Name: Advisory: Period: Introduction to Muhammad & Islam Reading & Questions Monday, May 8

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1 Name: Advisory: Period: High School World History Cycle 4 Week 7 Lifework This packet is due Monday, May 15th Complete and turn in on FRIDAY 5/12 for 5 points of EXTRA CREDIT! Lifework Assignment Complete on evening of Introduction to Muhammad & Islam Reading & Questions Monday, May 8 Religions Review Crossword Puzzle: Christianity & Islam Tuesday, May 9

2 Questioning Skills: Jihad Wednesday, May 10 Interim Review Thursday, May 11 Interim Review Friday, May 12 Please complete assignments with excellence using complete sentences, correct punctuation and capitalization. Ms. Bush: Ms. Wiedemann: An Introduction to Muhammad and the Faith of Islam USHistory.org, adapted by Newsela staff A man meditating alone in a cave near Mecca received a religious vision. This vision laid the foundations for a new religion. The year was C.E. 610 and the man's name was Muhammad. His ideas became the basis for one of the world's most widely practiced religions: Islam. Muhammad was born around C.E. 570 in the city of Mecca, located on the Arabian Peninsula. Both of his parents died before Muhammad was 6 and he was raised by his grandfather and uncle. His family belonged to a poor clan that was active in Mecca politics. Following the traditions of wealthy families, he spent part of his childhood living with a Bedouin family. Bedouins were traveling herders who lived in the harsh Arabian desert. Muhammad's experiences among these people most likely had a strong influence on the development of Islam. In his 20s, Muhammad began working as a merchant and soon married his employer, a rich woman named Khadijah. Over the next 20 years he became a wealthy and respected trader, traveling throughout the Middle East. He and his wife had six children: two boys (who did not live into adulthood) and four girls. By the time he was 40, he began having religious visions that would change his life. A revelation of faith While meditating in a cave on Mount Hira, Muhammad had a sudden vision. He came to believe that he was called on by God to be a messenger and teacher of a new faith, Islam, which literally means "submission." This new faith included ideas from Judaism and Christianity and respected the holy books of these religions and its great leaders, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and others. Muhammad called Abraham "Khalil" ("God's friend") and identified him as one of Islam's founding fathers, along with his son Ishmael. Muhammad believed that he himself was God's final messenger. Muslims, Jews and Christians all worship the same god, but Muslims call him Allah. Allah means "The God" in Arabic. Central to Islamic beliefs are the Five Pillars of Faith, which all followers of Islam, who

3 are called Muslims, must follow: 1. There is only one universal god: Allah. 2. Followers of Islam (Muslims) are expected to pray five times each day while facing Mecca. 3. All Muslims are expected to pay a yearly tax that is mostly intended to help the poor and needy. 4. For the entire month of Ramadan, Muslims must not eat, smoke, drink or have sexual relations from sunrise to sunset. 5. All able Muslims must make a pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca at least once in their lifetimes. Mecca houses Islam's holiest site, the Kaaba. It was believed to have been built for God by Abraham. Jihad better explained Belief in jihad is a common thread to many Islamic groups. Although the exact meaning of the Arabic is difficult to express in English, jihad is most accurately translated as "struggle." For most Muslims, jihad is a personal struggle against evil. The holy battles of this religious struggle are fought inside the minds and souls of Muslim believers. Sometimes, the struggle can take the form of a physical war in the name of self-defense. Although this kind of jihad is often referred to in English as a "holy war," most Muslims believe there is nothing holy about war and that wars should only be fought against oppressors and aggressors. A very small group of Muslims, however, feel that Muslims must wage war against all non-believers. It is this idea of jihad that has inspired Islamic extremist terrorism, acts of violence committed by radicalized Muslims who believe they must advance their goals through disruption. Unfortunately, due to media coverage, this is the interpretation of jihad that most Westerners are familiar with. It should be reiterated that mainstream Islam is peaceful and rejects the idea of unprovoked war. Although the idea of jihad is widespread, it has not been accepted by the general Islamic community as one of the Pillars of Islam. From Mecca to Medina and back Muhammad's message was especially well received by poor people and slaves. Many people of other religions were opposed to his message, though. This opposition only seemed to make him more determined. After years of publicly promoting his ideas, he became so disliked that some began plotting his murder. In C.E. 622, fearing for his life, Muhammad fled to the town of Medina. This flight from Mecca to Medina became known as the Hegira or Hijra, Arabic for "flight." In Medina, the local people welcomed Muhammad and his followers. There, Muhammad built the first mosque, or Islamic temple, and began to work to separate Islam from Judaism and Christianity, which had originally influenced him.whereas his followers had originally prayed while facing toward Jerusalem, he now had them face toward Mecca. Muhammad continued to have visions from Allah. Through these visions, he came up with a poetic text called the Quran, which contains the fundamental ideas of Islam. Muhammad fought a number of battles against the people of Mecca. In C.E. 629, he returned to the city with an army of 1,500 believers and entered the city unopposed and without bloodshed. Before his death two years later, he forcefully converted most of the Arabian Peninsula to his new faith and built a small empire. Unfortunately, Muhammad had not picked someone to lead Islam after he died. The struggle over leadership that followed his death has divided Muslims to this day, creating a division in Islam between the Sunnis and Shiites. Despite these problems, a vast Islamic empire was created over the next 12 centuries. Over time, the religion built a massive base of worshipers across the world. MONDAY Comprehension Questions: 1. Describe how the foundations of Islam were made. 2. Who was Muhammad? What was his early life like?

