11.1—The Five Pillars define a Muslim’s way of life and is an orthopraxy or right practice.

Shari’a- the law that regulates all aspects of life

Muhammad- the last prophet in a long line- receives the Qur’an through Gabriel
Muhammad was an ordinary person until the hijra (pilgrimage to Medina) after which he
becomes a religious, political, and military leader. Note that Muhammad does not have power
like the pope; he can’t excommunicate people or punish them.
Mecca- pilgrimage site/trading center—Saudi Arabia
11.2—Spread of Islam
Islam spreads in Arabian Peninsula—Bedouins—Quick to convert
Crisis in 632 C.E—Muhammad did not name a successor
Abu Bakr (Friend of Muhammad takes power) - first caliph
4 caliphs= the rightly guided
Success in Battle
– Unity of Faith (Islam)
– Weakness of neighbors (Byzantines and Persians had been fighting each other)
– Jizya- a tax on non-Muslims provides quite a bit of money
– Efficient fighting methods + good army—Bedouins
Two Misconceptions about Conversion
1) People converted to avoid the tax
2) People were forced to covert

Islam truly began to spread later on in development because of cultural diffusion and
intermarriage leading to future generations of Muslims
Note- Muslims were a minority even though they were ruling
Umayyad set up a dynasty
This re-awakens tensions between Sunni and Shiites.
Sunni (90% of current day population) want the best qualified to rule. The ruler was known as a
caliph. The caliph was a figurehead under the Abbasids. The first four caliphs were assassinated
because of the Shiites.
Shiites (10% of population focusing in Iraq, Iran) wanted Muhammad’s bloodline to rule. The
ruler was known as the Imam and they were infallible or couldn’t be wrong. This person has
religious authority while the caliph did not.
This split was similar to the Great Schism because both times instead of arguing about beliefs the
two had split over who would rule and what power they would have.

The Golden Age of Islam was brought about because of an emphasis on learning (Muhammad), a
prosperous economy which gave people free time in which they studied, and there was a need for
learning because people needed to know things like where Mecca was in order to pray. Learning
spread a lot faster in Islamic countries because science, math, and other subjects did not conflict
with the teachings of the Qur’an yet they did interfere with the teachings of the Bible.
There was also economic prosperity because of trade (duh).

Europe
Crusades- the Byzantine Empire was under attack by Muslims so the emperor asked the pope for
help. This was after the Great Schism so it is important to know why the Pope offered to help.
The Pope wanted to expand his own power by healing the rift between the churches so that he
would have more Christians under his control. (Note that he also wanted to reclaim Jerusalem)
The Pope got people to go out and fight these wars by saying that if they die in battle they will
gain a “stairway to heaven” (watch out for this term, Ms. Dworken seems to like to use it) and if
they came back alive they would gain glory on Earth.
The Crusades were not successful because in the end the Crusaders took Jerusalem and lost it
without ever taking it back. The Crusaders also lost sight of their goals because they started to
attack Constantinople for wealth (heal the rift now Pope).
The Crusades were the most successful losses of all time. After the Crusades there was a revival
of learning and an increase in new trade routes acquired. Also on the part of trade the crusaders
brought back foreign goods which Europeans acquired a taste for.
On the part of education people began to discover “new” works (really just Ancient Greek,
foreign works which were new to them and had just begun to be translated) which led to a
problem. Aristotle taught of reason over belief so the church has a problem with that. To tie in
belief and reason scholasticism emerged. People who practiced this argued things like “Reason
and faith both lead to the truth that God ruled over an orderly universe”.

Question: Why did god let some die and other live?
Pope moved to Avignon where there was a lavish court
People critized the church because the pope loved worldly pleasures
Reformers elected their own pope for Rome and for a while there were about 3 popes
People began to think that the Bible ruled, not the Church meaning that priests weren’t needed
People who thought like this were executed but the idea lived on