Blog Post #11 - Chapter 9

This chapter focuses the spread of the Islam religion and the empire that came with it. Along with its effects on the Afro-Eurasian world during the third wave era. The religion took it hold in deserts and cities of the Arabian Peninsula. Before Islam was commonly practiced there were Nomadic Arabs known as Bedouins, who lived in clans and tribes and were most of the time fighting, They believed in few different Gods and nature spirits and believed in personal values such as bravery. There were also other communities such as the Highlands of Yemen and interior mountain communities where sedentary village-based agriculture was used. Cosmopolitans commercial cities grew because Arabia was close to important trade routes that connected Indian Ocean. Mecca was the site of the most prominent religious shrine in Arabia, known as the Kabba. It also housed 360 deities. Because many Arabs had acknowledged that Allah was the Supreme God. Along with also acknowledge Allah with Yahweh, the Jewish High God and considered themselves “Children as Abraham. It would seem as though that they were following a path to Judaism or Christianity but that soon changed. Muhammad Ibn Abdullah was born in Mecca. In his life he was troubled by the religious corruption and social inequalities in Mecca. He often meditated in the mountains outside the city, where he experienced an overwhelming religious experience, that made him believe he was the messenger of Allah. His revelations were written in the Quran which became the sacred scriptures of Islam. The writings of the Quran called for a whole new society as it was in conflicted with the social injustice in Mecca and the tribe and clan system. The Quran called for the return of older Arab values solidarity, equality, concern for the poor. There were five requirements for believers which known as the Pillars of Islam. Because of Muhammad’s work for social reform and disagreement with Mecca’s business practice etc. Muhammad and a small amount of followers emigrated  to the town of Yathrib. This new community people could join based on belief which lead to it expanding. There was no separation between religion and law unlike Christianity. When some Jewish groups became allies with Muhammad's enemies. He redirected his followers to pray towards Mecca. This message seem to declare that Islam was an Arab religion. With similar motives to other empires such as access to better trading routes and agricultural land. Islam worked on expanding by trying to conquer the Sassanid Empire which ended in defeat and Byzantium Empire. That lost southern half of its state. With the territories that were conquered conversion to Islam was not mandatory. Christian, Jews and Zoroastrians were considered ‘people of the book” They could continue practicing but had to pay a tax and were considered second class citizens.