Deck 7: Ferment in the Middle East: the Rise of Islam

Question 1

The city to which Muhammad went to in 622, a journey known as the Hijrah, was

A) Mecca.
B) Medina.
C) Jerusalem.
D) Riyad.
E) Damascus.

Answer 1

Medina.

Question 2

What does the 'Hajj' refer to?

A) A pilgrimage to Mecca
B) Ka'aba in Mecca
C) The contents of the Ka'aba
D) Muslim leader or caliph
E) A religious war

Answer 2

A pilgrimage to Mecca

Question 3

Caliph (or khalifa) literally means

A) prophet.
B) judge.
C) warrior.
D) successor.
E) religious lawyer.

Answer 3

successor.

Question 4

The ruling member of a Bedouin tribe was called the

A) majlis.
B) jihad.
C) sheikh.
D) Ka'aba.
E) imam.

Question 5

The official calendar of Islam begins

A) in 222 CE
B) when Muhammad and his closest supporters left Yathrib and went to Mecca.
C) with the occurrence of the Hijrah.
D) with Muhammad's death in 632 CE
E) with the Arab conquest of Damascus.

Question 6

The council of elders of the Arabian Bedouin tribes was called the

A) majlis.
B) jihad.
C) sheikh.
D) Ka'aba.
E) iman.

Question 7

Muhammad began the solitary meditations during which he received the revelations underlying Islam because of

A) a dispute with his wife.
B) his desire to expand his knowledge of the message of Allah.
C) the difficulties created in his mind by the corrupt and decadent society of his day.
D) the call of the angel Gabriel.
E) his desire to convert the people of Mecca to Islam.

Question 8

The Koran or Qur'an

A) is the book containing the holy scriptures of Zoroastrianism.
B) contains the guidelines by which a Hindu was to live.
C) was derived from the revelations of Muhammad.
D) means, literally, "acceptance."
E) was first written in 776 C.E.

Question 9

In addition to being Islam's sacred book, the Qur'an

A) is composed, in part, of the Christian New Testament.
B) also provides the ethical foundation for life.
C) provides a systematized body of illegal tenets and theories of political procedures.
D) took oral shape before the writing of the Christian bible.
E) was written down by Muhammad's two sons.

Question 10

The Persian empire which experienced defeats at the hands of the Arab armies was the

A) Sassanid.
B) Umayyad.
C) Abbasid.
D) Fatimid.
E) Mongol.

Question 11

Shortly after Muhammad's death, ____ was selected as the first caliph.

A) Ibn Rushd
B) Sadi
C) Ferdowzi
D) Abu Bakr
E) Ibn Battuta

Question 12

In regard to acceptable behavior for a Muslim, it can be said that

A) all men were permitted to have no more than four wives.
B) extramarital sexual activities were permitted.
C) rules concerning sexual behavior were quite liberal.
D) the consumption of pork and alcohol were permitted in limited quantities.
E) Muslim priests must be celibate.

Question 13

All of the following were true about the spread of Arab control except

A) its voluntary and egalitarian features proved quite attractive to many people.
B) if an individual chose not to become a Muslim, he still had to participate in mandatory military service.
C) as a result of the caliphate being won by the Syrian governor, the Islamic capital was located in Damascus for a time.
D) Egypt was an early Arab conquest.
E) non-Muslims were usually required to pay a special tax.

Question 14

The _____ Pillars of Islam outline the basic obligations of all believers.

A) Three
B) Four
C) Five
D) Six
E) Seven

Question 15

The theoretical purpose of the jihad was to

A) maintain peak military readiness.
B) wage holy war against all other Muslims on the Arabian peninsula.
C) broaden Muslim hegemony throughout Africa and Europe.
D) strive in the way of the Lord.
E) massacre all Jews and Christians.

Question 16

In 636, the Muslims defeated the ____ army at the Yarmuk River.

A) Mongol
B) Seljuk
C) Frankish
D) Persian
E) Byzantine

Question 17

The Hadith and Shari'a

A) were adopted, respectively, from Jewish and Christian writings.
B) were the "Pillars of Islam."
C) were, respectively, a collection of Muhammad's sayings and a law code.
D) were, respectively, a law code and a marriage manual for Muslims.
E) was a military manual to be used in war against the Western Crusaders.

