History of Islam The History of Islam begins in Arabia in the 7th century.

At that time the Arabs followed various polytheistic religions, as well as Judaism, Christianity (including the followers of Nestorius) and Zoroastrianism. Islam was not a new religion. It represented instead a final renewal of the religion of the prophet Abraham (upon mention of whose name Muslims say "peace be upon him") also known within the Quran as Ibrahim. The word "Islam" means submission to Allah (the most high), which is the Arabic word for God. Also, the root word of Islam, "salm", means peace, with the implication that true peace is attained only through submission to the will of God. The word Allah means el-ilah[?] or The God, meaning the One and only Creator. Prophet Muhammad (upon mention of whose name Muslims say "peace be upon him") was born in the year 571 (Christian Era[?], or CE). His father died before his birth, and his mother died at a very early age, so he was raised by his uncle Abu Talib[?]. When he was about 25 years old, Muhammad married a wealthy widow, Khadija, who was 40, and began his career as a trader. Fifteen years later, he experienced his initial prophetic call, while meditating alone inside a cave in the hills above Mecca - a city in the Arabian penninsula now called Saudi Arabia. He had been chosen, like prophets before him, to teach a sacred message. Though marginalized and opposed initially, Muhammad began to gain followers, most of whom came from lower classes and marginalized peasantry. The first wealthy men accepting the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad were Abu Bakr and Umar. As Islam attracted more believers, Muhammad encountered severe opposition by residents of Mecca who felt threatened because Islam undermined the pagan idols around the Ka'aba[?]. The pagan idols around the Ka'aba[?] were important to the residents of Mecca not only for religious reasons, but also for economic reasons. As pilgrims visited the idols in Mecca, they brought economic prosperity to the city, and the fear was that a monotheistic religion would remove this source of prosperity and trade. As Muhammad's opponents in Mecca -- including one of his uncles, Abu Lahab, who was among his worst enemies -- began to organize to bring about an end to his prophecy, Muhammad withdrew with many of his followers to Medina in September of 622 CE. This migration is called the Hijra, and its year is used to establish the Muslim year-count scheme or era; 622 is the year 1 A.H. (Annus Hegirae). The A.H. system dates from the beginning of the lunar year in which the Hijra took place, so it does not neatly coincide with the Julian or Gregorian year numbers. After three major battles and one last battle with Mecca, almost all Arabia fell to Muhammad in 630 and great number of tribes established alliance with the prophet. After Muhammad's death on June 8, 632 CE, Abu Bakr was accepted as caliph, or head of the Islamic state. The next three caliphs were all relatives of the prophet,

but were succeeded by another household of the same Meccan tribe, a change not universally accepted, leading to the major division in Islam between the Sunnites (in the majority) and the Shiites (in the minority). The new household was the first major caliphate dynasty, the Umayyads, who conquered the Sassanian empire (Persia) and the southern Byzantine provinces as far as Spain. See also Ali Ben Abu Talib The majority of this new empire was of course non-Muslim, and aside from a protection tax (jiszya) the conquered people found their religions tolerated. Nonetheless the new religion penetrated deeply, to the point where conversions were discouraged since they might have been motivated by avoiding taxes, rather than true belief, and choosing a religion should override such economic concerns. At the same time the Umayyads had dedicated their prestige to conquering the Byzantine empire, and started running into real opposition from the Orthodox provinces. Thus there was a revolution in 750 CE, and a new dynasty, the Abbasids, took the caliphate, marking the transition to a more settled empire. The political unity of Islam began to disintegrate. The emirates, still recognizing the theoretical leadership of the caliphs, drifted into independence, and a brief revival of control was ended with the establishment of two rival caliphates: the Fatimids in north Africa, and the Umayyads in Spain (the emirs there being descended from an escaped member of that family). Eventually the Abbasids ruled as puppets for the Buwayhid[?] emirs. A series of new invasions swept over the Islamic world. First, the newly converted Seljuk Turks swept across and conquered most of Islamic Asia, hoping to restore orthodox rule and defeat the Fatimids but soon falling prey to political decentralization themselves. After the disastrous defeat of the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert (1071 CE) the west launched a series of Crusades and for a time captured Jerusalem. Saladin however restored unity, defeated the Fatimids and recaptured the city, and later crusades accomplished little other than the looting of Constantinople, leaving the Byzantine empire open to conquest. Meanwhile, though, a second and far more serious invasion had arrived: that of the Mongols, who conquered most territories up to the borders of Egypt, and permanently ended the Abbasid caliphate. Their wanton destruction left the Islamic world damaged and confused. However it reached a new peak under the Ottoman empire, a tiny state in Turkey that conquered the Byzantines and extended its influence over much of the Muslim peoples. In the 18th century there were three great Muslim empires: the Ottoman in Turkey, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean; the Safavid[?] in Iran; and the Mogul in India. By the end of the 19th century, all three had been destroyed or weakened by massive influence of Western civilizations.

Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab (1703-1792) led a religious movement in the east of Arabia that saw itself as purifying Islam. His most important follower was the then leader of the family of ibn Saud, which came with massive funding and political support. This movement is controversial among Muslims, as its adherents claim to follow the Quran and Sunnah while rejecting traditional Islamic scholarship regarding Fiqh. See also: Islamism In the 20th century, following the discovery of oil by Americans in Saudi Arabia, portions of the proceeds have been used to build lavish mosques throughout the world, accompanied by imams[?] that were educated for free in Saudi Arabia, according to the teachings of Wahhab. Following September 11 bombings in America, linked to Wahhabism, Muslims have not only condemned the bombings, but also to reject Wahhabism in favour of the more intellectually rigorous and peaceful traditional scholarship. Dynasties of Islamic Rulers 1. Ummayad - Eastern and Western 2. Abbasid 3. Abbadid 4. Almohad 5. Almoravid[?] 6. Fatimid 7. Safavid

1. Ummayad - Eastern and Western

After the death of Mohammed in 632 AD, the leadership of the new religion, and of the newly united Arab tribes, was taken over by Mohammed's upper-class father-in-law (through his second wife) Abu Bakr. Mohammed left no sons, and in any case there was no tradition of sons taking over in the Arab world. Abu Bakr only lived for two years after becoming Caliph, but he managed to unite the whole Arabian Peninsula under Islam.

There was a rebellion of the Arab tribes after Mohammed's death, which is called the Ridda. With their leader gone, they wanted to go back to being independent. Abu Bakr took an army and succeeded in destroying the Ridda and bringing those Arab tribes back under Islamic control. Almost immediately after becoming the Caliph, or ruler, in 634 AD, the second Caliph Umar led Arab raids into both the Roman and theSassanid empires. Both raids were very successful. The Arabs, who had been doing most of the fighting for the Romans and the Sassanians, knew that neither the Romans nor the Sassanians had good armies anymore. Umar was assassinated in 644 AD, and succeeded by Uthman. Encouraged by these early victories, Uthman and his army organized a real campaign, and by 651 AD they took over most of Western Asia, from the Mediterranean coast to eastern Iran. Uthman was assassinated in 656, and succeeded by Ali, who had a somewhat more radical view of the Islamic faith. Under Ali, the soldiers of the Islamic Empire fought their way through Egypt and North Africa, and although Ali was assassinated in 661, the armies continued and then crossed the Straits of Gibraltar to attack Spain in 710 AD.

A Ribat, or fort, in North Africa

Kairouan,

the

fourth

holy

city

of

Islam,

was

founded

in

the

late

600s

AD.

As the Arabs made their way through North Africa, they built small forts to guard against attack, especially along the coast. These forts are called Ribats. Many of them are still there today. This is one from a small village in Tunisia called Lamta (notice the goats grazing near it).

Another Ribat

After the death of Ali, there was a bitter religious and political struggle between the followers of a more traditional Islamic faith, who were called Sunnis, and the more radical followers of Ali, who were called Shiites (SHE-eye-ts). The Sunnis won, and established the Umayyad dynasty, with its capital at Damascus in Syria.

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

In Jerusalem, the Umayyads built the first major mosque, the Dome of the Rock, on the site of Solomon's Temple (and the place where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac). They began building it in 687 AD and finished it in 691 AD.

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

The Umayyad advance was eventually stopped in several places. In the West, the Romans stopped Islamic attacks against Constantinople in 674-678 and again in 717 AD. The Frank Charles Martel, grandfather of Charlemagne, turned back a series of Islamic raids into France in 732 AD. In the East, the Islamic Empire came up against the Tang Dynasty Chinese, who were also expanding their empire at this time. Though the Arabs won a great battle against the Chinese in 751, near Samarkand in Central Asia, the border stayed about the same from then on.