Islamic civilization on Western land allowed a different way of living and thinking much superior to the one existing in the rest of Europe. Until around the end of the eleventh century, the Western views of Islam and its cultural and military triumphant civilizations were fostered by ignorance and hatred toward Islam and the Muslims. The highest intellectual achievements of the West during the Crusades were from imitation of Islamic science and learning. Universities were found in the West that were patterned on the Muslim universities in that they pursue new knowledge made available by translations of the works in Arabic and Greek classics. Arabo-Islamic culture, knowledge, scholarship, and science fed the Western world’s development for
In the 7th and 8th centuries, Islam spread from its beginnings in Arabia to cover the entire Middle East and parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe. As (Document 8) shows, by the year 750, Islam stretched from Eastern Persia in the Middle East, all the way to the westernmost edges of Spain and North Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Islam expanded so rapidly because of its techniques on conquering unstable areas and converting people to Islam, preventing setbacks and obstructions. Islam had three main reasons for its eminent prosperity. The way that Muslims treated the conquered people allowed for peace throughout the empire. Tolerance, combined with the military power, a disciplined army, and an overall appealing religion of Islam, provided the template that allowed the empire to expand to encompass an enormous amount of area.
Over the 100 years that Islam expanded, the Arabs collected a wealth of science, philosophy and arts from lands they had conquered as they grew. By the tenth century, nearly all Greek texts were translated into Arabic as a result of the Translation Movement. They preserved a lot of Greek works that would have been lost otherwise. At the time they were thought of as the greatest scholars because of all of the knowledge they combined from different countries. For example, the Greeks liked geometry, and the Hindus liked algebra and arithmetic, so the Arabians developed a combination of both called trigonometry, used for astronomical purposes with the ratios called trigonometric functions. The Islamic people contributed to transmission of knowledge in Europe by all of the writing they had sought after to make their own. It gave them so much more information than other countries. As more expansion occurred, the Greek scientific writings moved westward through the Islamic world and reached Spain by the 9th century.
The “Post-Classical Period,” was a time of change, expansion, and vast cultural diffusion. The Islamic civilization is a group that emerged from the Semitic groups of southwestern Asia, and moved to the Arabian peninsula in tribes, known as the Bedouin tribes, due to lack of water and food. The Islamic Civilization encountered the cultures of the Europeans, Asians and Africans, and connected into these civilizations because of the spread of the Muslim religion. The Bedouin Arabs intensified cultural diffusion also through trade, migration, and warfare. The movement of the Islamic culture resulted in the
In 570 C.E., a man was born who would later go on to become the final prophet of the fastest growing religion in the world. Muhammad was a merchant trader from Mecca. He was praying in a cave near Mt. Hira when he first heard the words of Allah from Archangel Gabriel. Muhammad kept silent about the encounters besides telling his wife until two years later. He decided it was time for the world to hear the message of Allah. From there stemmed the religion of Islam in Mecca. The lifestyle of Islam spread quickly due to pre-existing trade routes, the appeal of the religion and through military conquest.
It is said that the Islamic culture mirrors that of the Roman Empire in terms of expansion and longevity. The now widely practiced faith began in an area called Arabia, which neither Rome nor Persia dared conquer. From its creation, it contributed several important things to Medieval Europe and the World as a whole. It conquered a large region and gained thousands of followers.
Islamic civilization was spread throughout the Middle East, parts of Asia, North Africa, and parts of Europe. With the help of the prophet, Muhammad, it became well known. Also with their equality, trade routes, their devotion to God and their offer of conversion or chaos helped spread it.
In the beginning, Muhammad started to preach his teachings, called Islam, in a populous trade center known as Mecca. Though, at first, his preachings were resisted as the people worried that idol worship and pilgrimages, or journeys to a sacred place, would end. This, in fact, proved to be true as with enough support, Muhammad ordered that the idols be destroyed and that a shrine dedicated to Allah be built instead, making Mecca the birthplace and foundation of Islam. However, within 100 years of Muhammad’s death in 632 CE, Islam had spread to multiple other countries including Europe, North Africa, and Asia. The question is, how did Islam spread so rapidly over the course of 100 years? Briefly put, Islam spread rapidly due to trade routes, military campaigns, and non-Muslim converts.
