Essays on Caliph

Chapter 2 from the book "Ibn Fadlan 921-922 CE" extremely important source on the history of Eastern Europe about X century. The author visited the Volga Bulgaria as part of the Embassy of the Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir. The trip was undertaken at the initiative of the governor of the Volga Bulgaria, who, wishing to get rid of from the power of the Khazars, the caliph asked patronage and promised to convert to Islam. Author came from Baghdad in 921 and came to the Volga Bulgaria in May 922 (Gordon 23). Ibn Fadlan left a detailed account of the journey, ...

Factors Promoting Middle East Conflict

The countries in the Middle East have never had peaceful coexistence for more than a century. There has been series of complicated blood-letting confrontations orchestrated by different factors among them the totalitarian nature of political leaderships, religious diversity and scramble for oil resources. Specific conflicts in the region might have been occasioned by one of these factors or a combination of all of them. This article explores how religious diversity, management of oil resources and totalitarian leadership have contributed to conflicts in the Middle East region. The Middle East is the territory that has the abundance of totalitarian countries, ...

The Muslim movements after the Caliphate

After the abolition of the Ottoman Empire, and later the Caliphate in 1924, in the modern Muslim world began "non-Caliphate" period. This process was historically logical, because the theocratic form of government suffered a crisis in the Muslim world, where national movement and bourgeois relations were growing. Nominal power of the Sultan still existed, but only in name. In this situation, the Sultan resorted to Pan-Islamism policy, however corrupt administrative apparatus, a weak army and a weak economy, led this policy to the failure. By the early twentieth century in the country were rapidly spreading European ideas and values, ...

The Dome of the Rock is the first imperial structure made for Islam and also the second most important Islamic site after Mecca. It was built in the 7th century in Jerusalem by Caliph Abd al-Malik, also known as the Umayyad. As an edifice, the Dome of the Rock is not a mosque, but more of a religious shrine. Like Mecca, the Dome of the Rock stands on a sacred stone this is the period of the Islamic culture, which also involves Mohamed. Mohamed was born in the 6th century in Mecca. The Dome of the Rock has its ...

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Background The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a terrorist group that was formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The group gained ground during and after the Syrian civil war between 2012 and 2014 where they got new recruits and resources (Wood, 2015). The group had close ties to Al-Qaeda that is another terror organization and was officially formed in April 2013 from it. Since then, ISIS has broken ranks with Al-Qaeda and has become one of the main jihadist organizations fighting the Iraqi and Syrian governments. The group also took ...

Discussion Questions

Although the Umayyads achieved great success during their reign, they never had the support of the whole empire. Cracks started emerging, especially for the newly conquered regions made up of Non-Arab Muslims. Most of their caliphs were not elected through popular vote nor were they elected by respected community leaders (Alkhateeb). Again, the Umayyads began losing the support of newly converted Muslims because of treating them differently from other Muslims (Alkhateeb). They treated them differently by imposing a tax, as though they were not converts. That was against the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, who preached equality of all the ...

Abbasid Caliphate

During the time that Europe was still grappling with the Dark Ages, civilization and knowledge revolution was being adopted in Baghdad. In this regard, Muslim scholars were gathered in the House of Wisdom under the leadership of the Abbasid Caliphate. The House of Wisdom was instituted with the focus of promoting the translation of scientific related texts and concepts. They endeavored to conserve information related to classical civilizations which lay a basis for the formation of academic disciplines which still maintain their relevance in the current society. The Abbasid Caliphate sought to spread Islam through conquest and conversion in ...

Comparison Essay on Architectural History of a Building

Introduction The Dome of the Rock (Qubbat as‐Sakhrah) is a religious edifice structure built in the7th century that is located in Jerusalem. It was built by Caliph Abd al‐Malik, the Umayyad. This edifice is not a mosque, but may be described as a Muslim shrine. Like the Mecca Ka'ba, the Dome of the Rock is built on a sacred stone. It is widely believed to be the place from which Muhammad the prophet ascended into heaven in the process of his night journey into heaven. The sacred stone over which this edifice is built was long considered ...

ISIS

I. Introduction The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS, also known as the Islamic State, has recently risen to fame in the last few years. It has taken a stronghold over parts of Syria and Iraq, and is well-funded by the revenue streams of the oil and gas fields of the areas it controls, and receives donations from around the world. Its leader, Abu Bakr Baghdadi, has recently proclaimed the group to be a caliphate, thus assuming control over all Muslims around the world. It is urgent that the United States and its allies put a stop ...

