CHAPTER 7—FERMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST: THE RISE OF ISLAM
1. How did the founding of Islam compare and contrast with that of the other major monotheistic religions?
2. What were the wider conditions in the Middle Eastern region during the time of Muhamad's birth and youth? How had conditions changed by the late 7th century?
3. What are the basic beliefs of the Islamic religion? To what degree are they reflective of the experiences of Muhammad and the culture of Arabian society in this time? Why do you think as you do?
4. To what degree do the beliefs of Islam, distinct from other aspects of Arab culture between 500 and 650 C.E. appear to have motivated Muslims to expand the territory under their control? How does the evidence, as you see it, lead you to that result?
5. Discuss the different meanings of the word 'jihad' as defined by the Qur'an and modern-day usage.
6. With the help of a map, describe the spread of Islam from the 7th through the 9th centuries and identify the regions in which Islam still dominates today.
7. Compare and contrast the origins and achievements of the Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid regimes.
8. How did Turks, Christians, and Mongols influence the course of Islamic civilization?
9. How did the spread of Islam, and the challenges faced by the need to choose successors to Muhammad, affect the political structure of the Muslim world?
10. How are the periods of the 'Reconquista' and 'Moorish Rule' in Spain evaluated by historians today, and how did this view differ in the past?
11. Discuss Islam as a preserver and a conduit of the culture and intellectual heritage of Greco-Roman civilization.
12. Consider the relative contributions of Arab, Turk, and Persian to Islamic literature, art, and architecture.
13. Compare and contrast Abbasid civilization under Harun al-Rashid with Frankish civilization at the time of Charlemagne. What were the differences, and what were the similarities, if any?
SHORT ANSWER
Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
14. Muhammad
15. Allah
16. Bedouin
17. sheikh
18. majlis
19. Ka'aba
20. Mecca
21. Gabriel
22. Islam
23. Muslim
24. Koran/Qur'an
25. 114 suras
26. Hegira
27. Yathrib/Medina
28. umma
29. Five Pillars of Islam
30. Ramadan
31. ulama
32. Shari'a
33. Hadith
34. caliph/khalifa
35. imam
36. Ali and Abu Bakr
37. jihad
38. Mu'awiya and Umayyad Caliphate and Damascus
39. Shi'ites and Sunnis
40. Abu al-Abbas and the Abbasid Caliphate and Baghdad
41. Harun al-Rashid
42. diwan and vizier
43. Fatimids and Cairo
44. Seljuk Turks
45. sultan
46. Saladin
47. Hasan al-Sabahh and "assassins"
48. Mongols
49. Genghis Kahn, Khubilai Kahn, and Helegu
50. Andalusia/al Andaluz
51. Almoravids and the battle of Badajoz
52. "fleets of the desert"
53. Ibn Rushd/Averroës and Ibn Sina/Avicenna
54. al-jebr
55. Ferdowzi's The Book of Kings
56. Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat
57. The Arabian Nights
58. Sadi's Rose Garden
59. Sufism and Rumi
60. Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock
61. the Mosque of Cordoba and the Alhambra
62. mihrab and the muezzin
63. Charles Martel
64. Abbasid Caliphate
65. Great Mosque of Samara
66. Berenike
67. Ibn Battuta
68. Calligraphy
69. Camel
MULTIPLE CHOICE
70. The ruling member of a Bedouin tribe was called the
a.
majlis.
b.
jihad.
c.
sheikh.
d.
Ka'aba.
e.
imam.
ANS: C REF: p. 169
71. The council of elders of the Arabian Bedouin tribes was called the
a.
majlis.
b.
jihad.
c.
sheikh.
d.
Ka'aba.
e.
iman.
ANS: A REF: p. 169
72. The Ka'aba
a.
was a group of sacred stones revered by the Bedouin tribes, each of which possessed one.
b.
was the shrine in Mecca containing a large black meteorite.
c.
represented the monotheism of the Bedouins.
d.
was Allah's representative Arab priesthood.
e.
was the male initiation ceremony when one formally became an adult.
ANS: B REF: p. 169
73. Muhammad began the solitary meditations during which he received the revelations underlying Islam because of
a.
a dispute with his wife.
b.
his desire to expand his knowledge of the message of Allah.
c.
the difficulties created in his mind by the corrupt and decadent society of his day.
d.
the call of the angel Gabriel.
e.
his desire to convert the people of Mecca to Islam.
