A Concise History of the Middle East

FOUR What Is Islam? When we think about Islam—or any religion that has lasted for a long time—we should remember that it has evo ...

44 • 4 WHAT IS ISLAM? What is God? To Muslims, God is all-powerful and all-knowing, the cre¬ ator of all that was and is and wil ...

Basic Beliefs • 45 prophets. These words have been turned into books: the Torah of the Jews (consisting of the first five books ...

46 • 4 WHAT IS ISLAM? Muslims recognize and venerate many others, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jonah, and Job. Biblical ...

The Five Pillars of Islam • 47 Witness (Shahadah) We have already mentioned the first duty: witness or testimony that there is n ...

48 • 4 WHAT IS ISLAM? and to the seasons. In the Northern Hemisphere the fast is relatively easy to keep when Ramadan falls in D ...

Other Duties and Prohibitions • 49 his tent. The sacrifice of a sheep recalls Abraham's binding of Ishmael (Muslims do not belie ...

50 • 4 WHAT IS ISLAM? of living creatures rarely appear in mosques. (We write more about Islamic art in Chapter 8.) Muslims beli ...

Conclusion ••• 51 actions and thoughts. Islam has no bishops or priests. Even the ulama, the learned men well versed in Islamic ...

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FIVE The Early Arab Conquests Muhammad's death left a great void within the community of his follow¬ ers, the Islamic umma. As l ...

54 • 5 THE EARLY ARAB CONQUESTS needed some sort of leader, comparable to a tribal shaykh, who could direct its affairs until th ...

The Initial Conquests • 55 THE INITIAL CONQUESTS The caliphs' brilliant answer was to turn the bedouin's combative energies away ...

56 • 5 THE EARLY ARAB CONQUESTS control over Syria. Another dust storm helped the Arabs to defeat the Persians in 637 at Qadisiy ...

The Beginnings of Islamic Government • 57 than 10,000. Likewise, the Jews, numerous in Palestine and Syria, chose Muslim indiffe ...

58 • 5 THE EARLY ARAB CONQUESTS warriors, especially if their commanders did not come from their own tribe. What would happen wh ...

Dissension in the Utnma • 59 languages they were used to. Few Jews or Christians rushed to convert to Islam, for they were prote ...

60 • 5 THE EARLY ARAB CONQUESTS Uthman's mistake was to continue Umar's policies in a more complex time, without having Umar's ...

Dissension in the Umma • 61 caliphate. He was the son of Muhammad's uncle and protector, his first male convert, the husband of ...

62 • 5 THE EARLY ARAB CONQUESTS murder. Soon afterward, some of Ali's men turned against him for agreeing to the arbitration. Ca ...