Islam
Islam means submission or surrender to God or Allah ISLAM is the religion..a MUSLIM is a person who follows the religion of Islam Crescent Moon and Star Green
Nairobi, Kenya
The Arabian peninsula In MuhaMMad s time 570 CE
CLIMATE: Mostly desert WORK: Trade, camels (transportation and raising), pastoralists (raising sheet and goats), cultivated dates and other crops ORGANIZATION: A decentralized and egalitarian system of tribes Religion: polytheism/animism Tribal conflicts (a lot of violence)
Muhammad in Mecca Muhammad was born around 570 CE He annually went on a meditation retreat to a cave In 610 CE he received revelations from the angel Gabriel (which makes Muhammad a prophet) These revelations became the holy Islamic book: The Quran (Koran) Muhammad taught a monotheistic religion
The cave where Muhammad received his revelations from the angel Gabriel
Oversized Koran in the annual Koran exhibit in Tehran (2007)
The Quran/Koran is the holiest text in Islam
Muhammad s initial followers were his wife and other family members Corrupt government (Quraish), people believed in many gods, a lot of inequality (women, slaves) Islam offered social equality, especially for women Tolerance of the religion but not acceptance.until Muhammad s protectors died in 619 CE Why would the Quraish be afraid of this and what would they do? Muhammad s insistence on one God threatened the position, power and roles of tribal leaders, including the Quraish.
The Quraish debate the impact of a new religion and what to do about Muhammad (16 th Century painting)
The Hijra (migration)
The migration started on July 16, 622 CE This is the beginning of Islamic communal history and calendar What year is it on the Islamic calendar? (2010-622 =?) Uses AH, After Hijra instead of AD (Anno Domino) Muhammad and his followers fled to Medina where he was welcome and had many followers In Medina Muhammad also became a government leader He built an army and in 630 CE defeated Mecca's army and took over the city. Muhammad passed in 632 CE
Tribes in the Arabian peninsula united and started conquering other places. Spread & adoption of Islam: political/economic advantage (protection tax, ability to join army = advancement, religious tolerance, stability, charged lower taxes)
The Five Pillars How a Muslim should live Based on what is written in the Koran and on Muhammad s life. 1. Faith - Shahadah = to bear witness : I bear witness that thereis no God but Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is his Messenger. 2. Daily Prayers -Five prayers a day facing Mecca - Pray at a mosque or on a mat -Men and women can not pray together in a mosque -Friday is the Muslim holy day
Night Journey to Jerusalem
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/islam/architecture/mosque.htm
SalatMK Storm is a prayer time reminder for Muslims who own a blackberry storm. Prayer times are calculated based on celltower information or based on the internal GPS, therefore its not required anymore to select the city you are currently in. SalatMK Storm Also contains a Hijri calander with notification of important date
Indonesia
New Delhi, India Marrakech, Morocco
Kampala, Uganda
Istafahan, Iran
Moshi, Tanzania
Kunming, China
The Koran - It is the literal word of God, directly transmitted to Muhammad who then recited it to his followers - Written in 644-656 CE - It is the focus of traditional Islamic education - Oral recitation is highly valued http://www.jonathantan.org/355/
3. Zakat, poor tax - Purifies one s profits and property - 2.5% of accumulated annual wealth 4. Observance of Sawm, Ramadan - Fasting (no food, no liquids, no injections from dawn until dusk) - Gives Muslims a sense of what it s like being poor and to suffer - Increases compassion - It is a time of renewal - Reminds people of their dependence on God - 9 th month of the lunar calendar
5. Hajj, Pilgrimage to Mecca - 5 day journey by all physically and financially able persons - Once in a person s life HISTORY -2000 BCE/BC -Ishmael (son of Hagar and Abraham) and Hagar were stranded in the desert -Ishmael was dying of thirst -Hagar ran back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwa looking for water when Gabriel (angel) descended and created a fresh water well which was named Zemzem
Muhammad made the first hajj in 630 AD to Mecca when he went to the rock and removed all polytheistic idols and re-dedicated the rock to Allah. http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/index.shtml
Only Muslims are permitted to enter Mecca Entire city is a holy site for Muslims
You are required to dress only in an ihram, a garment consisting of two sheets of white cloth draped over the body Intended to show the equality of all pilgrims in the eyes of Allah
The holiest part of the hajj is the journey to the Kaaba The Kaaba is considered the first sanctuary on Earth dedicated to the worship of the one God spiritually considered by Muslims to be the center of the world In the Masjid al-haram mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia The Kaaba is the building towards which Muslims face 5 times a day, everyday, in prayer must circle the Kaaba 7 times in a counter-clockwise direction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wce4bolbe1k
Pilgrims next travel to visit the city of Medina and the Mosque of the Prophet, where Muhammad is buried
-pilgrims then travel to the city of Mina just outside of Mecca, and participate in the stoning of the devil. -Requires throwing 7 stones at the three pillars at Mina, which represent the devil. -The pillars stand at three spots where Satan is believed to have tempted Abraham to defy God - -After stoning the devil, many pilgrims will then shave their head - -women cut off a lock of their hair, as a symbol of rebirth, to show that their sins have been cleansed by completing the Hajj
Sharia Laws - Primary source: Qur an/koran and Hadith (a book that tells you how Muhammad lived his life) - the path to the oasis - Aim: Build a just and peaceful society - A path to reaching paradise - Interpretations change with time and place but the will of God to have a Sharia law in place doesn t change.
