Islam State and Empire

The history of Islam is often related to the existence of the Islamic state and empire. From the beginning, Islam existed and spread as a community-state which, consisted of both a faith and political order. Islam was established within the Arabian peninsula, which is an area occupied by pastoral nomads, and on the periphery of the civilized zones. Much of the peninsula is desert, which supported both goat and camel nomadism among peoples called Bedouin. The tribal culture of the Bedouin provided a critical backdrop for the emergence of Islam.

The basic social unit of the Bedouin was the kin-related clan. Although clans were linked together into tribes, these units seldom met together. Clan councils were who determined the distribution and use of all of the resources, that were critical to the nomadic life, and family leaders were the ones who dominated the clan councils. These cities existed along the western coast of the Arabian peninsula, where they served as ports for transcontinental trade between Europe and Asia. Mecca, which, founded by the Umayyad clan of the Quraysh tribe, was the most important of these Arabian cities,which is also referred to as the religious city.

Arab material culture compared to the neighboring civilizations was less highly developed. The most creative activity of Bedouin society was poetry. Bedouin religion featured a blend of animism and polytheism. They associated spirits and gods with the night and were often located in sacred caves, springs, and groves of trees. Allah was only one of the Bedouin deities. The custom of Clans were more linked to the effects of ethical standards and morality than religion.

Jewish religion dates from about 1200 B.C. The first Israelites were roamer who colonized i...

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...nominated by the Prophet as his successor. Umar succeeded him, and presided over the first wave of conquests. This in turn had brought in many non-Muslims under their control. The Christians and Jews among them people of the book and practiced their religions freely, although they were required to pay a special tax called jizya. As well, great numbers of non-Arabs converted to Islam, and were called mawali, or clients of the original Arab conquerors.

Works Cited

http://explorethemed.com/RiseIslam.asp http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/the_rise_of_islam/ http://www.provethebible.net/T2-Hist/Islam-3-Pre-islamicArabia.htm http://www.oneworldmagazine.org/focus/deserts/hittstr1.htm http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/mo-death.htm http://christianityinview.com/xncomparison.html http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islam_judaism_christianity.htm