- Students will complete a reading about the Prophet Muhammad and the development of Islam in Mecca then answer reading analysis and multiple-choice questions.
- This station is worth 16 points.
- The directions for this station are on the website and your work may be submitted on paper, emailed, or shared through Google Drive.
THE MIDDLE EAST AND MECCA [LEARNING TARGETS #1 and #2]
The Middle East was a land of few resources. Vast deserts meant lots of sand and not a lot of water. But the Middle East was home to an incredibly resourceful people. The Arab peoples were masters of their land who relied on a nomadic lifestyle, disciplined water and food preservation strategies, and useful animals like the camel.
There was a great deal of conflict between groups struggling to control the scarce resources of the land. Truces were declared once a year so the various tribes and family clans belonging to each tribe could come together at shrines to settle disputes, trade, and worship.
The Arab peoples of the Middle East also thrived as the best guides and guards available for traders passing along the Silk Road from Asia to Europe and Africa. The markets of the Middle East were places where great wealth was collected and ideas were exchanged freely. One such market was found in the city of Mecca.
The Middle East was a land of few resources. Vast deserts meant lots of sand and not a lot of water. But the Middle East was home to an incredibly resourceful people. The Arab peoples were masters of their land who relied on a nomadic lifestyle, disciplined water and food preservation strategies, and useful animals like the camel.
There was a great deal of conflict between groups struggling to control the scarce resources of the land. Truces were declared once a year so the various tribes and family clans belonging to each tribe could come together at shrines to settle disputes, trade, and worship.
The Arab peoples of the Middle East also thrived as the best guides and guards available for traders passing along the Silk Road from Asia to Europe and Africa. The markets of the Middle East were places where great wealth was collected and ideas were exchanged freely. One such market was found in the city of Mecca.
Located in the Arabian Peninsula, Mecca benefited greatly from both the wealth brought to the Middle East by traders and the movement of ideas and culture along the Silk Road. Mecca was as celebrated for its market as it was for an ancient shrine called the Kaaba at the heart of the city. The clans and tribes who lived in the deserts nearest Mecca kept shrines to their gods in the Kaaba. In the year 570, a child was born to the tribe that cared for the Kaaba in Mecca. His name was Muhammad and one day he would change Mecca, the Middle East, and the world forever with his message. |
THE MESSAGE OF MUHAMMAD [LEARNING TARGETS #1 AND #2]
Muhammad was born in the year 570 in the city of Mecca. He belonged to the Quraysh tribe that maintained the Kaaba and his family clan was called Banu Hashim. His father died before he was born and his mother died when he was a child so Muhammad was taken in by his uncle, Abu Talib, who was leader of the family clan.
As he grew older, Muhammad became a respected member of the Meccan community. He was taught the ways of trade and led caravans through the desert that brought more wealth to Mecca and his clan. He was known for settling disputes and once offered a solution for fixing a sacred part of the Kaaba called the Black Stone that involved all the major clans contributing to its repair. And Muhammad was happily married to a woman named Khadija by the time he was twenty-five.
The nearby mountains were a place where Muhammad would often go for private prayer and meditation. In the year 610, Muhammad claimed that an angel had been sent to reveal to him the word of God. The angel instructed Muhammad to recite the ideas and rules revealed to him. The Arabic word for “recitation” is Qur’an and this would become the name of the Islamic holy book describing the beliefs and practices for Muslims that were revealed to Muhammad by the angels.
For three years, Muhammad only discussed his visions with close friends and family but he soon began preaching openly. He spoke of Abraham, the legendary founder of Judaism and Christianity, as one of the first prophets and explained a tradition in which Abraham’s son Ishmael had built the Kaaba and Mecca. He expressed his belief that there was only one god and that humanity had repeatedly been given messages from this god (like the Torah and Bible) but they had been corrupted or ignored.
Muhammad’s message made him unpopular with the powerful figures of Mecca. His new faith attracted many but especially those who were under-privileged. With time Muhammad also became more bold in proclaiming that the belief in many gods (polytheism) of other Arabs was sinful and that the Kaaba should once again be a mosque to Allah rather than a shrine to many different gods. Despite the criticism of his message, Muhammad was protected by his uncle and the growing community of Muslims.
Muhammad was born in the year 570 in the city of Mecca. He belonged to the Quraysh tribe that maintained the Kaaba and his family clan was called Banu Hashim. His father died before he was born and his mother died when he was a child so Muhammad was taken in by his uncle, Abu Talib, who was leader of the family clan.