4 3. Muhammad had in a cave. At this time God told Muhammad that he was to be a and teacher of Islam. What does Islam mean? 4. ****How are Islam, Judaism and Christianity related? USE A QUOTE TO SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER. 5. Who is Allah? 6. Complete the chart about the Five Pillars of Faith: First Pillar Second Pillar Third Pillar Fourth Pillar Fifth Pillar Drawing/ Sketch: Drawing/ Sketch: Drawing/ Sketch: Drawing/ Sketch: Drawing/ Sketch: 7. *** Which of the Five Pillars of Islam do you think is the most interesting? USE A QUOTE TO SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER. 8. What is jihad? Does jihad mean the same thing to everyone?

5 9. Muhammad s message was received both positively and negatively, describe the these responses. Positive: Negative: 10. Muhammad established many of the foundations of Islam per Allah s instruction. Describe two other impacts he had from the From Mecca to Medina and back section of the passage. TUESDAY Crossword Puzzle (attached) WEDNESDAY Questioning Skills Directions: READ the sections of the article below. For each section, you may need to answer a question or write a question. Use the question examples below to help you write better questions! Question Starters WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE WHY What would happen if? Why is it actually.? What does the author mean by? How is it that the Hanukkah is? Why do the Jewish follow/practice?

6 Overview: Jihad Bloomberg, adapted by Newsela staff ANSWER: What is jihad? Extremist groups such as al-qaeda and Islamic State call their violent attacks jihad a holy war fought for Islam. Mainstream Muslims argue that jihad is mostly a spiritual experience involving an internal struggle, to be a better Muslim, for example. In this view, violent jihad is allowed only in extreme cases and must be approved by legitimate authorities. Nevertheless, the militant jihadis are winning recruits. Glossary Jihad holy war fought for Islam; can also mean personal struggle. Martyr a person is killed, or chooses to die, for their religious beliefs Sharia law the religion law, or rules, followed by members of the Islamic faith The Situation A study by Rand Corporation, a global policy nonprofit organization, found that the number of violent jihadi groups grew dramatically in a 25-year period. In 1988, there were just three violent jihadi groups. In 2013, there were 49. The goal of this violent kind of jihad is to create a pure Islamic society. Jihadis say they want to practice Islam as Prophet Muhammad s early followers did. Muhammad started Islam about 1,400 years ago. Jihadis want countries to be ruled by sharia. These are the rules and laws in the Quran and were taken from the prophet s life. Arab scholars and religious officials have condemned these groups and say that their kind of violent jihad is against Muslim theology. However, many Muslims do not listen to the religious officials because they are closely connected to the government and people don't think they are independent. 1. What were the results of the Rand Corporation study? 2. How have jihadi groups justified their actions? 3. Write a question you have for The Situation passage:

7 The Background Jihad literally means to make an effort. It can mean a spiritual, verbal, scholarly or military attempt to serve God. Many Islamic texts discuss the question of when war is justified. Jihad first appeared in the Quran when God permitted Muhammad and his early followers to fight their persecutors in Arabia. In recent years, terrorist leaders have used the idea of military jihad. In the late 1980s, jihadis pushed the Soviet Union army out of Afghanistan. Some Muslims who were not from Afghanistan fought with the jihadis. Then they returned to their home countries to continue holy war. Among them was Osama bin Laden from Saudi Arabia. His group, al-qaeda, declared war on the U.S. and its allies in 1998, and killed almost 3,000 people in attacks on the U.S. on September 11, How is the actual meaning of jihad different from the way groups have used jihad? 5. Write a question you have about the second paragraph:

8 The Argument Some jihadis say that Muslims should fight until all non- Muslims convert to Islam or follow Islamic rule. Others claim their military campaigns are aimed at purifying Muslim lands or taking back territory once under Muslim rule. Both positions go against the view of mainstream scholars. They say that Muslims should only ever use jihad to defend Muslimruled territory from attack or protect persecuted Muslims. Scholars say that only heads of governments have the power to declare war, but jihadis do this all the time. Critics also denounce jihadis for killing civilians, which is forbidden in Islamic texts. Defenders of jihadis say that the civilians were accidentally killed while fighting the real enemy. Rand estimated that the number of jihadi fighters was as many as 105,000 in 2013, up from 1,900 in Studies of captured and former jihadis show that they have many different reasons for joining jihadi groups. They want to become famous, belong to a group, or experience adventure. They may also want to express frustration over something that happened to them that they think was unfair. Many jihadi fighters especially like the idea of being a martyr, a person who dies for a religion. One study found that volunteers generally don t come from very religious families. One theory says that many of these volunteers think the Muslim world is under threat and that Islamic law requires every able Muslim man to defend it. 6. WRITE A QUESTION after reading the first paragraph or graph (above). 7. In The Argument critics and scholars thoughts on jihadis are discussed. Pick one example of an issue and complete this chart Jihadi viewpoint Scholars viewpoint Issue 8. Why do people join jihadi groups?