Danny D'Onofrio
Week 1 BLOG: Development of Islamic Civilization/Ottoman Empire/Muhammad
The new religion of Islam adopted ideas from Christian, Jewish, and pagan beliefs. The Muslims tolerated religious minorities within territories they had conquered so long as these minorities noticed Islamic political rule, paid taxes, and didn’t proselytize among Muslims. The Muslims were careful to protect the purity of their religion, language, and law from any foreign influence.
Muhammad was born in Mecca and raised by family of modest means. Muhammad worked hard at his career. Muhammad believed his revelations came directly from God, a god that spoke to him through the angel Gabriel. His father died in the year of his birth and his mother died when he was 6 years old. At the time of Muhammad’s birth Mecca was one of the most prosperous caravan cities. Mecca was strict with their religion and was traditional. Mecca was governed by the tribal societies of the desert. Each tribe worshipped its own gods in the form of objects from nature such as the moon, sky dog, cat, and the ram. However, all Arabs worshipped one object in common, which was Kaaba. Kaaba is a large black stone enshrined at Mecca.
During the 17th century the Ottoman Empire was one of the strongest states in military and wealth. The Ottoman Empire state began in Turkey and emerged in Asia Minor. As years progressed during the Ottoman Empire they refused to modernize causing them to fall behind in technology and science, which led to conflicts. As the Ottoman Empire’s civilization grew at a rapid pace they needed to produce more food and jobs for their society. Since they didn’t modernize they failed with producing more food and employment. This caused their empire to fall and be unsuccessful.
Religion in the Middle East is an important factor. All of the Middle Eastern societies base their lives on religion. Without religion the societies wouldn’t know what to believe and it would cause many conflicts throughout the Middle East.
