History of the Middle East and North Africa 600-1258
Unlike India that has a clearly defined caste system to divide classes, other nations have classes that are implied by economic and social differences. The Middle East after the rise of Islam had an implied class system as well, referred to as High Islam and Popular or Low Islam. There is no actual High and Popular Islam that people are officially divided into, but is perceived through historical analysis. They are concepts derived from historical findings that provide a way to compare and contrast the people, religion, and government of Islam. (Frierson) Hopefully this essay will shed some light on these concepts. “Allah is the Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light.” (Cow 2:257) Jesus Christ would never have expected animated DVD’s, Santa upstaging neither his ‘birthday’, nor the endless sects of Christians all claiming to truly understand his message and scripture. (Unless of course one is Christian and believes he is god and therefore knows all) Whether Muhammad foresaw the possibility of the Muslim community headed for similar disregard of the sacred is debatable. However, the fact that the sin of idolatry was so feared by Muslims has proven substantial power to suppress the same abandonment of the sacred that Christianity has modernized to. Despite the lack of Muhammad dolls and Allah t-shirts, the religion of Islam evolved into a government, empire, and ultimately a vague ideal of holiness interpreted thousands of ways. Having a faceless, mysterious deity not only prevented commercialism of a religion, but served to allow any culture to adopt their unique vision of God. When Muhammad first formed the small...
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... English translation of The Koran. London: Penguin Classics, 2006. Specific Sura The Cow (Referred to as Cow)
Frierson, Elizabeth. In-class lectures, PowerPoint’s, and Portfolio Guidelines University of Cincinnati Course Number 15-HIST-170-001, 20 September- October 2010. (Referred to as Frierson)
Haug, Dr. In-class lectures and PowerPoint’s, University of Cincinnati Course Number 15-HIST-170-001, 20 September- October 2010. (Referred to as Haug)
Lewis, Bernard. Islam: from the Prophet Muhammad to the Capture of Constantinople, Volume 1. Oxford University Press, 1987. (Referred to as Lewis 1)
Lewis, Bernard. Islam: from the Prophet Muhammad to the Capture of Constantinople, Volume 2. Oxford University Press, 1987. (Referred to as Lewis 2)
Ochsenwald, William and Sidney Fisher. The Middle East: A History. McGraw-Hill, 2004. (Referred to as F&O)
Ansary, Mir Tamim. Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes. New York: PublicAffairs, 2009. Print.
Scheindlin, Raymond P. "The Jews in the Islamic World: From the Rise of Islam to the end of the Middle Ages (632 to 1500)." In A Short History of the Jewish People: From Legendary Times to Modern Statehood. New York: Macmillan, 1998. 71-87.
Dunn, Ross E., The adventures of Ibn Battuta, a Muslim traveler of the fourteenth century,
Spielvogel, Jackson J. "The Muslim Empires: The Ottoman Empire.” Glencoe World History. New York, NY: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2005. p.484-489. Print.
Lewis, Bernard. The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years. New York: Scribner,
Maynes, Charles. "The Middle East in the Twenty-First Century." Middle East Journal 52.1 (1998): 9-16. JSTOR. Web. 6 June 2011.
Gerner, Deborah J., and Philip A. Schrodt. "Middle Eastern Politics." Understanding the contemporary Middle East. 3rd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008. 85 -136. Print.
Renard, John. Islam and Christianity: theological themes in comparative perspective. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011. Print.
Inglis, John. “Islamic Medieval Philosophy.” ASI 111. Sears Recital Hall, University of Dayton. 15 October 2002.
Ibrahim, I. A.. A brief illustrated guide to understanding Islam . 2nd ed. Houston: Darussalam, 1997.
...nd Politics." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Ed. Philip Mattar. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 890-895. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 24 Jan. 2012.
Asbridge, T. (2010). Crusades: The War for The Holy Land UK. Simon and Schuster UK Ltd.
G. Esposito, John L (2002) Islam; What Everyone Should Know. New York. Oxford University Press Inc.
On the board on Monday morning, there were numbers one through five and they each had a religion written next to them. 1 was Hinduism, 2 was Christianity, 3 was Judaism, 4 was Buddhism, and I was lucky enough to get 5: Islam. Oh, I know so much about Islam culture and their religion, are you kidding? I don’t even know where Islam is. I’m just kidding, it’s not a country. There are many differences between Islam and the United states like our religion, clothes, and food, and becoming a Christian or a Muslim, but Islam is the second largest religion in the world, so it’s important to a lot of people. The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Becoming a Muslim is not an easy process. You must do a long list of tasks. After you become a Muslim you must do everything in your power to try to have a good Muslim lifestyle.
In this book , Esposito provides a succinct, up-to-date survey of the Islamic experience, an introduction to the faith, belief, and practice of Islam from its origins to its contemporary resurgence. He traces the emergence and development of this dynamic faith and its impact on world history and politics. He discusses the formation of Islamic belief and practice (law, theology, philosophy, and mysticism), chronicling the struggle of Muslims to define and adhere to their Islamic way of life. Equally important is the essential information Esposito provides on the contemporary world of Islam, from Muslim responses to the challenges of colonialism and modernization to the reassertion of Islam in politics and society.