Chapter 8 - The Rise of Islam

     Mecca, a west Arabian city, was the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad. Currently, the Ka'ba shrine

The Ka'ba shrine in Mecca.

is there, and it is a common pilgrimage site for Muslims. It is said to be the site where Abraham (who also goes by Avraham) was said to have almost sacrificed his son Isaac (Islam believes it to have been his other son, Ishmael - they were brothers who didn't get along very well. Isaac became the forefather of Judaism, and Ishmael became the forefather of Islam.) . The prophet Muhammad was said to have spoken to the Archangel Gabriel, who enlightened him about the true god, Allah. Earlier peoples believed in jinns (desert spirits) and shaitans (demons), but Muhammad preached about one god. Hos words were collected upon his death and turned into the Qur'an.
     Muhammad fled to the city of Medina when people began to dislike him, and formed an umma (an Islamic community). He eventually led a revolt and was given back his place in Medina. When he died, a caliph (a successor) was named to take control of his followers.
     There are five central "pillars" of Islam that are still followed to this day:

1.  Acknowledging one god (Allah).
2. Praying five times a day.
3. Fasting during Ramadan.
4. Giving to the poor.
5. Making a trip to Mecca at least once (called a hajj).

     A civil war over who was to become the caliph split the Islamic community in half - the Sunnis and the Shi'ites. This formed the Umayyid Caliphate, the first dynasty of rulers.
     The second caliph, Umar, took control of Syria and Egypt and invaded India and Anatolia. He prohibited Arabs from owning conquered land, and therefore,m was pretty popular with the conquered peoples. He was overthrown by the Abbasid Calpihate, who claimed to be descendants of Muhammad's uncle. They ruled from Baghdad and were eventually overthrown by Mongol invaders.
     The Abbasids adopted Persian customs and became more cosmopolitan (*Author's note: I know we all hate that word, but it is still a good descriptor of the empire.*) in a process called Persianization. This is around the time when 1,001 Arabian Nights was written, along with other works of literature. The empire declined as conversion to Islam sped up, possibly because of an expanding empire.
     In the ninth century, mamluks, Turkish military slaves, were not paid properly, so they started a rebellion and took over the government. A people known as the Buyids conquered the area, and left the caliph in control (but only as a puppet for their interests).
     The Fatimid dynasty was established in Tunisia and went on to conquer Egypt. They established Cairo and took independence from the rest of North Africa. Islam also rose in Spain, creating important cities such as Toledo, Cordoba and Seville. Several important religious scholars, like Judah Halevi and Maimonides (Judaism) and Ibns Hazm, Rushd, and Tufyal (Islam) studied in Islamic Spain. The Islamic religious scholars were called ulma, and they studied in madrasas (religious colleges - the Judaic equivalent is a yeshiva, if that helps any of you understand).
     The Turks took the land stretching from Afghanistan to Baghdad and caused a population decline there (as well as in Mesopotamia), eventually encountering and taking over the Fatimid Empire. The Christian Crusades took over Jerusalem in 1099. Mongol invasions destroyed the Abbasid Empire's land. Overall, this was a time of destruction.
     In Muslim society, the Qur'an and hadith (words of Muhammad) were studied and written into law (called Shariah law). Conversion to Islam was easy, and often included moving into Islamic communities. Cities grew at this time in Muslim areas (Nishapur, Kufa and Basra) and shrank in Christian and Jewish areas (Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria).
     Astronomy became popular and mystic groups (called Sufi Brotherhoods) were formed. Women's rights declined, but they were treated better than their Christian counterparts (largely because they could get some inheritance from their fathers). Homosexuality was seen as bad, and slaves could be taken (though not if they were Jewish, Christian, Muslim or Zoroastrian - called "People of the Book", since they all had religious texts. This was only allowed if they were prisoners of war.).
    

     Author's note: A lot of the material in this chapter and in previous chapters has been about religion. If anyone needs help understanding it or relating it to what they believe, please let me know & I'll do my best to help you.