Islamic World – Study Guide

  1. To live in Arabia’s difficult desert environment, people developed two main ways of life. Nomadic people traveled around the desert with their herds and Sedentary people lived in oases where they could farm.
  1. Why was the Rub al-Khali (an area in the Arabian Peninsula) called the Empty Quarter? It takes up ¼ of the Arabian Peninsula and no one lives there
  1. Name one similarity between the movie Aladdin and the Arabian Peninsula.

The climate, terrain, camels as transportation, the market

  1. Why was the Arabian Peninsula considered a crossroads of the world? Why did that make it a great spot for trade?

It was in between Africa, Asia, and Africa, so it had many trade routes running through it

  1. People in Arabia settled around sources of water called oases
  1. Muhammadwas born into a wealthy family in the city of Mecca, joined the caravan business, and married a woman named Khadijah.
  1. What event happened that made Muslims believe that Muhammad the messenger of Allah?
  1. Muhammad taught that there was only one god, namedallahwhich makes Islam a monotheistic religion. (his teachings make up the basis of the religion of Islam).
  1. Many Arabs practiced polytheistic (worship of many gods) and became upset with Muhammad’s teachings. They threatened to kill him, so Muhammad moved from Mecca to Medina
  1. What other teaching of Islam caused the people of Mecca to be angry with Muhammad?That all people are equal. Because of that, wealthy people should share their money.
  1. After Muhammad died in Medina in 632, the Islamic faith spread
  1. The teachings from Muhammad form the religion called Islam A follower of the Islamic faith is called a Muslim
  1. After Muhammad’s death, his followers collected his teachings into a book known as the Qur’an. It is believed by Muslims to be the exact word of Allah as it was told to Muhammad.
  1. The central teaching of the Qur’an is that there is only one god, named Allah and his prophet (messenger) is Muhammad
  1. The other Islamic book, the Sunnahserves as a guide for Muslims behavior.
  1. The Sunnah uses Muhammad’s life as an example of how to behave.
  1. The Sunnah is based off the hadith - a record of Muhammad’s words and actions.
  1. The 5 Pillars are five acts of worship required of all Muslims. One of these acts requires a hAJJ (journey to a sacred place) to the city of Mecca.
  1. Name one ritual that must be performed during the hajj.

Circling the Kaaba 7 times, drinking from Ishmael’s stream, wearing white, running between the 2 hills where Hagar and Ishmael ran.

  1. Muslims are expected to fast for the entire month of Ramadan They also wash before praying, which they do 5 times a day. Muslims face Mecca when they pray.
  1. How much are Muslims expected to give to charity (a percentage)? ____2.5%__
  1. What caused the split in the Islamic religion?A disagreement about who should be leader
  1. What did each branch believe about who should be leader of the Islamic faith?

Shia:only a blood relative can be leader

Sunni:any devoted Muslim can be leader

  1. Islam spread outside of the Arabian Peninsula into Europe, North Africa, and other parts of Asia. It spread primarily due to cultural diffusion through trade and using their army to conquer other territories.
  1. The Ottoman leader, Mehmedthe Conqueror destroyed the Byzantine Empire using weapons like cannons and kidnapped Christian soldiers
  1. The Ottomans captured Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul They also changed all of the Christian churches into mosques (Muslim churches).
  1. Another ruler of the Ottoman Empire, Suleyman the Magnificentled the Ottoman Empire to their peak of wealth and power, called a Golden Age. He was also a big supporter of arts and architectureand made sure to fill his palace with it. He also worked to spread his religion, Islam.
  1. The most famous leader of the Safavid Empire was the Shah Abbas. They were also Islamic and located in modern day Iran.
  1. By using Cultural Blending the Shah Abbas brought together ideas from many different cultures and led the Safavid Empire into a Golden Age.
  1. Give 2 examples of ideas that Shah Abbas borrowed from other cultures and incorporated into his empire:
  1. How did the Shah Abbas treat people who threatened him?Hurt, killed, injured, gouged eyes out.
  1. The leader of the Mughal Empire, Shah Jahan, wanted to please his wife so he built her a beautiful tomb called the Taj Mahal.
  1. The most famous collection of short stories from the early Islamic World was One Thousand and One Nights What’s an example of a story that comes from that book?
  1. Minarets were used commonly in Islamic architecture. What are they? What was their purpose?Minarets are tall towers that Islamic holy men climb to announce that it’s time to pray.
  1. Muslim art typically uses only patterns instead of people or animals – why?

