3.2 The rise of Islam - P -

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• Middelbare school
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• Leerjaar 1

AGE 3: The Time of Monks and Knights

3.2 The rise of Islam

500 - 1000 AD

What is this lesson about?

At the beginning of the seventh century, the Arab Muhammed established a new religion, Islam. He and his successors created a large empire stretching from India to Spain. Jews and Christians were allowed to live peacefully in this Arab Empire.

What you can explain /  do after this lesson

• how Islam was established by Muhammad and his followers
• how Islam spread through North Africa and parts of Europe
• what the difference is between the Christian and Islamic calendar
• explain why Christians and Jews were treated favorably by Muslims

Important dates in this lesson:

570: Muhammad is born

622: Muhammad's flight to Medina

630: Muhammad conquers Mecca

632: Muhammad dies

732: Battle of Poitiers

Word Duty

Bedouins -  nomadic tribes that lived in Arabia

Muhammed - the prophet and, according to Muslims, messenger of God, who laid the foundations for the Islamic religion.

Revelations - visions or other forms of communication recieved from a god.

Quran - the book that contains all the revelations Muhammed recieved from God.

Prophet - Messenger from God.

Islam - monotheistic religion started by Muhammed in the seventh century

Muslims - the followers of Muhammed, who believed in one God only;  Allah

Hijarah - the journey of Muhammed and his followers from Mecca to Medina.

Ummah - community of Muslims

Jihad - Islamic struggle for God

Caliph - political and religious leader of the Ummah

heathen: someone who does not believe in the God of Christians, Jews, or Muslims.

KEY WORDS

In this lesson:

• The Arabian peninsula was a cross road of trade routes
• Before Islam, the Arabic people were polytheistic. Mecca was the religious center, ruled by the Quraysh.
• Muhammad was a prophet. He opposed the Quraysh
• 622: Hijrah: Muhammad's flight to Medina
• In 630 Muhammad defeated the Quraysh. Only Allah was now worshipped in Mecca.
• After Muhammad's death his successors were called caliphs.
• Caliphs expanded Islam across the Middle East and north Africa.
• In 732 Charles Martel stopped the Islam advance into France.
• Islam was tolerant towards Christians and Jews.

Nomadic tribes called Bedouins had lived in Arab lands for centuries. These tribes robbed one another and lived in a constant state of war. What united them in the seventh century? And what enabled them to establish an empire that stretched from India to Spain?

Geography and people of Arabia

• The Arabian Peninsula has been inhabited for 15.000 years > Bedouins, living in tribes, utilized fertile areas within the desert to raise livestock like sheep, goats, and camels. 

• Merchants played a significant role in trade between Asia, Africa, and Europe = utilizing desert routes for caravans.
• Settlements emerged at these intersections, attracting craftsmen and merchants, leading to the establishment of towns and cities like Mecca and Medina.

source 2.8.4

The Pont du Gard is a famous Roman Aquaduct in the south of France, The Roman baths in Bath, in the south of present-day England, were constructed in the 2nd century AD. First elements (temple) were created between 60 and 70 AD.

3.2.1

Some Bedouins today make their living by giving desert tours [Wojtek Arciszewski/Al Jazeera]

3.2.2

modern map of the Arab trade routes in the 6th century AD

Muhammad and the beginning of Islam

Around 570 AD, a man called Muhammad (pbuh) was born in Mecca > Aged around forty, Muhammad (pbuh) claimed that he received revelations from God. His revelations were recorded in the Quran.

• Muhammad (pbuh) was a prophet: a messenger from God. His main message was that there was only one God called Allah. 
• The Quraysh, managers of the Ka'aba in Mecca, resisted his monotheistic teachings , seeing Islam as a threat to their wealth due to the pilgrim trade centered around the Ka'aba.

In 622 AD, life in Mecca became too dangerous for Muhammad (pbuh). Together with his followers, the Muslims, he fled to a city called Medina. 

This key event is known as the Hijrah. The year of the Hijrah represents the first year of the Islamic calendar and the creation of the Muslim community, the Ummah.

3.2.3

An early version of the Quran, made out of papyrus from the 7th century.

The Islamic calendar is different from the Christian calendar that is commonly used in the West. In western literature, ‘AH’ is used to refer to the Islamic counting of years. AH is short for the Latin phrase ‘Anno Hegirae’, which means: ‘of the Year of the Hijra’. The Islamic year consists of 12 lunar months and is about 11 days shorter than the Christian year.

Struggles and spread of Islam

In Medina, Muhammad (pbuh) turned into a political leader > He resolved tribal conflicts in Medina, gaining acceptance as a leader and expanding the Ummah.

• In Medina, threats from the Quraysh led Muhammad to adopt a military role alongside his positions as a prophet and political leader. 

• By 630 AD, Muhammad and his followers conquered Mecca, removing statues from the Ka'aba, establishing the worship of Allah alone.

The struggle for God, the jihad, continued. Many tribes joined the Ummah. When Muhammad died in 632 AD, nearly all Arab tribes had recognised him as their leader.

3.2.4

The Kaaba ("The Cube") is a building at the center of Islam's most important mosque, Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām, (The Sacred Mosque), in the city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. It is the most sacred site in Islam.

5. A lot of Muslims argue that it is forbidden to make statues
or images showing Muhammad.
Can you argue why Muhammad did not want people
to make statues and images of him?

From Medina to India and Spain

• After Muhammad (pbuh) passed away, a new leader, called the caliph, was chosen > Both the political and religious leader of the Ummah

• The Islam expanded by focusing the jihad outside Arabia, taking over parts of Iraq, Syria, and Egypt in just ten years. 

Was there no one who could stop the advancing Muslim armies? 

• King Charles Martel of the Franks stopped the Muslims at Poitiers (France) in 732. Muslims were also disappointed they couldn't capture Constantinople, despite taking over much of the Eastern Roman Empire.

3.2.5

modern map of the spread of Islam

3.2.6

modern book aboiut the Battle of Poitier between the Muslims and the Franks

Jews and Christians

• The Muslims' arrival benefited Jews and Christians > they could continue practicing their religions due to their similarities with Islam. 
• All three religions were monotheistic and Muslims also believed in many of their prophets, including Jesus. 
• However, heathens faced a stark choice: convert to Islam or face death.

Were Jews and Christians were treated equally to the Muslims? No. There were many unfavourable rules: 

1. they had to pay taxes to the Muslim leaders, 
2. were not allowed to carry weapons, 
3. marry a Muslim woman 
4. or carry out certain jobs.

The Arab Empire's rapid expansion halted in the eighth century. Muslims turned to trade and peaceful dialogue to connect with those outside the Ummah.

3.2.7

The Dome of the Rock was built on the Mount Temple in Jerusalem in the 7th century. The Mount Temple is an important place for Jews, Christians and Muslims. Abraham (‘Ibrahim’ in Arabic), a patriarch in all three religions, was supposed to have offered one of his sons to God here.

You have finished with this lesson, meaning:
- You have read the texts
- You have made the summary
- You have done the practise questions.
Are you well prepared for a quiz / test or do you need extra help?

If you still need help, if something is not clear, you can ask your question here.

congratulations