Pan-Islamism denotes a move towards achieving Islamic unity for all Muslims under one state, commonly referred to as a caliphate. The idea of a caliphate was first conceptualized during the time of Prophet Muhammad, who was seen as the de facto spiritual and political leader of all Muslims. In the modern era, the idea of a Muslim caliphate was popularized by Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (jrank.org). He was an Islamic philosopher and political activist. He worked as an advisor to the King of Afghanistan in which it has been documented that he advised on the resistance of Britain's advances in ...

Religion and all its embodiments is one of the most widespread movements in the world since time immemorial. At times, it unites people as nothing else and gives us will and power to be merciful, kind and spiritually oriented. Among all the innumerable religious groups, I choose to stick to Druze, as it merges together the features of different traditions and opens a road to being a comprehensive human being. Apart from being a name for the religion, Druze is also a name of people in the Middle East, which has “has a unique historical, social and demographic structure” ( ...

Al-Kindi was born in Basra and is a descendant of Kinda tribe. He is an Arab philosopher who is famously regarded as the ‘Philosopher of the Arabs’. He was a mathematician, Polymath, physician, as well as a musician. He was a scholar under the caliph al Ma’mun before the latter’s reign concluded in 833CE. Howveer, even after the end of al Ma’mun’s reign, Al-kindi remained in the service of the next caliph al-Mu‘tasim and it is during al-Mu‘tasim’s reign that Al-Kindi began his philosophical career. He became one of the first Muslim ...

ISIS is a Salafi group within Sunni Islam, which originally operated in areas inhabited by Sunnis (Stanford, par.14). More precisely, the creators of the Islamic State were Sunni Muslims, who primarily adhered to Hanbali, the most distinguished among the four existing schools of Islamic law in Sunni Islam, known for its rigor and discipline. They have played on these fundamentalist sentiments, which allowed them to get support of the Sunni population. Not because ISIS banned the teaching of biology, physics, music, social sciences (in particular, those connected with democracy), not because the members of this group cut off the heads ...

The Islamic State must not be regarded as a terrorist organization alone. The group has evolved into a well-run political machine and a potent military force. The group believes in a twisted translation of Islamic law as an anchor political belief and demands that this particular world view be imposed on Muslims as well as peoples of other ‘inferior’ religious beliefs. Founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the group was originally called as the “Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), the first regiments of the IS fought against the US military in the aftermath of the downfall of Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein. The IS ...

- The Ibadis believed that Caliphs were tyrants. - They disassociated themselves with all of the Caliph’s except `Umar b. `Abd al-`Aziz. - When Mu`awiyah became Caliph a new era of Islam with Umayyad reign began. - The independence of Oman was expected to change due to the new rule. - Oman and the new Caliph had no relationship at all. - The rulers of the two nations did not see each other as any kind of threat so they did not see sense in using valuable military resources in any kind ...

One of the most significant split in Islam was the Shiite-Sunni divide into two different sects in Islam, which dates back to the 7th Century. This paper describes the divide in detail.

After the demise of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in 632 A.D, his close friend Abu-Bakr as-Siddiq was appointed as the first Caliph in Islamic history. Whilst this decision was met with unconditional support and praise, there was some who felt that his appointment was not legitimate. They argued that the right to Caliphate belonged to Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was not only the Prophet’s nephew, but ...

The Differences between Sunni and Shia

Introduction Islam is a religion of Muslims promulgated in Arabia by the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) in the seventh century C.E. A person can convert Islam by saying Shahada – There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger. These words contain the core meaning of Islam. Islam was born through properthood of Muhammad (S.A.W.) and the Holy Quran is the book of Islam. The Quran contains 114 chapters and it was built up with the revealing of Muhammad (S.A.W.). Islam can be divided into three periods: the time before Islam – “The Time of Ingratitude” or “al-jahiliah” when people ...

Images and livestream video clips of American military vehicles getting blown up and dead Americans--both military and civilian--laying dead on the ground in the vicinity have saturated both the international and media. Such images underscore the barbarity and savagery that has become so widespread in the Middle East. Often, such images are disseminated via the news and mass media as well as the internet in order to galvanize new supporters against the United States by discursively framing the American military, coalition forces, and civilians abroad as not indefatigable. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIL) is an extremist ...

The Middle East Mongols campaign under the command of Hulagu (1256-1260) was one of the greatest conquests of the Mongol army, directed against the Iranian Ismaili and Nizari, Abbasid Caliphate, Ayyubid dynasty in Syria and Mamluk in Egypt, also the major role in the Middle East campaign against the Muslims have played Nestorian Christians, and participants of the Seventh Crusade that were allies of the Mongols too. In 1251, Möngke was proclaimed Great Khan of Mongolian State, and decided to continue the war against the Song Dynasty and conquest of the Middle East. According to some researchers ...

