Islamic World

Islam in World Context

World Population = 7.7 billion (source: worldometers.info)

Highest populations:

China = 1.4 billion

India = 1.3 billion

US = 329 million

Indonesia = 269 million

Brazil = 212 million

Muslim population in the world = 1.6 billion (23% of the world population; Sunni = 85%, Shia = 15%).

US Muslim population = 3.45 million (1.1% of the total US population).

Christian population in the world = 2.1 billion (31% of the world population; Catholics = 50%, Protestant = 37%, Orthodox = 12%, Other = 1%).

Jewish population in the world = 13 million (0.2% of the world population; 4/5 Jews live in the US and in Israel)

Highest Muslim Populations (source: pewforum.org)

Indonesia = 209 million

India = 176 million

Pakistan = 167 million

Bangladesh = 134 million

Nigeria = 77 million

Egypt = 76 million

Iran = 73 million

Turkey = 71 million

62% of Muslims in Asia; 20% of Muslims in the Middle East.

Maghreb (Maghrib) - is the Arabic word for the region between the Atlas mountains and the Mediterranean. This region is more closely aligned with the Mediterranean region through history, climate, economy, than it is with Africa. The Maghreb countries are Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, and Libya.

Islam is unified by a culture, not a shared history, geography, politics, language, socio-economics, etc. The foundation of Islam is Arab, centered in the Arabian peninsula, and specifically around the Kaa'ba in Mecca; the Arabs were traditionally socially divided into: fellahins (settled villages) and bedouins (nomadic). The Arab hold over Islam reduced significantly in the 11th century by the Seljuk Turks and in the 13th century by the Ottoman Turks, when the centers of power shifted to new locations (geography) and social organizations. Arabic is the lingua franca of Islam, because the Muslim holy book, the Qur'an, is revealed in Arabic, but Persian and Turkish languages became Islamic languages as Islam spread or was introduced to these parts of the world under new rulerships.

Islamic Dynasties

· Abbasids -  Early Islamic dynasty, 750–1258.

· Almohads -  Berber dynasty that ruled North Africa and Spain, 1130–1269.

· Almoravids -  Dynasty of Berber origin that ruled North Africa and later Spain, 1050–1147.

· Ayyubids -  Dynasty of Kurdish origin that ruled Egypt and Syria, 1169–1250.

· Fatimids -  Dynasty that ruled North Africa and then Egypt and Syria, 909–1171.

· Ghaznavids -  Dynasty of Turkish origin that ruled eastern Iran and northern India, 977–1186.

· Ilkhanids -  Dynasty of Mongol origin that ruled Greater Iran, 1256–1335.

· Mamluks -  Dynasty of former slaves that ruled Egypt and Syria, 1250–1517.

· Mughals -  Dynasty of Timurid descent that ruled India, 1526-1858.

· Nasrids -  Rulers of the Spanish kingdom of Granada, 1230–1492.

· Ottomans -  Turkish dynasty that ruled Anatolia and then much of eastern Europe and the Middle East, 1281–1924.

· Safavids -  Rulers of Iran, 1501–1732.

· Saljuqs -  General name for several dynasties of Turkish origin that ruled Greater Iran, as well as eastern Anatolia and Syria, in the eleventh to twelfth centuries.

· Samanids -  Dynasty that ruled eastern Iran and Central Asia, 819–1005.

· Timurids -  Central Asian dynasty that ruled Greater Iran, 1370–1507.

· Umayyads -  Early Islamic dynasty, 661–750; Spanish branch, 756–1031.

Link of the Article 1: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/isla/hd_isla.htm

Link of the Article 2: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/medieval-times/spread-of-islam/a/the-rise-of-islamic-empires-and-states

Link of the Article 3: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islamic-world

Link of the Article 4: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/medieval-times/islam-intro/v/sunni-and-shia-islam-part-1

Link of the Article 5: https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0105.xml

Link of the Article 6: https://owlcation.com/humanities/Four-Great-Islamic-Empires

Link of the Video 1: https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/video/series/east-meets-west/33526

Link of the Video 2: https://youtu.be/FFfXDZvvmrg

Link of the Video 3: https://youtu.be/QeQeARLyg2c

Link of the Video 4: https://youtu.be/aMNgc02-jvE

Instructions for the Assignment

You need to read all the materials and watch the videos.

Write a comprehensive one-page discussion on why, where, when, and how Islam developed and spread; begin with the year 632 CE (death of the Prophet Muhammad) and conclude with the state of present day Islam.