ANS: C REF: p. 169
74. The Koran or Qur'an
a.
is the book containing the holy scriptures of Zoroastrianism.
b.
contained the guidelines by which a Hindu was to live.
c.
was derived from the revelations of Muhammad.
d.
means, literally, "acceptance."
e.
was first written in 776 C.E.
ANS: C REF: p. 168
75. The city to which Muhammad went to in 622, a journey known as the Hijrah, was
a.
Mecca.
b.
Medina.
c.
Jerusalem.
d.
Riyad.
e.
Damascus.
ANS: B REF: p. 170
76. What does the 'Hajj' refer to?
a.
a pilgrimage to Mecca
b.
Ka'aba in Mecca
c.
contents of the Ka'aba
d.
Muslim leader or caliph
e.
religious war
ANS: A REF: p. 170
77. Regarding women's modesty the Qur'an stipulates
a.
full-body veils.
b.
facial veils only.
c.
veiling and seclusion for upper-class women.
d.
veiling on special religious holidays.
e.
None of the above.
ANS: E REF: p. 173
78. Islam is
a.
polytheistic.
b.
monotheistic.
c.
polyandrous.
d.
divinistic.
e.
secularist.
ANS: B REF: p. 170
79. According to Islamic belief
a.
Muhammad created the concept of Allah.
b.
Allah sent not his first but his final message through Muhammad.
c.
the teachings of Jesus and Moses are incorrect and immoral.
d.
Allah ordained that Muhammad was a subordinate God.
e.
there is no afterlife for the individual.
ANS: B REF: p. 170
80. In addition to being Islam's sacred book, the Koran
a.
is composed, in part, of the Christian New Testament.
b.
also provides the ethical foundation for life.
c.
provides a systematized body of illegal tenets and theories of political procedures.
d.
took oral shape before the writing of the Christian bible.
e.
was written down by Muhammad's two sons.
ANS: B REF: p. 170
81. Which of the following is not one of the Five Pillars of Islam?
a.
prayer.
b.
fasting during Ramadan.
c.
pilgrimage to Medina.
d.
belief in Allah and Muhammad as his Prophet.
e.
giving alms to the poor.
ANS: C REF: p. 171-172
82. The Hadith and Shari'a
a.
were adopted, respectively, from Jewish and Christian writings.
b.
were the "Pillars of Islam."
c.
were, respectively, a collection of Muhammad's sayings and a law code.
d.
were, respectively, a law code and a marriage manual for Muslims.
e.
was a military manual to be used in war against the Western Crusaders.
ANS: C REF: p. 172
83. Caliph (or khalifa) literally means
a.
prophet.
b.
judge.
c.
warrior.
d.
successor.
e.
religious lawyer.
ANS: D REF: p. 172
84. In regard to acceptable behavior for a Muslim, it can be said that
a.
all men were permitted to have no more than four wives.
b.
extramarital sexual activities were permitted.
c.
rules concerning sexual behavior were quite liberal.
d.
the consumption of pork and alcohol were permitted in limited quantities.
e.
Muslim priests must be celibate.
ANS: A REF: p. 172
85. The theoretical purpose of the jihad was to
a.
maintain peak military readiness.
b.
wage holy war against all other Muslims on the Arabian peninsula.
c.
broaden Muslim hegemony throughout Africa and Europe.
d.
strive in the way of the Lord.
e.
massacre all Jews and Christians.
ANS: D REF: p. 173
86. Which of the following empires experienced defeats at the hands of the seventh-century Arab armies?
a.
Carolingian.
b.
Byzantine
c.
Mauryan
d.
Fatimid
e.
Mongol
ANS: B REF: p. 174
87. The Persian empire which experienced defeats at the hands of the Arab armies was the
a.
Sassanid.
b.
Umayyad.
c.
Abbasid.
d.
Fatimid.
e.
Mongol.
ANS: A REF: p. 174
88. The term and position of caliph (khalifa)
a.
is equivalent to that of a shaman in New Kingdom Egypt.
b.
had no political aspect, as it was a priestly office.
c.
was adopted from Byzantine Christianity.
d.
referred to the individual who was the temporal successor of Muhammad and who also was considered to be an imam.
e.
was abolished with the death of Muhammad.