Muslims believe that only their god can create humans or animals and it goes against their religion if they were to try and create those images.

  1. Calligraphy or decorative writing, is considered very special in the Islamic world because it has been used to write down passages of the Qur’an.

Islamic World – Study Guide

  1. .To live in Arabia’s difficult desert environment, people developed two main ways of life. ______people traveled around the desert with their herds and ______people lived in oases where they could farm.
  1. Why was the Rub al-Khali (an area in the Arabian Peninsula) called the Empty Quarter?
  1. Name one similarity between the movie Aladdin and the Arabian Peninsula.
  1. Why was the Arabian Peninsula considered a crossroads of the world? Why did that make it a great spot for trade?
  1. People in Arabia settled around sources of water called ______.
  1. ______was born into a wealthy family in the city of Mecca, joined the caravan business, and married a woman named Khadijah.
  1. What event happened that Muslims believe made Muhammad the messenger of Allah?
  1. Muhammad taught that there was only one god, named ______which makes Islam a ______religion. (his teachings make up the basis of Islam.)
  1. Many Arabs practiced ______(worship of many gods) and became upset with Muhammad’s teachings. They threatened to kill him, so Muhammad moved from Mecca to ______.
  1. What other teaching of Islam caused the people of Mecca to be angry with Muhammad?
  1. After Muhammad died in Medina in 632, the Islamic faith ______.
  1. The teachings from Muhammad form the religion called ______. A follower of the Islamic faith is called a ______.
  1. After Muhammad’s death, his followers collected his teachings into a book known as the ______. It is believed by Muslims to be the ______words of ______as it was told to Muhammad.
  1. The central teaching of the Qur’an is that there is only one god, named ______and his prophet (messenger) is ______.
  1. The other Islamic book, the ______serves as a guide for Muslims behavior.
  1. The Sunnah uses ______life as an example of how to behave.
  1. The Sunnah is based off the ______- a record of Muhammad’s words and actions.
  1. The ______are five acts of worship required of all Muslims. One of these acts requires a ______(journey to a sacred place) to the city of Mecca.
  1. Name one ritual that must be performed during the hajj.
  1. Muslims are expected to ______for the entire month of ______They also ______before praying, which they do ______times a day. Muslims face ______when they pray.
  1. How much are Muslims expected to give to charity (a percentage)? ______
  1. What caused the split in the Islamic religion?
  1. What did each branch believe about who should be leader of the Islamic faith?

Shia:

Sunni:

  1. Islam spread outside of the Arabian Peninsula into Europe, North Africa, and other parts of Asia. It spread primarily due to ______and ______.
  1. The Ottoman leader, ______destroyed the Byzantine Empire using weapons like ______.
  1. The Ottomans captured Constantinople and renamed it ______.They also changed all of the Christian churches into ______(Muslim churches).
  1. Another ruler of the Ottoman Empire, ______, led the Ottoman Empire to their peak of wealth and power, called a Golden Age. He was also a big supporter of ______and made sure to fill his palace with it. He also worked to spread his religion, ______.
  1. The most famous leader of the Safavid Empire was ______. They were also Islamic and located in modern day Iran.
  1. By using ______the Shah Abbas brought together ideas from many different cultures and led the Safavid Empire into a Golden Age.
  1. Give 2 examples of ideas that Shah Abbas borrowed from other cultures and incorporated into his empire:
  1. How did the Shah Abbas treat people who threatened him?
  1. The leader of the Mughal Empire, Shah Jahan, wanted to please his wife so he built her a beautiful ______called the ______.
  1. The most famous collection of short stories from the early Islamic World was ______What’s an example of a story that comes from that book?
  1. Minarets were used commonly in Islamic architecture. What are they? What was their purpose?
  1. Muslim art typically uses only patterns instead of people or animals – why?
  1. ______or decorative writing, is considered very special in the Islamic world because it has been used to write down passages of the ______..