Mohammed introduced Islam, or submission to God, to the people of Mecca in 610 (Ro). The religion combined some Jewish and Christian traditions and later on included set of laws influencing most aspects of life. The religion proved to be influential and an empire that included Central Asia and Spain was established. However, his death 1400 years ago caused a divide amongst the Muslims. Debates about who will succeed Mohammed ensued, with some saying that a qualified member should be the next successor, while the others insisting that the next ruler should come from Mohammed’s bloodline. In the end, members ...

Background of Islamic Faith

In the VII century BC most of Arabia was a desert inhabited by tribes of nomadic Bedouins. However, on the fertile lands along the shores of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean were scattered permanent settlements, from where originated caravan routes across the sands to the cities of Syria and Mesopotamia (now Iraq). Due to the caravan trade, there flourished rare oases along the trade routes, including the small towns of Mecca and Medina, which in the history of Islam were destined to play a key role.

Prophet Mohammad was born in Mecca, in the family of camel driver. Upon ...

Prophet Muhammad ibn Abd Allah has been able to carry on Islam religion during (ca. 570-632) in western Arabia. After the death of the prophet, caliphs have succeeded him as leaders that claimed political authority over the Muslim community. The period of the caliphate, Islam as a religion has undergone civilization around the world. The Near East period captures the historical view of Islam in its early development. In the historical setting around the sixth century, two empires controlled Arabia these included Byzantine Empire in the west and the Sasanian Empire in the East. Small players in the political ...

An Islamic state refers to a type of government primarily governed by Islamic religious law. Islamic religious law typically refers to the Sharia law that deals with diverse aspects of societal issues. The First Islamic State under Muhammad (622-632) was based on Sharia law. Topics addressed under Sharia law under secular governance include politics, crime, and economics. The law also addresses issues of personal nature, such as diet, hygiene, sex, prayer, moral behaviors, as well as fasting. Different cultures, though, interpret the law differently, but are all governed by it as the supreme law. To many Muslims, the law ...

The Islam religion had no divisions before the death of Prophet Muhammad in the year 632 A.D. It is believed that the Prophet Muhammad had prophesied that upon his death there would emerge more than 72 Muslim sects (Friedman 128) but only one of them would not go to hell (Mervin 11). The biggest cause of the split was the lack of and/or the failure by Prophet Muhammad to name his successor before his death. Conventionally, his successor would have been his eldest son or a male relative. The problem was that all his three sons who were the ...

Great Mosque of Damascus or the Umayyad Mosque

The Great Mosque of Damascus is located in Syria and is known to be one of the most important shrines of Islam. In fact it is probably the largest mosque in the world as well as being the oldest having been built on a site where there was a Christian church dedicated to St John the Baptist whose head is also said to be buried there. The mosque was built in the year 634 and has undertaken several changes and modifications ever since. The tomb of the great Caliph Saladin is also located close by next to the Northern walls ...

Humanitarian aid is a common culture across the globe. Logistical or material assistance is offered in response to crises of humanitarian which include man-made and natural disasters. There are a substantial number of organizations that are created in different nations in order to offer this aid to the affected groups of people. Muslim as a religion has been providing humanitarian aid. This has resulted to significant influence on this aspect of humanitarian aid across the globe. This has promoted the value of charity both to Muslims and non-Muslims (Lewis 56). The humanitarian acts are taken are essential elements of practice in ...

Islam’s origin was with the Prophet Muhammad in 612 C.E. when he began preaching his revelations from God; he did not believe he was founding a new religion, “but that he was merely bringing the old faith in the One God to the Arabs, who had never had a prophet before” (Armstrong 4). The beginnings of Islam were not without great difficulties, such as a ban on trade with Muslims, and it was not until the hijrah, or migration to Medina around 622 C.E. that Muhammad was finally “able to implement the Quranic ideal fully and that Islam became a factor in ...

The Middle East has been a region that has been in a state of crisis for over a century now. Since the redefining of its political boundaries post World War I, the prolonged conflict between Israel and Palestine to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the region has been the site of conflicts based on a wide range of justifications. Dictatorships, religion, land disputes, possession of weapons of mass destruction, the subjugation of populace, and, arguably, oil have been some of the common war points. However, just how true these justifications of war are depends greatly on the perception of the Middle East, its ...

Introduction

In their publication (Jean Louis & Frederic Hitzel) indicates that a vast pan-Islamic state of the Turks started its expansion in the small Turkish emirate location within the boundaries of the present republic of Turkey. It extended to North Africa, some part of Middle East and southeast Europe. It had also gained temporal authority over secluded overseas lands in the mode declarations paying of allegiance to the Sultan and Caliph. The publication further indicates that the empire was the pivot of interactions connecting the Eastern and the Western world for six centuries. This Ottoman Empire was an Islamic successor to ...