As he grew older, Muhammad became a respected member of the Meccan community. He was taught the ways of trade and led caravans through the desert that brought more wealth to Mecca and his clan. He was known for settling disputes and once offered a solution for fixing a sacred part of the Kaaba called the Black Stone that involved all the major clans contributing to its repair. And Muhammad was happily married to a woman named Khadija by the time he was twenty-five.
The nearby mountains were a place where Muhammad would often go for private prayer and meditation. In the year 610, Muhammad claimed that an angel had been sent to reveal to him the word of God. The angel instructed Muhammad to recite the ideas and rules revealed to him. The Arabic word for “recitation” is Qur’an and this would become the name of the Islamic holy book describing the beliefs and practices for Muslims that were revealed to Muhammad by the angels.
For three years, Muhammad only discussed his visions with close friends and family but he soon began preaching openly. He spoke of Abraham, the legendary founder of Judaism and Christianity, as one of the first prophets and explained a tradition in which Abraham’s son Ishmael had built the Kaaba and Mecca. He expressed his belief that there was only one god and that humanity had repeatedly been given messages from this god (like the Torah and Bible) but they had been corrupted or ignored.
Muhammad’s message made him unpopular with the powerful figures of Mecca. His new faith attracted many but especially those who were under-privileged. With time Muhammad also became more bold in proclaiming that the belief in many gods (polytheism) of other Arabs was sinful and that the Kaaba should once again be a mosque to Allah rather than a shrine to many different gods. Despite the criticism of his message, Muhammad was protected by his uncle and the growing community of Muslims.
THE FIRST MUSLIM COMMUNITIES [LEARNING TARGETS #1 AND #2]
The followers of Muhammad and his Islamic teachings were persecuted very early on. Just a few years after Muhammad began his sermons some of the Muslim community had already been forced to leave Mecca and start a new home in Africa where they were greeted by the Christian king of Ethiopia as fellow monotheists.
The Muslim community in Mecca was protected by Muhammad’s clan until the “year of sorrow” in 619. In that year Muhammad’s uncle, Abu Talib, and his wife, Khadija, both passed away. Both deaths were devastating to the Muslim community but the loss of Muhammad’s uncle also meant no more protection from the family clan. This meant more persecution of the Muslim community by Meccans who distrusted Muhammad’s new religion and its message.
Fearing for the Prophet’s safety, the Muslim community began looking for a new home. Some of the cities considered by Muhammad feared that involvement with his community might draw them into conflict with Mecca and rejected him. Eventually, a city called Yathrib welcomed Muhammad to help negotiate conflicts between different groups in the city as its new political leader.
In the year 622, Muhammad and the Muslim community fled Mecca for Yathrib. This event is called the hijrah and it marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Muhammad and his followers from Mecca worked alongside the peoples of Yathrib and soon the city became known as Medina, the “city of the Prophet”. Many clans from the desert and Medina converted to Islam during this time and joined the Muslim community.
The followers of Muhammad and his Islamic teachings were persecuted very early on. Just a few years after Muhammad began his sermons some of the Muslim community had already been forced to leave Mecca and start a new home in Africa where they were greeted by the Christian king of Ethiopia as fellow monotheists.
The Muslim community in Mecca was protected by Muhammad’s clan until the “year of sorrow” in 619. In that year Muhammad’s uncle, Abu Talib, and his wife, Khadija, both passed away. Both deaths were devastating to the Muslim community but the loss of Muhammad’s uncle also meant no more protection from the family clan. This meant more persecution of the Muslim community by Meccans who distrusted Muhammad’s new religion and its message.
Fearing for the Prophet’s safety, the Muslim community began looking for a new home. Some of the cities considered by Muhammad feared that involvement with his community might draw them into conflict with Mecca and rejected him. Eventually, a city called Yathrib welcomed Muhammad to help negotiate conflicts between different groups in the city as its new political leader.
In the year 622, Muhammad and the Muslim community fled Mecca for Yathrib. This event is called the hijrah and it marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Muhammad and his followers from Mecca worked alongside the peoples of Yathrib and soon the city became known as Medina, the “city of the Prophet”. Many clans from the desert and Medina converted to Islam during this time and joined the Muslim community.
Islam grew during this period and changed in many ways. The revelations of Muhammad during this time were far more political and would be the foundation of Islamic law called shari’a. Other significant changes were the development of the call to prayer and the expectation of praying in the direction of Kaaba and thus Mecca. Despite having fled Mecca during the hijrah, there were still conflicts between the Muslims now in Medina and those who had persecuted them in Mecca. War between Muhammad’s followers and the people of Mecca was coming. |