Notes on Islam Documentary

by Sarah, Eddie, Matteo, and Zeiberg

● Islamic scholars were intellectually superior to European ones, and made many achievements
mathematically and scientifically.
● The Messenger (Muhammad)
○ Difficult to look at it objectively and historically due to the fact that all sources are very religious
and adoring
○ born 570 AD in the Arabian Peninsula
○ from Mecca, but was sent to live with Bedouin tribe (Bedouin tribes were considered to have
richer culture than large cities)
○ orphaned at six, raised by uncle, the chief of the clan
○ considered a marginalized outsider, so he had a different perspective
○ “a child of everybody”
○ strong oral tradition and culture, stories and poems handed down through generations (poets
had high status in tribe and told the stories and histories of the tribe)
○ poets linked the tribes to its ancestors and helped depict events and values older than memory
○ poetry celebrated victories & defeats
○ Poetry linked the Bedouin together
○ warfare & conflict -- taught how to survive by uncle, even prophets fought
○ rivalry over wells could provoke a multi-generational blood feud
○ allegiance was to families, and then to the tribe (social organization)
○ no one could endure without the protection of the tribe, separation form tribe was often fatal, as
tribes controlled areas that had water
○ people worshipped totems and nature spirits, worshipped a number of spirits at the Kah’bah
(now the Muslim shrine of Mecca)
○ The place where these gods were worshipped was called the Kah’bah
○ One of these was in Mecca
○ Abraham was said to have built the first one of these(Abraham was Jewish)
○ the Bedouin tribes held a truce once a year in order to worship in Mecca,
■ this facilitated economy & trade in Mecca because no one had to worry about tribal feuds
■ vibrant center for trade, exotic goods form Egypt, China, India
■ “greatest treasure” was the rich mix of cultures, people traded ideas while
■ they traded goods
■ There was was a mixture of religion, Christians, Jews, and other religions were all
present
○ Muhammad was a merchant and caught the eye of Hadija, who married Muhammad, they had
both a romantic and business partnership
○ Muhammad=intelligent, charismatic, very good at solving problems, he was also religious, and
talked to people of other religions. He quite enjoyed meditation.
○ Muhammad was very interested in religion & settling disputes
○ Muhammad became a prophet after an experience he had on a hill while meditating.
○ the revelations were lyrical and beautiful, more epic than the poetry of the Bedouin tribes
○ Muhammad states that there is only one god.
○ power, status, etc are intellectual idols. Muslims only focus on one god. one god, one people,
this ended tribal feuds. This was similar to other religions in the area, mainly Christianity and
Judaism
■ this appealed to the poor & unprotected people
■ social justice issue - Muhammad wanted to share the wealth, and eliminate the gap
 between the rich and the poor
○ the Qur’an resonated w/ people because it was in the traditional form of poetry that everyone
already related to
○ The Qur’an shifts pronouns to avoid a physical image of god or Muhammad, instead the beauty
of the words is celebrated in Islam
■ sculptures and paintings discouraged for this reason b/c you couldn’t represent God and
Muhammad wasn’t divine -- some images of Muhammad, but they’re just historical ones ,
so they are not religious, and are not prayed to
■ As Islam grew more popular, people began to dislike it
○ everyone was skeptical of Muhammad because he hadn't performed miracles, the Qur’an wasn’t
miracle enough for people.
○ appalled by the idea of life after death, people in Muslim scriptures are very skeptical of the
afterlife.
○ Muhammad used apocalyptic imagery and language, indicating the signs of the final days of the
world
■ references to hell, fire
○ Muhammad started much controversy b/c people felt he was dismantling their Bedouin heritage
○ People did not like the fact that they could go to hell for their deeds
○ Muhammad caused massive social change, so leaders decided he had to be stopped
○ assassination plots for Muhammad’s followers caused mass murder of them
○ 618 AD wife and uncle died, gone were his protector and love
○ enemies seized their opportunity, but another town provided sanctuary for Muhammad & his
followers on the condition that he settle the town’s disputes settled disputes between their tribes
○ bound together by faith and not blood, created a new tribe --> the town became MEDINA, or city
of the prophet
○ 622 in christian calendar = Muslim year 1
○ Muhammad was said to have been like the ancient king Solomon
○ Muhammad spreads Islam, but does not challenge other faiths.
○ Islam tried to wok with other “people of the book”, these were people who were Christian and
Jewish
○ first mosque = Muhammad’s house, where the whole community of Medina prayed
○ Prayer cements the idea of belonging to a group of people.