“You know now your own life doesn’t belong to you/ The way a child defects into his childhood” (11-12). That is an excerpt from the poem “Replica” from her book; quotes like these really showcase Ruefle’s writing style and is strong example of her many punching lines of poetry. Ruefle’s Selected Poems is a book of poetry that conveys a wild imagination, sensitivity, and melancholy humor. Ruefle who often used first person throughout the book could instantly grab the reader with her vivid images. Also, she connected on a relatable level with the audience by using first person in her poetry. Ruefle used her book to tell complex stories while using vivid imagery and descriptive language.
We live in a world where the society is run by men and where men have more power than women because of the system of “Patriarchy” where men were the domain and the leader of the family. A system where males hold first in power and position through roles of leadership and the idea of men represented the world’s most populated and centered people in the world. During the time, women would be maids or servants and women would have to obey and listen to men’s orders. This caused the stereotypical life of women having the image of being “weak” while men being “strong”. In my opinion, I feel that this should change because the image that is causing a barrier around us because of who we are and how we look. While reading the Memoirs of Geisha, I feel
Muhammad was known as the prophet of Islam. After receiving messages from Allah ( the concept of God in Islam) for two years, he thought it was time to preach the word of Allah. Through that Muhammad successfully was able to spread the word of Allah not only through religion but also politically to. Through the government Islam was able to spread even more after the four “rightly guided” caliphs (caliph means successor or deputy) continued to spread Islam. People seeked for new religious ideas.
The Muslim people made many exceptional achievements and great contributions that spread to and affected the entire world, particularly Europe. Several factors encouraged them to pursue experimentations and developments in different fields.
The rise and expansion of Islam has had a significant impact on the role and rights of women throughout history. Since its origin in the seventh century until modern times, the Muslim faith has somewhat broadened, but has mostly restricted women’s rights in numerous Islamic communities. The history of Muslim women is complex, as it involves many advances and declines in numerous locations, such as Egypt, Afghanistan, and Iran, concerning several subjects, including both civil and social rights. Thus, in general, the rights of Islamic women did not improve significantly over time, instead, conditions remained the same or became worse for women as Islam evolved and spread as a world religion.
As history continues, many religions have had an over powering effect on western civilization. When the 5th century arose, the religion, Islam, had an extremely important impact on the civilization. Muhammad, an Arabic prophet founded Islam and began to introduce it the people of his time. Diplomacy, violence, warfare, public laws, and Arabic tradition played a crucial role in the building of the Islamic religion. These important aspects helped shape and build the Islam religion that is now one of the world’s most widely practiced religions.
Western Civilization has had a tremendous influence on many different cultures worldwide. From the Hispanic cultures in South and Central America, to the Caribbean islands, and also to the various exotic African countries, and even to the distinguished cultures that reside in the continent of Asia. In many ways than one, these cultures have been molded to be as westernized as they could possibly be without losing their traditional customs indefinitely. They’re religion, fashion sense, and family structures have all been altered in some form so that it could resemble the western nation’s patriarch. Countries in North America and Europe have for centuries traveled to different continents in the world and colonized many nations, as a result of that, many of the customs and traditions of those people have been shaped to be a bit more westernized.
Islamic societies also fail their people educationally. Islamic institutions inadequately fund education, or provide inadequate education. None of the 1800 universities in Muslim countries are named as one of the top 500 world universities.² In science and technology, the Islamic world lags significantly. Twenty Muslim countries combined contributed only 0.55% of recent scientific literature, while smaller Israel produced 0.89%.³ Korea recently generated 16,328 patents and the United States generated 1,145,914, while the top nine Muslim countries generated 370, many by foreigners.⁴