November 2021

Question 1

What was the political structure of Arabia in the time leading up to Muhammad and what resource was the basis for power?

Answer 1

Tribal structure, based on clans and water rights (wells)

Question 2

Why was there a mix of cultures and ideas in Arabia?

Answer 2

Because of their trade routs that linked the Byzantine Empire to India and Persia

Question 3

What was important about Mecca? What was predominant religion?

Answer 3

Muhammad’s tribal home, religious center and home of the Ka’bah (Abraham’s black stone). Paganism (polytheistic) was the predominant religion.

Question 4

What was Muhammad’s childhood and upbringing like?

Answer 4

He was orphaned by age of 6, then was raised in the Bedouin way of life by his uncle

Question 5

What business did Muhammad go into and whom did he marry?

Answer 5

trade; he married his boss

Question 6

What was his repuation?

Answer 6

Peacemaker, negotiator, and “loaner”`

Question 7

What message did the angel, Gabriel, give to Muhammad?

Answer 7

there is no god but God (aka Allah)

Question 8

What does prophet mean and according to Islam, who was the last Prophet?

Answer 8

Means messenger, Muhammad was the Last Prophet.

Question 9

What does Islam mean? Before Muhammad, to whom was it revealed?

Answer 9

“Submission to God”; revealed to the prophets of Christianity and Judaism

Question 10

How did Muhammad see Muslims in relationships to Christians and Jews?

Answer 10

They were all “People of the Book”, but Islam was the final revelation

Question 11

What are the Five Pillars of Faith? (names and descriptions)

Answer 11

Shahadah: profession of faith (know word)
Salat: ritual prayer that occurs 5 times a day towards Mecca
Zakah: charity
Sawm: fasting during Ramadan
Hajj: the pilgrimage to Mecca

Question 12

What made Islam attractive to the people of Arabia?

Answer 12

It promised equality between people, rewards in death, and a righteous way of life

Question 13

How were the people “won over” to Islam?

Answer 13

First by the message, then overcoming military odds, then “by the sword” (conquest)

Question 14

What year begins the Muslim calendar? What event started it off?

Answer 14

CE 622, “The hijrah” journey to Medina (hijrah NOT capitallized)

Question 15

What was important about the Ka’aba and what did Muhammad change about it?

Answer 15

It was a sacred place believed to have been founded by Abraham. Home of the “black stone” and relics and idols of 300+ gods. Muhammad smashed them all and rededicated the site to Allah.

Question 16

What common people faced the new religion when Muhammad dies?

Answer 16

The problem of succession; should the next leader be political or spiritual?

Question 17

What does caliph mean?

Answer 17

Successor

Question 18

What does the Arabic word for conquest mean?

Answer 18

openings

Question 19

How come the spread of Islam was so fast and so successful?

Answer 19

They faced weak opponents, were swept up in jihad (war against oppression), and had religious tolerance

Question 20

Who were the Sunnis and which leader did they follow?

Answer 20

Sect believed in the legitimacy of the first four caliphs, elected based on talent. (80% of Muslims today) Mu’Awiya, governor of Syria

Question 21

Who were the Shi’a and which leader did they follow?

Answer 21

Minority sect that believed leadership should stay within Muhammad’s family, led by Ali, cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad

Question 22

Which side spilled blood first? (Sunnis or Shi’a)

Answer 22

The Sunnis when Uthman was murdered in a mosque by Egyptian rebels

Question 23

What is the way-cool advantage of conquest in the way of short-term gains?

Answer 23

it gets u rich quick

Question 24

What is the long-range disadvantage and how do governments make up for it?

Answer 24

You get used to riches then need to keep it up by taxing more.

Question 25

What was the “problem” with the Umayyad tax system?

Answer 25

It favored Muslim Arabs by charging converts more and the non-converted (conquered) even more

Question 26

How long did the Umayyads rule and what was their capital city?

Answer 26

90 years, Damascus

Question 27

Where did the Umayyads continue their rule?

Answer 27

Al-Andaus (Spain)

Question 28

How long did the Abbasids rule and what was their capitol city?

Answer 28

500 years, Baghdad

Question 29

Once the Abbasids were in control, what did the powerful caliphs do that Muhammad might have objected?

Answer 29

Lived lavishly and promoted their own family members

Question 30

How far north did Islam spread and who prevented it from spreading further north

Answer 30

Into Europe: Al-Andaus (Spain) & Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours

Question 31

What are the main features of a mosque and how is it oriented?

Answer 31

Minarets (towers), mihrab (niche), minbar (pulpit), prayer hall, and Quibla (direction of Mecca)

Question 32

The Qur’an only exists in what language?

Answer 32

Arabic; all others are just “translations”

Question 33

Unlike the Christian West, what was not considered a threat to Islam?

Answer 33

Science and questioning things

Question 34

What innovation that came from China exploded the spread of knowlodge in the Muslim world?

Answer 34

PaPeR!!!

Question 35

What European movement had its roots in the scholarly world of Baghdad and where did the knowledge come from?

Answer 35

The Renaissance, from classical (Greek/Roman) learning

Question 36

What standard did the Islamic world give to scientific study?

Answer 36

the scientific process

Question 37

What is Islamic law called and what is it based on?

Answer 37

the Shari’ah

Question 38

How were Christians and Jews treated in Muslim Spain and elsewhere in the Islamic World?

Answer 38

Pretty well. They prospered living side by side and their scholarship was welcomed as “People of the Book”

Question 39

What advantage did merchants have under Umayyads and Abbasids?

Answer 39

high status and freedom to trade without borders

Question 40

What does jihad refer to?

Answer 40

a spiritual struggle, sometime physical, sometimes mental

Question 41

What two artistic forms are special to Islamic cultures?

Answer 41

Arabesque designs and Arabic calligraphy