Deck 16: Mature Islamic Society and the First Global Civilization

Question 1

Through the "Closing of the Gates," the Muslim ulama (religious scholars)

A) sought to close Islam to Christians and Jews.
B) convinced the majority of Muslims that God's laws had been made complete, so there was to be no further questioning.
C) rewrote religious laws to conform to their beliefs about God's will for his people.
D) brought the examples set by Muhammad to the center of Muslim religious belief.
E) seized power from the vizier, or prime minister.

Answer 1

convinced the majority of Muslims that God's laws had been made complete, so there was to be no further questioning.

Question 2

Abbasid bureaucracy was directed by a sort of prime minister,or

A) emir.
B) kadi.
C) caliph.
D) Muezzin.
E) vizier.

Answer 2

vizier.

Question 3

How was Islam the "First World Civilization"?

Answer 3

Answers would include the expansion of Islam from Spain to Asia,the significance of trade and the cosmopolitan nature of the cities of the time.

Question 4

All of the following are considered original inventions of the Muslims EXCEPT

A) papermaking.
B) fictional literature.
C) the university.
D) the decimal system.
E) algebra.

Question 5

Whirling Dervishes are associated with

A) Shi'ite Islam.
B) The Arabian Nights.
C) calligraphy.
D) Sufism.
E) Muslim astrology.

Question 6

Describe the end of the Abbasid and the impact of that on the rest of the Muslim Arabic world.

Question 7

Though Muslim scientists gained much knowledge from the early classical civilizations,a major difference was that

A) they showed great interest in medicine but not astronomy.
B) they never quite caught up with the scientists in the West.
C) Muslim scientists sought to put their knowledge to practical use.
D) no individual Muslim scientists became well-known during their lifetimes.
E) rationalization was much less important to the Muslim scientists.

Question 8

Sharia may be defined as

A) rules giving women inferior status.
B) examples set by Muhammad.
C) a private donation to charity.
D) sacred law.
E) pilgrimage.

Question 9

Describe the organization of the Islamic Empire under Abbasid rule,750-1258.What were the major religious issues?

Question 10

The most famous example of Muslim architecture in the world is the

A) Ka'ba.
B) Taj Mahal.
C) House of Wisdom.
D) Azhar Mosque.
E) University of Cairo Planetarium.

Question 11

Elaborate on Islamic art,science and literature highlighting the distinctive features of each.

Question 12

The oldest functioning university is located in

A) Baghdad.
B) Cairo.
C) Cordóba.
D) Delhi.
E) Bologna.

Question 13

What specific theological challenges did Islam face from the Abbasid to the 1500s?

Question 14

Describe life in the Islamic world for women.

Question 15

As a master teacher,Muslim scholars held in particularly high regard

A) Plato.
B) Aristotle.
C) Aeschylus.
D) Socrates.
E) Seneca.

Question 16

Among the Abbasid Muslims,civil law was based primarily on

A) decisions of the diwan.
B) the Qur'an and Sharia.
C) the decisions of the caliph.
D) rulings from the emirs.
E) judgments from the kadis.

Question 17

Above all,the Abbasid caliphate promised to provide

A) an enlarged empire.
B) religious equality.
C) improved educational opportunities.
D) realigned governmental bodies.
E) more religious leadership.

Question 18

The greatest purpose of Harun al-Rashid's "House of Wisdom" was to

A) train young men in the Muslim faith.
B) prepare mathematicians.
C) translate Greek classics into Arabic.
D) promote the study of astrology.
E) expand the Sunni sciences.

Question 19

The Muslim army under the Abbasids was

A) mainly Arab mercenaries.
B) international and well-respected.
C) mainly Persian slaves.
D) no match for Byzantine soldiers.
E) composed mainly of very young Arab men.

Question 20

Because of certain restrictions regarding the Qur'an,this became a major source of unification for Muslims:

A) jihad.
B) sharia.
C) education.
D) the Arabic language.
E) the university.

Question 21

The Qur'an allows but does not encourage a man to have how many wives?

