Todays Muslims are branded as terrorists or fudamentalist. But their religion is
a gentle religion. On the Arabian Penninsula, home of the Arabs, was isolated
and they were able to develop their civilization without outside influences. It
is about 1 million miles square, that is located between the Red sea and the
Persian Gulf. There are two distinctive regions. The first has well-watered
valleys between mountains and the second is arid plains and desert. Grass grows
quickly during the showes of the rainy season. In ancient times the Arabs were
bedouin (nomads that hersed sheep, goats, and camels. and lived in tents made
made of felt from camel or goat hair.) They ate fresh or dried dates and drank
milk from their herds. On special occasions they ate mutlon. their tribes were
made of related families. They valued family ties becuase because they ensured
they ensured protection and survival. They had a chief (sheikh). The sheikh
ruled as long as the tribe allowed him. They had a counsil of elders. There was
warfare over waterholes and pastures. Their way of punishment is an eye for sn
eye and a tooth for a tooth. To improve warrior skills they had camel and horse.
They had story telling in frount of the campfire. They had poetry about battles,
desert, camels, horses, and love. In 500 A.D. they started a town called Makkah,
which was fifty miles inland of the Red sea. Trade was mostly of animal producys
for weopeans dates grains, spices, jewels ivory, silk, and perfumes. They had
caravans travel there from as for china. Arabs had and worshipped many ditied
business ties were replaceing family ties, and old tribal laws were not adequat
Byzantine and the Persin armies were threatining to conquer them. The tribes had
the some language but they had no central goverment, or sense of unity, The
Arabs searched for new beliefs. The prohet of Islam was muhammad. He was born in
Makkah in 570 A. D. . He was orphaned at an early age and was adopted by his
uncle. He worked as a carovan leader on a trade route. He was know to be honest
and able. His employer khadij'a ,a weakthy window if age 40, put him in charge
of this business and proposed marriage to him. He went to a cave outside the
city in 610 A.D. to pray and fast reveloution (vision) there. He was told to
recite. "Recite in the name of your lord, the creator who created man from
clots of blood. Rwcite! Your lord os the most bountiful one who by the pen has
taught mankind things they didn't know.'' His second vision to rise and worn
people. In 613 A.D. he preached to his family and friends that there was one
god. And all that belived in him are equal.The rich shared with poor lots of the
converts were poor. The rich merchants and the religious leaders did not
like,Mushamad and the Muslims were persecuated. After some theats on his life in
632 A.D. he sent 60 families to Yathrib.And then follewes them in secret(Known
then as the Hjrah immirgration). 622 A.D. os know on the Musslim calandar as the
frist year. Muhamad became the rules of Yathris then it was called Medinch
al-Neb orMadinah ''the city of the priphet.''The Madinch Compact of 624 A.D. was
the foundation of Islanie state. Muhamad was the Judge and commander in chief.
Quxan was their bible of Ialam. They extended proection, to Jews and christiand
who accepted Islams political authoriyt. Makkems invaded Yathrib,and the Muslims
fought in self defense.The Makkans were defeated. And the Muslims won support of
the Arab groups outside of Madinsh. They later invaded Makkah and hod little
resistance.They accepted Islamic Religion and Muhammad. Islanic Religion and
Muhammed. They destroyed idols, and turned the shrine of prohet Abraham into a
place of worship. Makkah was the spiritual capital and Mdinth into the political
capital. In 631 A.D. the Arabian Peninsula was supported by an army representing
each of the Arab tribes. Muhammad later died at Madinah in 632 A.D. Beliefs The
Quran was the divine messages from God over a peroid of 22 years. It was written
down or memorized that was compiled into a written collection(Quran). is the
final matters of faith and lifestyles. It was written in Arabic. It is stories,
teachings, and exhorations of what is written in the Bible. Values Basic Moral
values in the Quran are similar to Christanity and Judasim.Murder, lying,
stesling and adultury are condemened.Honor parents, protect wideous and orphans,
show kindness to neighoors and give maney to the poor. They weren't allowed to
eat pork. drink alchol; gambaling. They have rules for marriage, disorce, family
life businss prastices, and property inheritences. Law is not seperated from
religion. There is no rated in order of clergy. Sharii' ah organization moral
principles into a body of law. Based on Quren and Hadith ( sayings of Muhammad)
covered all aspects of Muslism private and public lifes. Five pillars of Islam
faith Confessions of faith: "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the
messenger of God." All Muslisms are requiered to submit to god's will as
given in the Quran. Muhhammad role is stress in the Confession, that he is just
the messenger and not devine.. Musliums think that he is the last and the
greatest of the Prophets. They see life as a preparation of Judgement Day. And
when they rise from the grave, they will be judge dor their actions( heaven or
hell). allah is also the god of the Jews, christans, Adam , Abraham, Moses, and
Jeuses. They are all given c onsider to be prophets. Musliums have great respect
for the Bible, Judasim, and Christianity. They believe that the Arabs rea
decendents of Ishmauel, son of Abraham. Prayer: They pray five times a day
sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening facing Makkah using the same motion
and words. They kneel, bow, and touch their foreheads to the ground (sign of
submission). They pray no matter what. Friday at noon in a mosque( shrine,
court, school, and shelter). Imam(leader of the prayer) can be any male with the
proper religous training. Alms are chartity done privately and a state tax.
