History and Democracy of the Modern Middle East - HIST 235 Resource Guide

Subject page from the History Channel

This compilation of recent NewsHour segments sheds light on issues ranging from Islamist extremism to Islamic religious observance in order to open-mindedly address Islam-related issues.

Art scholar Waldemar Januszczak introduces viewers to masterworks in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia-from the gigantic and surreal mud mosques of Mali; to a rare, 10th-century Egyptian ewer carved out of a single piece of rock crystal; to the inspired urban planning of the ancient city of Isfahan in Iran; to the stunning architecture of Uzbekistan's Samarquand.

From Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Political Thought
Arabic, comprehension, from faqiha, to understand: the name used for the general science of jurisprudence relating to Islamic law.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
A tradition or the collection of the traditions of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, including his sayings and deeds, and his tacit approval of what was said or done in his presence.

The book composed of sacred writings accepted by Muslims as revelations made to Muhammad by Allah.

The religious law of Islam. As Islam makes no distinction between religion and life, Islamic law covers not only ritual but many aspects of life.

From Chambers 21st Century Dictionary
A compilation of the sayings and deeds of Muhammad, which is a supplement to the Koran for the more orthodox Muslim.

The American Foreign Policy Council’s World Almanac of Islamism is a comprehensive resource focusing on the nature of the contemporary Islamist threat in individual countries and regions, intended to provide an accurate picture of the rise or decline of radical Islamism on a national, regional and global level.

Babism was a 19th-century Shii messianic movement based in Iraq and Iran that announced the immanent return of the Hidden Imam, a redeemer sent by God, and thereby challenged the legitimacy of powerful religious and political authorities at the time. As a result, it was violently suppressed, but it gave birth to a new movement, which became the Bahai Faith. The name Babism (Babiyya) was based on the Arabic word bab, “gate” or “door,” indicating a living man inspired by God who provides access to the Hidden Imam. Ali Muhammad (1819–50), a young merchant from Shiraz, Iran, launched the movement.

Religion founded by Baha Ullah (born Mirza Huseyn Ali Nuri) and promulgated by his eldest son, Abdul Baha (1844–1921). It is a doctrinal outgrowth of Babism, with Baha Ullah as the Promised One of the earlier religion.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
African-American religious movement in the United States, split since 1976 into the American Muslim Mission and the Nation of Islam.

Islam, one of the world’s great monotheistic religions, was founded (or restored) by the Prophet Muhammad (570-632 CE), who lived in Mecca and Medina on the Arabian Peninsula.

Muslim Shiite sect that holds Ismail, the son of Jafar as-Sadiq, as its imam.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Islamic scholastic theology. Kalam was founded by al-Ashari (873-935), whose Ashariyya School was the dominant school of scholastic theology.

Member of a sect of Islam that believes that Ali, a cousin of the prophet Muhammad, was his first true successor.

An umbrella term for the ascetic and mystical movements within Islam. While Sufism is said to have incorporated elements of Christian monasticism, gnosticism, and Indian mysticism, its origins are traced to forms of devotion and groups of penitents (zuhhad) in the formative period of Islam.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
The largest division of Islam. Sunni Islam is the heir to the early central Islamic state, in its ackowledgement of the legitimacy of the order of succession of the first four caliphs.

A form of radical Islamism known after its founder, Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab (1703–1792), from the Najd area of Arabia, ruled by local sheikhs of the house of Saud.

On the 10th of Muharram in the year 680, Muhammad’s grandson Hussein was killed in a skirmish between Sunnis and the small group of Shi’ite supporters with whom he was travelling to Iraq.

Muslim ceremony to mark the beginning of a child's learning about Islam. It takes place at the age of four to five, the same age at which the angel Jibra'il (Gabriel) visited Muhammad.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Muslim festival that takes place during the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, and commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ishmael at the command of Allah.

From Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary
The Islamic New Year occurs on the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. Muharram is one of four especially holy months for Muslims, along with Dhu al-Qadah, Dhu al-Hijjah (when the Pilgrimage to Mecca takes place), and Rajab (when Laylat al-Miraj is celebrated). The name of the month means “sacred.”

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
In Islam, the commemoration of the birth of the prophet Muhammad, who was born on 12 Rabiulawal. The annual event takes place on the 12th day of the third month in the Muslim calendar.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
In the Muslim calendar, the ninth month of the year. Ramadan follows a lunar year and occurs 11 days earlier each solar year. Throughout Ramadan a strict fast (sawm) is observed during the hours of daylight.