Hadd offenses= sexual intercourse with someone outside of marriage, alcohol consumption, highway robbery, theft, murder PUNISHMENTS OF HADD OFFENSES: - Adultery: Stoning to Death (not written in Koran) -Theft : Amputate Hand - Alcoholism: 80 Lashes - Being alone in the company of an unrelated person of the opposite sex: 80-90 Lashes
Lawalli Isah from Nigeria who was sentenced to have his right hand cut off for stealing 3 bicycles
Not all Islamic countries use Sharia Egypt recognizes Sharia but chooses not to enforce severe Hadd penalties as part of state law. Instead, adultery is often punished with short prison sentences. Parts of Sudan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran are all known to have adopted the Sharia punishment code but still enforce its harshest penalties with varying levels of consistency In 2000, 12 predominantly Muslim northern states in Nigeria adopted Sharia In 2004, the province of Aceh in northwestern Indonesia adopted sharia
What do you think about the charges? What do you think should be allowable forms of punishment for the most severe crimes? Why? Are harsh punishments, such as amputations and death ever justified? Explain. Who should determine what the most serious crimes are and how frequently the most severe punishments should be used? When should individual freedoms (including freedom from harsh punishments as well as intrusions into one's privacy) be protected, regardless of the costs to society? What can you conclude about Sharia and how it compares to the system of law you may be most familiar with, the American system, in terms of flexibility and interpretation?
Islam and Women Single set of rules meant women were treated better in Islamic society than they had been before War meant that women could be widowed. So, men could marry up to 4 women as long as he could treat them EQUALLY Women had rights in decision making and community participation, and property/inheritance. Economic rights as individuals and security (European women didn t gain these rights until the 19 th century)
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear therof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands fathers, their sons, their husbands sons, their brothers, or their brothers sons or their sisters sons, or their women or the servants whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex, and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers, turn you all together towards Allah, that you may attain Bliss. (Quran 24:31). O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go abroad). That will be better, so that they may be recognised and not annoyed. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful. (Quran 33:59)
ISSUE: HEAD SCARF
Veils and headdress existed before Islam (Greece, Persia, Byzantine Christian world, India. Muslims in their first century at first were relaxed about female dress. When the niece of Aishah Bint Abu Bakr (the Prophet s wife), Aisha bint Talha was asked by her husband Musab to veil her face, she answered, "Since the Almighty hath put on me the stamp of beauty, it is my wish that the public should view the beauty and thereby recognized His grace unto them. On no account, therefore, will I veil myself." In the second century, only the wealthy women wore it as a status symbol.
Important to understand that Sharia is DECENTRALIZED (no central authority) so that means Sharia is dependent on the traditions of the country in which Islam was adopted (as it spread). The Qu'ranic prescription to "draw their veils over their bosoms" became interpreted by some as an injunction to veil one's hair, neck and ears. Example: Afghanistan the harsh laws against women are more based on tribal laws than Islam Example: Malaysia their tradition give women important roles so they ignore the law of secluding women
BASIC REASONS FOR WEARING A HIJAB The main principle reason for the hijab is modesty, which is not wishing to receive unnecessary attention from people, such as admiration and flattery Only her husband and close relatives are allowed to see a woman with her hijab off, and it must be inside Otherwise, the woman commits a sin and embarrasses her family Muslim women are required in Islam to cover themselves whenever they are outside of their homes or in the presence men
An Iranian school girl states, "We want to stop men from treating us like sex objects, as they have always done. We want them to ignore our appearance and to be attentive to our personalities and mind. We want them to take us seriously and treat us as equals and not just chase us around for our bodies and physical looks."
Rowaida Abdelaziz, a 17-yr.-old Egyptian girl living in the US http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jzial2ecgy It represents beauty to me. It's not oppression; it's not that I'm accepting degradation -- it's about selfrespect."
Muslim men typically wear an embroidered cap known as a kofia
Men will also sometimes wear a kanzu, a white robe-like outer garment
Sunni-Shia Split Shia are a minority (10-15% of the Muslim population) Shia Sunni Iran, Southern Iraq, Southern Lebanon Saudi Arabia, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan India
Muhammad dies.so who s going to be the leader now? Most of Muhammad s followers wanted the elders of the Muslim community to choose who will be the next leader. A person who is best able to lead the community (Sunni) A smaller group believed that the Prophet s relatives or descendants should become the next leader because they have divine inspiration. (Shia) Shia wanted Ali to become the next leader of Islam. He was married to the Prophet s daughter Fatima.
