Term
| What are the five pillars of Islam; it's sacred texts? |
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Definition
- Shahadah - Accept Allah as the one true God
- Salat - Pray five times a day
- Zakaat - Give alms to the poor
- Sawm - Fast during the month of Ramadan
- Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca one in a lifetime
Their sacred text is the Qur'an. It is supplemented by the Hadith, saying and examples of the prophet, and the Shari'a, the all encompassing holy law of Islam. |
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Term
| Where the religion originate, and who was the founder? |
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Definition
| The prophet Muhammad came from one of the lesser families of Mecca. |
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Term
| Where did Islam spread in the first century of its existence? |
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Definition
| By 700 the Umayyed caliphs, who had made Damascus their capital city, ruled a vast empire stretching from the borders of China to the Atlantic Ocean. |
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Term
| What two victories prevented Islam from taking over both the eastern and western halves of the Empire? |
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Definition
| Constantinople and the Battle of Poiters |
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Term
| What was the nature of the divide within Islam, and what impact did it have on the religion? |
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Definition
Muhammed's successor was Abu. Abu's successor was Uthman, the first caliph from the Umayyad family. Under Uthman the first major dissentions broke out in the Muslim world, leading indirectly to the emergence of a new schismatic sect, the Shi'ites. Uthman was assassinated and Ali succeeded him. Shi'ites asserted that only a member of Ali's house could be a true caliph. |
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Term
| When was the Islamic conquest of Sicily, and what ramifications did it have on Western Europe? |
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Definition
| Muslims attacked Sicily in the 9th century and Italy was in confusion afterwards. |
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