Fasting: Is in the month of Ramadan ( the ninth month of the Ariabian
calander).They can not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. After the fasting
they have a three day feast. Children, sick and pregant women are excempt.
Cannon sounds for the prayers. Pilgemage- (Haji) everyone goes to Makkah at
least once in their life. Once they go they are honored in their community. Haji
is two months and ten days after Ramadum fast. They have three days of ceremony,
prayer, and sacrifice. Now they worship at Kaaba, Nakkah, and madinah. It is a
visible expression of unity and an expression of ideas. Role of Women "Men
are responsible for women". Womens postion is largely defined by her
relationship with her male relatives and Husbends. They stopped the tribusl
killing of baby girls. They limited polygamy down to 4 wives. But they had to be
equal to each other. Women had control over her own property and she could
inhert property from her father and remarry. Their lives are invested into the
family and household. Muisana the wife of Mu'awiyat wrote: " The coarse
cloth woven in serenity of the desert Is more precious to me then lucuries robes
of a Queen I love the bedouins tent, caressed by the murmuring breeze and
standing amid boundless horizons, More than the glided halls of marble in their
royal splender. I feel more at ease with my simple crust than with the delicies
of the court; I prefer to rise early with the caravan Rather than to be inthe
golden glare of the sumptous escourt. The barking of the a watchdog keeping away
strangers Pleases me more than the sounds of the trbourine played by court
singers; I prefer a desert cavlier, generous and poor To a fat lout inn purple
living behind closed doors." -Najib Ullah, Islamic literature Men Men were
active in politics, army, bussiness, and fields. They went to the bath houses
for relaxation and to work out. Boys entered school at age seven. They take
writing and reading. Which are Arab admires. They went to Madrasa (
theroloigical school) after they finished regular school. Houses They are plain
with very little furnture. They used carpets, small objects of art, and pillows.
They sat on the rug and used pillows to lean on. During meals household members
sit in a circle and ate from large trays of bread, fruits, and meats. Islamics
Trade spices, textiles, glass, and carpets. Men met in bazaars ( market places)
to converse and business. food was difficult to grow in alot of Islamic country.
They Irragated, rotated, and fertilized land. Large landowners who owned the
more productive got grants from the goverment. they hire nearby farmers to help.
They produced wheat, rice, beans, cucumbers, celery and perfume. Islamic
scientest translate the scintfic books into Arbaic. They invented algebraand
equations to define curves and lines. Their work in geometry lead to invention
of trigometry. They accuratly predicted the solar eclipses. they accuratly
measured the circumfrence and size. they were unmatched until the 1990's. They
produce the most accurate maps of the eatern Hemesphere. They developed alchemy,
the branch of science that try to convert iron into gold. al-Ruiz classfied
chemical subsyances into animal, plant or mineral. He wrote a medical
encyclepida and a handbook that told the differences betwees small poxs and
measles. Their knowledge of medicine was centuries ahead of the rest of the
world.

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