Question 18

The Ka'aba

A) was a group of sacred stones revered by the Bedouin tribes, each of which possessed one.
B) was the shrine in Mecca containing a large black meteorite.
C) represented the monotheism of the Bedouins.
D) was Allah's representative Arab priesthood.
E) was the male initiation ceremony when one formally became an adult.

Question 19

According to Islamic belief

A) Muhammad created the concept of Allah.
B) Allah sent not his first but his final message through Muhammad.
C) the teachings of Jesus and Moses are incorrect and immoral.
D) Allah ordained that Muhammad was a subordinate God.
E) there is no afterlife for the individual.

Question 20

Islam is

A) polytheistic.
B) monotheistic.
C) polyandrous.
D) divinistic.
E) secularist.

Question 21

Attacks by the Seljuk Turks on the ____ led to the crusades.

A) Byzantines
B) Berbers
C) Franks
D) Persians
E) Egyptians

Question 22

Conquered peoples who chose not to convert to Islam were

A) forced to flee their homeland.
B) required to submit to Muslim rule and pay a tax.
C) put to death.
D) conscripted into the army.
E) enslaved.

Question 23

Which of the following is not a correct statement about the Mongols?

A) They caused great havoc and destruction throughout the Middle East.
B) Their westward advance continued on to absorb the Cordova caliphate in Spain.
C) Over time, their upper-class population became Muslim.
D) Initially, the Mongols were not Muslims.
E) They often engaged in acts of mass brutality.

Question 24

In 1291, ____, the last stronghold of the crusaders, fell to Muslim forces.

A) Acre
B) Jerusalem
C) Antioch
D) Edessa
E) Tripoli

Question 25

The ____________ Crusade succeeded in capturing Jerusalem after a long siege.

A) First
B) Second
C) Third
D) Fourth
E) Fifth

Question 26

In 640, the Muslims took possession of the Byzantine province of

A) Syria.
B) Attica.
C) Constantinople.
D) Palestine.
E) Tyre.

Question 27

The diwan was a

A) kind of tax.
B) religious scholar.
C) form of currency.
D) political council.
E) rare and valued textile.

Question 28

Muhammad's teachings

A) stressed that Islam was not just a religion but also a way of life.
B) required all Muslims to follow the Six Suras and the Seven Pillars.
C) accepted polygyny, but permitted men to take only one wife.
D) were entirely theological with almost no ethical nor moral aspects.
E) were propagated in Greek to make them more understandable in the non-Arab world.

Question 29

Muhammad was

A) a Bedouin sheikh until his "arranged" marriage to a wealthy woman.
B) the son, ironically, of a Christian father and a Jewish mother.
C) not widely accepted for many years after he announced his religious revelations.
D) a peasant farmer before he married his wealthy employer.
E) originally considered to be an angel by his followers.

Question 30

The Abbasid caliphs tried to

A) create a new capital at Persepolis.
B) launch a holy war against Christianity.
C) break down the distinction between Arab and non-Arab Muslims.
D) end the practice of religious toleration.
E) end intermarriage between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Question 31

The caliphate that is often described as the Abbasid "Golden Age" was the reign of

A) Muhammad Ali.
B) Harun al-Rashid.
C) Abu Bakr.
D) Kabia al-Kahn.
E) Kadija al-Farabi.

Question 32

The Shi'ite capital at Cairo was established under the dynasty of the

A) Umayyads.
B) Abbasids.
C) Fatimids.
D) Seljuk Turks.
E) Golden Horde.

Question 33

The Muslim commander Tariq led the conquest of

A) Constantinople.
B) Persia.
C) the Balkans.
D) southern Spain.
E) Egypt.

Question 34

The Seljuk Turks were a nomadic people from

A) Persia.
B) northern Africa.
C) Central Asia.
D) East Africa.
E) the Balkans.

