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On a mid-termGeographic features:• How shaped human settle
within the continent• btwn continent and
elsewhere?• bodies of water surrounding Name:• major state/empire in 3
areas• distinguishing featureKnow:• 3 major religions in
continent when Europeans hit in 1500
Faith and Society in the Arabian Peninsula, and beyondHad been:
• polytheistic• religious practice related to trade and commerce• reinforced a social/economic hierarchy
anthropomorphic view
• Islam an affront in each case
‘Seal of the prophets’ the Ka’aba
• Islam as culmination and correction of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity
• inheritor of both Jewish and Christian texts• surrender, submission to the will of God
The Five Pillars of Islam
1. No god but Allah; Muhammad is His prophet2. Daily prayer3. Fasting during Ramadan4. Charity5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)
Jihad“struggle”
• against vice• against ignorance of Islam Islamic Law:
sharia“holy war” based on: Quran
hadith logic ritual law related to all areas of human
activity
Masjid Al-Haram • can hold approximately 900,000 people inside• another 1,200,000 can be in the outside construction
area
• the greater area of the masjid can hold 4,000,000 people during Hajj season
• the current building project (pictured above) is expected to be completed in 2020
The expansion of Islam, 632-733 ceThe Caliph• no clear to successor identified• Abu Bakr chosen to lead as Caliph• war against those who abandon faith
Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 CE)ShiaThe Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258 CE)SunniAbu al-AbbasjizyaDar al-Islam
Changing Status of Women• complex, but overall• Quran improved status of women• outlawed female infanticide• legally, women had rights and privileges (for
example to divorce her husband) – but those rights might be difficult to pursue
• yet, religion exists against a cultural backdrop • patrilineal descent• polygamy permitted (not inherently bad)• FGC permitted• veil adopted
• these are not ‘Islamic’ practices – some adopted from Christian communities…
The South Asian sub-continent: rich, diverse, and ever-challenging (just don’t call it India)
Geography: cultures of region
history of regioncontact
• overland• Indian Ocean
• by 1300, well-established trade from Asia to Persian Gulf, through the Red Sea, Mediterranean
Religion and Culture – syncretic tradition
Hindu faith• shruti - links to Vedic teaching & oldest Dravidian
cultureupanishads (sitting in front of)
• smirti - popular based on composition of epics from older oral traditions
• Mahabharata• Ramayana• Vishnu and the Bhagavad Gita “Song of the Lord”
c. 400 CE
6C BCE reformations• Jainism – based on upanishads concern for all living
beings• Buddhism – teachings of Siddhartha Gautama 7C CE • Islam and then later, Sikhism
Varnas (class) Rig Veda 10.90
PurushaMouth brahmins
Arms kshatryas (warriors)
Thighs vaishya (commoners)
twice born__________________________________
once born
Feet shudras (servants)
Jati (birth) caste – relative purity
Becoming a caste society• evidence of varnas in Rigvega hymns
c.1000BCE
• dharmashatra describes birth groups or jatis
→also exist clans that trace to common ancestor
→sreni or guilds denote religious or commercial
group →janapadas denotes connections based on
place or community [literally where clans placed their feet]
results in 1000s of varna
Ashramas: stages of life only twice born ♂ need applyhmm, so sacred power not
inherent in all …
Student brahmacharya♀ married
Householder grihastha
Forest dweller vanaprastha
Renouncer sannyasa
** see the movie Fire (dir. Deepa Mehta)
Overall of note: ** do this for the mid-term **The geography, topography of the society:
• how has that impacted its development and structure, its homogeneity or multi-ethnicity
• how has that shaped relations between it and other groups
The overall organization of the society: • model of leadership• social structure• what positions/roles are valued in society
गणे�श
The philosophic/spiritual principles of the society:unique
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