could
be Muslims—opposed by Abbasids who
accepted Muslims of all ethnicities
The Abbasid Caliphate

Flourished from 750 to 1258
 Centered in Baghdad
 Great libraries, academies, and schools.
 Translated classical Greek scholarship into
Arabic—preserving it for posterity
 Achievements in Medicine, astronomy, and
Mathematics
 Muslim states in West break away from Abbasid
control beginning in 756.
 Seljuk Turks convert to Islam and conquer
Abbasids (1055) but allow Abbasids to continue to
rule
 Genghis Khans Grandson topples Abbasids in
1258
Ottoman Empire (1300-1918)
The Ottoman Empire would rival that of
China in size and economic power.
 But over time the Ottoman Empire would
be weakened until it was dissolved in the
twentieth century.
 Yet under Suleiman the Magnificent
(1520-1566) the Ottoman Empire expanded
into North Africa and Syria.

Growth of the Ottoman Empire

For nearly 300 years the Ottomans expanded
into the Balkans and to Persia.
 By 1683 the Turks controlled Hungary in
Europe to the Persian Gulf.
 Initial Ottoman conquest and expansion was
under their able leader Osman (1299-1326).
 Osman was a ghazi, or warrior, who was
determined to spread the faith.
Why Did The Ottomans Succeed?
 Ottomans
tolerated other faiths—
didn’t fight wars of religious
exclusivism
 Many in Old Byzantine Empire were
weary of corruption in Byzantine state
Key Events of the Ottoman State







1389 – Defeat the Serbs at Battle of
Kosovo.
1396 – Crushed the Hungarians and
foreign knights at Nicopolis.
1402 – Tamerlane defeats the Ottomans
near Ankara.
1453 – Turks capture Constantinople by
Mohammed II.
1517 – Turks captured Cairo.
1529 – First siege of Vienna.
1683 – Second siege of Vienna.
162MMap
Historic Contributions of the
Islamic Civilizations
 Rhazes
(d. 925): Medical expert of
the Abbasid Dynasty who studied
optics; Caesarian operations and
more.
 Most famous treatise On Small Pox
and Measles
Historic Contributions of the
Islamic Civilizations
• Avicenna (d. 1037): A Muslim scholar
of the Abbasid Dynasty who excelled
in both Medicine and Philosophy
• His Canon of Medicine was translated
into Latin in the 12th century and by
the 16th century was in its 35th edition.
Historic Contributions of the
Islamic Civilizations
 Aveorres
(d. 1198): Philosopher of the
Abbasid Dynasty who tried to
harmonize Islamc faith with
Aristotelian logic.
Distillation of Alcohol
• Developed about 800
• Al-kuhl means “the essense”
Astrolabe


Used for astronomy & for
navigation.
It is believed that the
Muslim al-Fazari
(d.777A.D.) was the first
scientist in the MidEast to
make an astrolabe,
following the arrival of an
Indian mission to
Baghdad.
Harun Al Rashid (800s)
 An
esteemed ruler of the Abbasid
Dynasty who exchanged gifts, and
established friendly relations with
Charlemagne (ruler of the greatest
Christian Kingdom in Europe at that
time).
Muslim Art & Architecture


The Muslim religion
prohibited the picturing of
human and natural forms.
Muslim art was thus
channeled into artistic
displays of great
geometric complexity and
abstract ornamentation.
Muslim Art & Architecture

This Muslim
mosque in Seville,
was built in 1172.
 It was converted to
a Chrisitan
Cathedral in 1248.
F320Ottoman Map
So If Islam was so cool, what
happened?





Present Mindedness—who knows if we
won’t all be dead or Muslim?
Problem of Closed Revelation
Failure to form effective states
Weak/decadent rulers
Focus on moral reform and supernatural
deliverance rather than structural/material
reform—Wahabbism.