Human Heritage: A World HistoryChapter 22: The Spread of IslamThe Spread of IslamBetween the northeast coast of Africa and central Asia lies the Arabian Peninsula. The people who live there are known as Arabs. In the 600s, a new religion called Islam began in the mountainous area of western Arabia known as the Hejaz. Within 100 years, an Arab empire based on Islamic beliefs had developed. Chapter 22 explores these beliefs and the spread of Islam. Section 1 explains how Islam developed around the teachings of Muhammad. The section details the pillars of faith, the five duties all Muslims must fulfill as described in the Quran, the Muslim scriptures. Section 2 focuses on how Islam spread beyond the Arabian Peninsula after the death of Muhammad. The Arabs succeeded in creating a huge empire. The section describes life in the Arab Empire under the rule of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Umayyads, the Abbasids, and the Moors. Section 3 deals with the many contributions of the Arab Empire to modern civilization in the fields of chemistry, astronomy, geography, mathematics, medicine, and the arts. |  |