Question 35

During the Abbasid dynasty,

A) Damascus became the Islamic capital.
B) Greek writings were regarded as heretical and forbidden.
C) the caliphs were more like kings than spiritual leaders.
D) Persians began silk-cultivation.
E) there was a revival of Zoroastrianism.

Question 36

The Muslim sect who were the "partisans of Ali" are the

A) Sunnis.
B) Shi'ites.
C) Sufis.
D) Kurds.
E) "orthodox".

Question 37

In 1453, Sultan Mehmet II seized ____ and brought an end to the Byzantine Empire.

A) Cairo
B) Constantinople
C) Tyrus
D) Sidon
E) Ephesus

Question 38

In 732, an Arab force making a foray into southern France was defeated by

A) Charlemagne.
B) Charles Martel.
C) Pepin II.
D) Pope Gregory VII
E) Louis the Bald.

Question 39

The Mongols

A) initially came from the Congo Basin in central Africa.
B) introduced the meaning of ornate rugs to Persia and Egypt, from where it spread across the Islamic world.
C) adapted quickly to life in the Middle East, as they were already Muslims and greatly interested in trade and urban development.
D) were unable to capture Egypt, due to the effective resistance of the Mamluks.
E) captured Constantinople two times, but left shortly afterward in order not to destroy the city's profitable trading system.

Question 40

The Frankish leader who defeated a Muslim army near Tours in 732 was

A) Pepin.
B) Clovis.
C) Charlemagne.
D) Charles Martel.
E) Louis the Pious.

Question 41

The Muslims who sought a mystical relationship with Allah were the

A) Shi'ites.
B) Sunnis.
C) Kurds.
D) Fatimids.
E) Sufis.

Question 42

A primary contribution of Arab scholarship was the

A) creation of original contributions in the areas of astrophysics and geology.
B) preservation and dissemination of the science and philosophies of ancient civilizations.
C) establishment of the university system of study.
D) discovery of the rings of Saturn.
E) invention of paper.

Question 43

Ibn Sina used the work of ____ to support his own belief in natural laws.

A) Plato
B) Socrates
C) Aristotle
D) Euclid
E) Archimedes

Question 44

A ninth-century Iranian mathematician created

A) chaos theory.
B) algebra.
C) calculus.
D) geometry.
E) trigonometry.

Question 45

Andalusian caliphate was centered on

A) Toledo
B) Cordoba
C) Granada
D) Seville
E) Leon

Question 46

The major Muslim outpost in Europe was

A) the Maghreb.
B) Andalusia.
C) Savoy.
D) Attica.
E) the Rhineland.

Question 47

Under the Abbasids, the caliphs

A) forced all of their subjects to convert to Islam.
B) made a sharp distinction between secular and religious authority.
C) became mere figureheads
D) ruled as absolute dictators.
E) took on more of the trappings of kingship.

Question 48

Arab traders sought ____ in West Africa.

A) tools and weapons
B) horses and saddles
C) hides and grain
D) gold and slaves
E) gems and silver

Question 49

A major reason that Andalusia became a hub of artistic and intellectual activity was the

A) lack of a centralized political authority in Andalusia.
B) absence of any official state religion in Andalusia.
C) close proximity of the kingdom of the Franks.
D) tolerance in social relations fostered by the state.
E) forced relocation of artists and scholars to the region.

Question 50

The fairy-tale castle perched high above the city of Granada was the

A) Louvre.
B) Córdoba Mosque.
C) palace of Ukhaidir.
D) Alhambra.
E) Blue Mosque.

Question 51

The city that replaced Baghdad as the greatest Muslim city and the focus of trade was

A) Damascus.
B) Jerusalem.
C) Cairo.
D) Alexandria.
E) Medina.

Question 52

What is an accurate statement about the Arab Empire?

A) It was strongly united under the tight control of the caliph in Baghdad.
B) It created an era of great economic prosperity in the Middle East region.
C) It contained fewer urban centers than any other regime of its era.
D) It limited trade and provided the same income to all Muslims under Islamic principles.
E) It was culturally and intellectually inferior to the Frankish empire of Charlemagne.

