Islam
by John Harrington
1. https://d1lfxha3ugu3d4.cloudfront.net/images/opencollection/objects/size2/35.1027_IMLS_SL2.jpg "Hunters At A Stream" Most Islamic art used geometric and floral patterns, and calligraphy.
2. Sacred Texts
2.1. The holy book and primary text of Islam is The Qur'an
2.2. The Hadith is a collection of Islamic traditions and laws. Includes traditional sayings of Muhammad (peace be upon him.).
2.3. The Sufi texts is a collection of Islamic literature such as poetry and story-telling. Sufism is a mystical Islamic belief system.
3. Where did Islam spread and why?
3.1. Islam did not begin to spread until about the 7th Century, as rulers began to reach out to other nations.
3.1.1. The first Conversion to Islam is described to be the conversation of the town of Medina by the Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him).
3.2. The 1st-6th Centuries were spent defending the Muslim religion against the Meccans and Jews. At the start of the 7th Century, propaganda and outreach began, and many countries converted to the religion.
3.3. "Islam faces a very formidable enemy in form of the biased media in Europe and the Americas... In spite of all the hurdles, it is one of the fastest growing religions in the United States of America. It already has a strong presence in the United Kingdom, France and Germany. This speaks volumes about how this religion has spread and is spreading even now." (Rizvi, Sayyid Muhammad.)
3.4. "...the Ottoman Empire. It was ruled by a Turkish caliph and was governed by the millet system, a multi-religious, multi-cultural society. The Ottoman Empire dominated vast region of Christian land in Eastern Europe but it never forced its Christian citizens to convert to Islam; they were given the right to govern their own lives according to their own religious traditions." (Rizvi, Sayyid Muhammad.)
4. Pictures
4.1. http://whyandhowislamexpanded.weebly.com/uploads/9/1/9/7/9197071/7462003_orig.gif
4.2. http://islamic-arts.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/hb_1978.550.jpg Many Islamic prayer rugs have survived over hundreds of years.
5. Video
5.1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=20&v=Gg6ju-lHCwU
6. Political and Social Impact
6.1. Many conflicts between other religions and Islam took place.
6.2. Islam was in control of major cities such as Cairo and Baghdad, making it the dominant religion in the area. This led to discrimination of Christians there.
6.3. Islam mixed with West African Culture
6.4. Because Islam was monotheistic, unification of people was easier than with polytheistic societies.
6.4.1. Once people were unified, the amount of wars decreased.