0
History of Islam
The history of Islam goes back over 1400 years to Prophet Muhammad and his creation of the first Islamic State in Medina Munawarra. Since that point, Islamic culture, custom and tradition have spread all across the world in numerous empires and by peaceful conversions. Muslims have been prominent in science, government, religion, philosophy, literature and numerous other areas of human endeavor. If you are interested in learning more about the history of the Islamic World, its development over the centuries and its contributions to society, here is a good place to start asking your questions.
1,088 Questions
What countries follows Shiite branch of Islam rather then Sunni?
shia Muslims live in many countries. Iran is the main Shia county and the leader of Shia Islam in world. Shia Islam constitute the majority of the population in Iran (90%), Azerbaijan (75%), Bahrain (30%), Lebanon (65% of Muslims) and Iraq (65%), Yemen (45%). Other countries with a significant proportion of Shia are Syria (15%), Kuwait (35%), Pakistan (20%), India (23% of Muslims), Afghanistan (15%), Saudi Arabia (18%), Turkey (20%), United Arab Emirates (16%), Qatar (15%), Albania(25%).
other Muslim countries are mainly sunni with minor shia population. Qum in Iran and Najaf in iraq are two main city of Shia Islam.
Here is one good thing. Saladin conceded the rights of Christian pilgrims to not be beaten, robbed, or killed on their way to Jerusalem.
How were the taliban able to seize power in Afghanistan?
Rationale
The Taliban took over Afghanistan because they have a certain set of beliefs about what is right and what is wrong and felt the need to impose their values on the rest of Afghanistan.
Method
Many of the Taliban's fighters come from the Islamic Extremist Mujaheddin who were trained and equipped by Americans in their fight against the Soviets from 1979-1989. Once armed and capable, they united behind a common repressive religious banner and collectively overpowered the warlords who controlled different parts of the country.
Why were they successful in their quest to expand the empire and spread Islam?
Because Islam is based on uniting the people and for their cooperation and urged their observance and non-oppressed and also Islam calls for the Lord, and only one does not have a son or wife is, Allah (god) turns to him when people misfortunes and needs so it was easy for Muslims to convince people who are not Muslims to this religion
What was the Islamic golden age?
During the golden age of Islam the trade flourished. Education also spread. New experiments were made by Muslim scientists and scholars.
What were the strengths of the Islamic empire?
Most Arabs had been fighting intensively for centuries prior to the Rise of Islam, which meant that a huge percentage of the population could be mobilized for warfare. Additionally, the Early Caliphate conquered territories quite easily due to coordinated mounted attacks (horseback raids). Additionally, prior to Mohammed, Arabia had been seen as a cultural and political backwater barely worth notice and therefore Mohammed's consolidation of the Arab Tribes was not seriously considered by the Byzantine and Sassanian Empires. This lead to a very porous southern defense and miscalculation of the Islamic Armies.
Arab Tribes and warriors owed their loyalty to their Sheikhs and leaders without fault because the Sheikh provided each person with all of the amenities and protection necessary to live a full life. Whenever the Arabs went to war, the Sheikhs could count on the ability to muster their tribesmen as soldiers without issue.
In the Ottoman Period, the Ottoman Sultans used many modern devices of war such as cannons, uniforms, unit formations, and complex strategies to win victory over the Byzantine, Bulgarian, Serbian, and Hungarian Empires.
The Byzantine Empire was the first Christian empire. It was in territory that now is called Turkey. The Byzantine Empire was formed from the remnants of the Roman Empire. The Byzantines were also slightly less brutal then their predecessors.
What was saladin's biggest challenge?
Saladin's biggest challenge was unifying the fragmented Muslim states of the Middle East to effectively respond to the Crusader threat from the West. He faced internal divisions, rivalries, and the need to reconcile various sects, notably between Sunni and Shia Muslims. Additionally, he had to balance military campaigns with diplomatic efforts to strengthen his position and resources. Ultimately, his success in overcoming these challenges was pivotal in the eventual recapture of Jerusalem in 1187.
The Babylonian captivity was the Spanish name for the period when Moors occupied Spain?
It was not. The "Babylonian Captivity" refers to the conquest of Israel , and the removal of the Israelites to captivity in Babylon, where they were held until permitted to return to Israel roughly 70 years later.
What are the dates of the golden age of Islam and what are its contributions and achievements?
There were many dates during Islam's golden age, it would take way too long to list all of them. This I will leave to you to go and discover.
The Islamic golden age is credited with 1001 inventions! Among them are things we take for granted every day and you will never believe they were invented by Muslims. Hospitals, Universities, even the first camera (amazing right? Read up on "Alhzen", or Ibn Al-Hayatham who is known as the father of optics) to name a few. Perhaps one of the best known inventions of the Islamic golden age is the creation of Al-Jabr, commonly known in the west as Algebra. Al-Jabr, in Arabic, means "restoration", or solving for unknowns.
There are hundreds of others and I hope you will take the time to learn of them. Good luck and thanks for asking such a great question.