Question 53

In general terms, it can be said that Islamic society

A) was usually extremely intolerant toward Christians and Jews.
B) contained very rigid divisions between Church and State.
C) relied heavily on religious doctrine to determine proper behavior in the areas of politics, economics, law, and ethics.
D) was more violent than its contemporaries.
E) became more secular after the death of Muhammad.

Question 54

Primary evidence suggests that ninth-century Abbasid caliphs

A) exempted nobles from taxation.
B) did not tax their secretaries and personal retainers.
C) supported hospices where the sick could gain shelter and medical treatment.
D) cared nothing for widows and orphans.
E) routinely killed women and children.

Question 55

Which of the following was not an achievement of Muslim science?

A) the development of the Upanishads
B) astronomical studies in Baghdad
C) knowledge of the nature of contagion and contamination
D) the development of medicine as a separate field of scientific study
E) new developments in optics and chemistry

Question 56

The great mosque constructed in Jerusalem at the site of the old temple is the

A) Dome of the Rock.
B) Alhambra.
C) Hegira Sophia.
D) Cordoba Mosque.
E) Blue Mosque.

Question 57

Who was the first great Islamic historian?

A) Muhammad Ali.
B) Harun al-Rashid.
C) Abu Bakr.
D) Kabia al-Kahn.
E) Al-Mas'udi

Question 58

What was forbidden in Islamic society?

A) Slavery
B) Female inheritance of property
C) Polygyny
D) Adultery
E) Divorce

Question 59

The art of Islam is a blend of Arab, Turkish, and _______ traditions.

A) Greek
B) Persian
C) Italian
D) Spanish
E) Egyptian

Question 60

The poet who wrote the Rubaiyat was

A) al-Mutanabbi.
B) Omar Khayyam.
C) Rudaki.
D) Sadi.
E) Tarafah.

Question 61

All of the following are true statements about Arab and Persian literature except

A) pre-Islamic traditions influenced later writers in the region.
B) Persian achievements were greatest in the area of poetry.
C) the Koran was looked upon as dogma that was separate from literary statement.
D) one of its greatest works was The Tales of the 1001 Nights/The Arabian Nights.
E) many writers were bilingual in Arabic and Persian.

Question 62

One of the failures of Islam was its refusal to preserve and spread the science and philosophy of Greece and other ancient civilizations.

Question 63

The Qur'an instructs men to treat women with respect.

Question 64

After the decline of Baghdad, the brightest star in the Muslim firmament was in Italy.

Question 65

The capital city of the Abbasid caliphate was Damascus.

Question 66

Unlike Christianity, Islam makes no claims as to the divinity of its founder.

Question 67

After the death of Harun, civil war broke out in the Abbasid Empire.

Question 68

Standard interpretations of European history present the reconquista as a calamity.

Question 69

Which statement about Islamic art is FALSE?

A) The arabesque patterns found on woven Islamic carpets are quite sparse, and leave many areas without any decoration at all.
B) The likeness of Muhammad is never seen in any Islamic art forms.
C) Non-religious Islamic art did contain many figures of both people and animals.
D) The Islamic prohibition of deity re-incarnation through art is found in the Hadith.
E) Paintings were often used to illustrate Persian texts.

Question 70

The will of Allah, as revealed by Muhammad, was not precise about the relationship between religious and political authority.

Question 71

Saladin was the Muslim leader who recaptured Jerusalem from the Christians in 1187.

Question 72

The Seljuk Turks were originally a nomadic people from southern Mesopotamia.

Question 73

The crusades made Christian Europeans a major force in the Middle East until the beginning of the eighteenth century.

Question 74

Like the Seljuk Turks, the Mongols were Muslims.

Question 75

Hasan al-Sabahh formed a rebel group that attacked Seljuk officials.

Question 76

The assassination of Abu Bakr created a split within Islam.

Question 77

The Arabs of pre-Islamic times were polytheistic.

Question 78

Muhammad was born into an elite family of scholars and poets.

Question 79

The umma was the religious leader of Islam.

Question 80

Key works by Greek philosophers were stored in a "house of wisdom" in Baghdad.