ANS: D REF: p. 172
89. Muhammad was
a.
a Bedouin sheikh until his "arranged" marriage to a wealthy woman.
b.
the son, ironically, of a Christian father and a Jewish mother.
c.
not widely accepted for many years after he announced his religious revelations.
d.
a peasant farmer before he married his wealthy employer.
e.
originally considered to be an angel by his followers.
ANS: C REF: p. 170
90. Muhammad's teachings
a.
stressed that Islam was not just a religion but also a way of life.
b.
required all Muslims to follow the Six Suras and the Seven Pillars.
c.
accepted polygyny, but permitted men to take only one wife.
d.
were entirely theological with almost no ethical nor moral aspects.
e.
were propagated in Greek to make them more understandable in the non-Arab world.
ANS: A REF: p. 171
91. Under the Umayyad Dynasty
a.
Ethiopia became an Islamic state.
b.
the Islamic Arab empire expanded enormously.
c.
Iraqi Shi'ite and Sunnite forces became united.
d.
internal authority was strengthened by the propriety of the caliphs' behavior.
e.
Constantinople was captured in 711.
ANS: B REF: p. 174
92. Under the Abbasid Dynasty
a.
Damascus became the Islamic capital and non-Arab Muslims became more directly involved in the life of the empire.
b.
Greek influence became stronger and the Muslim Empire oversaw a vast region that produced great economic prosperity.
c.
internal decay, over time, caused Islamic division.
d.
there was a severe cultural decline.
e.
there was a revival of Zoroastrianism.
ANS: C REF: p. 177-178
93. The capital of the Abbasid empire was
a.
Damascus.
b.
Persepolis.
c.
Tehran.
d.
Baghdad.
e.
Mecca.
ANS: D REF: p. 177
94. The caliphate that is often described as the Abbasid "Golden Age" was the reign of
a.
Muhammad Ali.
b.
Harun al-Rashid.
c.
Abu Bakr.
d.
Kabia al-Kahn.
e.
Kadija al-Farabi.
ANS: B REF: p. 176
95. The great mosque of Samara was located in
a.
Mecca
b.
Medina
c.
Baghdad
d.
Damascus
e.
Alexandria
ANS: C REF: p. 177
96. Which city became the capital of the Ottoman empire?
a.
Constantinople
b.
Mecca
c.
Damascus
d.
Baghdad
e.
Alexandira
ANS: A REF: p. 178
97. The Shi'ite capital at Cairo was established under the dynasty of the
a.
Umayyads.
b.
Abbasids.
c.
Fatimids.
d.
Seljuk Turks.
e.
Golden Horde.
ANS: C REF: p. 178
98. Which of the following had the most impact on the Islamic world? The
a.
Christian Crusades
b.
Mongols
c.
Turks
d.
Alexander the Great
e.
the Romans
ANS: A REF: p. 179-180
99. The Seljuk Turks
a.
provoked the Byzantine request for European aid that led to the Crusades.
b.
brought a permanent halt to the conflict between the Sunnites and the Shi'ites.
c.
temporarily abandoned the guidelines of the Koran as a means to reconcile the Byzantines to Turkish rule.
d.
conquered Constantinople in 1453.
e.
were defeated by a revived Persian Empire.
ANS: A REF: p. 178
100. Which of the following is not a correct statement about the Mongols?
a.
They caused great havoc and destruction throughout the Middle East.
b.
Their westward advance continued on to absorb the Cordova caliphate in Spain.
c.
Over time, their upper class population became Muslim.
d.
Initially, the Mongols were not Muslims.
e.
They often engaged in acts of mass brutality.
ANS: B REF: p. 179-180
101. The Mongols
a.
initially came from the Congo Basin in central Africa.
b.
introduced the meaning of ornate rugs to Persia and Egypt, from where it spread across the Islamic world.
c.
adapted quickly to life in the Middle East, as they were already Muslims and greatly interested in trade and urban development.
d.
were unable to capture Egypt, due to the effective resistance of the Mamluks.
e.
captured Constantinople two times, but left shortly afterward in order not to destroy the city's profitable trading system.
ANS: D REF: p. 180
102. Following conquests by Muslim armies, populations in Spain could expect
a.
forced conversion to Islam
b.