The Sunni-Shia Split -It s All About Family- Abu Talib Muhammad s Uncle Abu Bakr Friend and Early Convert Khadija (First Wife) Prophet Muhammad Aisha Ali Muhammad s Cousin Fatima
Muhammad s Succession 632- Muhammad dies, leaving no confirmed successor* Disagreement among clans on who will lead the faith- bloodline (Ali) or the one most capable The Ummah (the Islamic community) elects Muhammad s father-in-law (through his wife Aisha) Abu Bakr to lead the faith. He becomes the first Caliph - the leader of the Ummah.
The Rashidun (632-661) The Rule of the Four Righted Guided Caliphs Name Ruled Died Known For Abu Bakr 1st Caliph 632-634 elected Natural causes, appointed his successor Quelled rebellion and united Arabia Umar ibn al- Khattab 2nd Caliph 634-644 appointed Stabbed in a Medina mosque by a POW with a personal grudge. Wars of expansion (power not religion but religion followed) to the greater Middle East Uthman ibn Affan 3rd Caliph 644-656 elected Assassinated by those from the elite of Medina over the rise of status and power of the Umayyad clan. Expanded the empire to North Africa and Central Asia- but with much political cost. Standardized the Qu ran. Ali ibn Abu Talib 4th Caliph/1st Imam 656-661 elected Assassinated by Kharajiites, a group of dissenters to Ali s rule Ruled during the first Fitnah (civil war). His place in history is denoted more for who he was rather than what he did.
The first two caliphs (God s rep on earth) were killed, including Ali. Ali was killed in 661 in Iraq. Violence Sunni Shia Ali s son Hussein became the next caliph. He was decapitated (head chopped off) and the head was taken to the Sunni leader at the time who lived in Damascus (Syria). Buried in Karbalah (Iraq). MARTYR. The Martyrdom of Hussein is celebrated by Shia, this day is called Ashura. http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/12/29/world/1247466318663/ashura-in-afghanistan.html
Shrine of Hussein, Karbala, Iraq
The first 11 imams, led by Ali
Other differences between Sunni and Shia Names of leaders caliphs (deputy, successor to the Prophet) or imams (religious leader) - Shia call their leaders Imams, Ali being the first. The Imams have taken on a divine qualities which the Sunnis view as going against Islam and it is a sin because it is associating human beings with divinity. Prayer Mosques Sunni mosques have domes and minarets, while Shi ites combine their mosques and community centers Sunni mosques also are more conservative, with no pictures as those are considered forms of idolatry, while Shi ite mosques are adorned with pictures of Imam Ali
There are only 4 majority-shi ite countries: Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Bahrain
Violence Sunni Shia Colonialism Bad government decisions Politics (=power) Balance of power Strategic interest: oil
RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE Different interpretation of religious text which leads to sects and to sectarian violence Blaise Pascal: "Men never do evil so cheerfully and so completely as when they do so from religious conviction." Different levels: National, ethnic, family Jihad- Important concept in both Sunni and Shia Islam, signifies a struggle. Two types, the struggle within (which the Qu ran deals mainly with), and the struggle (wars of religion) without. Shia consider the inner Jihad an essential element of the faith.
WAHHABISM - Started in the 18 th Century by Ibn Abd al-wahhab in present day Saudi Arabia to purify the corruption within Islam - Puritanical, extreme, austere, militant form of Sunni Islam - A belief that Islamic practice needed to return to a "purer" interpretation of the religion's fundamental texts - They perceive non-wahhabi Muslims to be sinners or infidels.
The religion of the Wahhabists may be called the Protestantism or even Puritanism of the Muslims. J.H. Burckhardt in 1929 The Wahhabi acknowledges the Quran as a divine revelation; his principle is, The Quran, and nothing but the Quran He reproves the Muslims of this age, for their impious vanity in dress, their luxury in eating and smoking. All of [the Wahhabists] dress in the most simple garments, having neither about their persons, nor their horses, any gold or silver; they abstain from smoking They reject music, singing, dancing, and games of every kind
Wahhabism the guiding ideology behind modern Islamist terrorism Osama bin Laden, who grew up and lived in Saudi Arabia, adheres to this sect
True Muslims: Had to swear absolute loyalty to their imam Follow his teaching in every aspect Join him in armed jihad against all apostates and unbelievers In return, followers were promised the protection of God and were assured of an immediate ascent to heaven if they die as martyrs for Islam
The Old City section of Jerusalem is split up into 4 sections: Christian Jewish Muslim Armenian Muslims, Jews, and Christians each claim the city is their holy site