A) three
B) five
C) two
D) four
E) an indefinite number

Question 22

The fall of Baghdad

A) was violent.
B) was bloody.
C) resulted in perhaps 80,000 deaths.
D) was ruthless.
E) All of the options are correct

Question 23

Baghdad was seized from the Abbasids in 1200 by

A) raiders from Afghanistan.
B) the Seljuk Turks.
C) the army of Harun al-Rashid.
D) the Mongol Khanate.
E) a coalition of anti-Abbasid Islamists.

Question 24

Sufism is the Islamic version of the intellectual phenomenon known in the West as

A) communism.
B) mysticism.
C) individualism.
D) feminism.
E) agnosticism.

Question 25

Between 800 and 1200,the Muslims were especially further advanced than the West in the field of

A) medicine.
B) physics.
C) botany.
D) astronomy.
E) mathematics.

Question 26

In Abbasid Muslim society,slavery was

A) unknown.
B) usually reserved for work in mines.
C) exceedingly harsh.
D) hereditary.
E) not uncommon but not usually a difficult life.

Question 27

The Mongols originated in

A) Far East Asia.
B) Central Asian steppes.
C) Himalayan mountains.
D) Eastern Europe.
E) None of the options are correct.

Question 28

The most famous book originating in the Abbasid world was ____________________.

Question 29

Which of the following statements best describes the network of trade that flourished from Muhammad's time up to about 1500?

A) Hindus and Muslims fought several major battles over control of the Indian Ocean trade.
B) Africa was less important than India but more important than Asia.
C) Europe and Asia were the largest consumers in the world.
D) Trade was responsible for a tremendous exchange of ideas as well as goods.
E) As a part of this vast trade network, Africa supplied pepper and spices to Asia.

Question 30

The capture of Baghdad by the ____________________ finally ended the Abbasid Caliphate.

Question 31

The world's various trading cities during the Abbasid caliphate,such as Córdoba,Madrid,and Baghdad,would best be described as

A) crime-ridden.
B) cosmopolitan.
C) culturally lacking.
D) religiously divided.
E) restrictive.

Question 32

Genghis Khan encountered which of the following in the Middle East?

A) A single strong Islamic state.
B) A revived Persian empire.
C) A small series of regional kingdoms, some Islamic, some Christian.
D) All Shi'ite Muslim nations.
E) A series of large and small Muslim principalities.

Question 33

The Qur'an prohibited the lifelike representation of

A) the human figure.
B) the horse.
C) any animal.
D) Allah.
E) birds.

Question 34

In the Middle East,the Mongols invaded an empire already broken apart by the

A) Iranians.
B) Seljuk Turks.
C) Arabs.
D) Romans.
E) Venetians.

Question 35

Muslim visual art can best be described as

A) explicitly representational.
B) primitive in technique.
C) geometrically or floral based.
D) similar to Christian art.
E) architecturally oriented.

Question 36

The most famous example of Muslim-inspired architecture is the ____________________.

Question 37

In the Muslim household,the foremost duty of a man was to

A) provide for his family.
B) maintain family honor.
C) restrict his wives to the harem.
D) teach his children the Islamic faith.
E) treat his slaves well.

Question 38

Because of economic realities,the practice of purdah in much of Africa and Asia was

A) eliminated.
B) seldom enforced.
C) enacted.
D) socially unacceptable.
E) actively practiced.

Question 39

The cultural,economic and political center of Muslim Spain was the city of ____________________.

Question 40

The Seljuks came out of

A) Iran.
B) Iraq.
C) Afghanistan.
D) Syria.
E) Lebanon.

Question 41

The ____________________ were judges who presided over cases involving Muslims.

Question 42

The most significant Sufi philosopher was ___________________________________.

Question 43

The ____________________ is the sacred law based on the Qur'an.

Question 44

The tax-collecting responsibilities under the Abbasid Caliphate was assumed by the ____________________ or governor.

Question 45

The Islamic world reached as far as ____________________ to the east by 1500.

Question 46

The most well known Muslim traveler was ____________________.