GLST 392 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Zakat, Hajj, Zoroastrianism
Document Summary
Why attractive to others outside of arab world: uncompromising monotheism b. highly developed legal codes c. egalitarianismd. strong sense of community, most aspects similar to that of judaism and christianity1. Accepted older teachings, muhammad just most recent divine instruc: five pillarsa. No god but allah: pray five times a day facing meccac. fast during ramadand. Hajj - pilgrimage to ka"ba to worship allah. Initially, it looked like islam might fail with muhammad"s death: some renounced faith, other argued over secessionb. Foreign expeditions took minds off of internal problems how convenient: rather easily beat neighbors a. courage, military prowessc. religious zeald. weakness of border empires, new lands/people ruled by arab elitec. Motives for arab conquest: unity of faith gave them common cause2. Zoroastrianism religion of emperor ignored by common people3. Delayed too long to realize threat, eventually fled east and were killed.