How did the Islamic faith unify Arab peoples and what was the impact of the spread of Islam?
These are actually two questions. Please see each individually below (the questions are links to the main page for those questions which may have other answers than simply mine, which are below):
Islamic Rulers, in contrast to their Christian counterparts, believed from roughly 700-1100 C.E. that the best way to understand God was through scientific and literary endeavors, making the Islamic World the premier patron of the arts and sciences. This inexorably led to the growth of knowledge and development in the Islamic World. This would eventually serve the Europeans well when they would copy this knowledge and start the Renaissance. Unfortunately for the Muslims, around 1100 C.E. this philosophy of finding God through science was defeated by a more repressive and theocratic vision that saw science and reason as the enemy of faith and resulted in the deterioration of this progress in the coming centuries.
Outside of the Islamic World, the Spread of Islam fundamentally changed the political geography of the Middle East and split the Mediterranean for the first time in over 600 years. The Mediterranean was called Mare Nostra (Our Sea) by the Romans because they controlled all parts of it and used it for vast amounts of trade and commerce. Conversely, after the Islamic Conquests, the Mediterranean became the site of perilous sea battles and corsairs attacking European merchant ships, enslaving European Christians, and establishing control over islands like Sicily. This violence against Christian Europe eventually served as the catalyst to create medieval Christendom and, ultimately, the European Wars of Religion Against Islam, such as the Crusades and the Spanish Reconquest.
How did muslims conquer India?
Muslims treat all non-Muslims; irrelevant to their faiths; with tolerance, forgiveness, and mutual respect. This stems from the Islam teachings per Muslims holy book Quran and per prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) teachings. Muslims treat Christians and Jews and all non Muslims kindly and with tolerance so far they don't attack Muslims, they don't expel them from their lands and homes, and/or they don't fight them. Quran; Muslims holy book, and prophet Muhammad (PBUH) call for kind treatment and with tolerance with all non-Muslims. Muslims follow the Islam teachings that no compulsion in religion. They conquered land but never conquered people. It was their aim to free the will people and not to exploit them or exploit their resources. Refer to the example of Spain. Muslims transferred to Spain all kinds of development and technologies. Refer to questions below.
Who waged war on the moors in Spain in the 1400'?
Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon through the Reconquista.
What did the Moors not bring to Spain?
There is an incredible list of things that the Amazigh (improperly called Moors) did not bring to Spain. Such things include: Elephants, cell phones, batteries, large ships, tissues, bubble-gum, blow-driers, air-conditioning, pasta, rubber, tobacco, ice-cream, teak, cars, rocketships, iPods, Christianity, okapi, etc.
What were some results of the colonization of the Islamic world by European powers?
There are several results from the colonization of the Islamic World by European Powers:
1) Breaking of Traditional Islamic Power Structure: Prior to colonization, Islamic States had a secular ruler (sultan or king) who had a religious ministry overseen by the chief imams which had endured from the Middle Ages. There was a very specific balance between the authority that the secular ruler could wield and how much the religious authorities could wield and in which political spheres. The colonizers saw no place for the Islamic clerics in their system of governance, especially since they were far more socially conservative than the colonizers. With the return of independence, there has been no modern balancing, resulting in hyper-secular states on the one hand and hyper-religious states on the other hand.
2) Modern Borders: The current borders in the Islamic World do not reflect ethnic or, necessarily, pre-colonial borders; they reflect the demarcations and borders set by the colonizers.
3) Colonial Languages: English and French have strong second-language status in a number of Islamic countries specifically because of the colonial past.
4) Infrastructure: A large percentage of hospitals, schools, highways, railroads, and other elements of modern infrastructure throughout the Islamic World were first built during the colonial period by the colonizers. Of course, many of these have since been improved, but the origins trace back to the colonial period.
How did conquest contribute to the spread of Muslim culture?
i had fun wit yo gurl last nite cuh ,, showd her wuts gud 8==============D
Did the Islamic empire build the house of wisdom?
yes they did. it was a translation/library center in Baghdad during 800 AD were they keep record of Greek, Roman, Persian and Indian writing, history, and culture during the Golden age of the empire (thanks to Mr.Chiprut my teacher)
According to CNN, "John Walker Lindh was sentenced to 20 years in prison as part of an agreement reached in July under which he pled guilty to one count of supplying services to the Taliban and a criminal information charge that he carried a rifle and two hand grenades while fighting against the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance. As part of the plea deal, the government dropped all other counts in a lengthy criminal indictment, including one of the most serious charges -- conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals."
Source: http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/walker/profile.html
Who is running Pakistan the army minesters or taliban?
Pakistan has a jumbled up system consisting of the beurueacray,government,army and a significant foreign prsence especially that of the USA.However,the Taliban don't have any part in its governance.
How might laws tolerating other religions have affected the spread of Islam among the population?
By tolerating other religions since almost the beginning, the Islamic people were able to talk to other non-Islamic about religion. Some of these people might have then thought Islam was better than their religion and converted
