Deck 11: Islam

Question 1

An imam is chosen because of his

A) piety and knowledge.
B) ability to fast and pray.
C) asceticism.
D) complete submission to God.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Following Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, among others, Muhammad considered himself the last of a series of

A) prophets.
B) messiahs.
C) kings.
D) priests.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Muslims state that there is only one God. Which of the following words describes their God?

A) punitive
B) undivided
C) multifaceted
D) incomplete

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Mecca was originally famed for this, which became a subject of veneration.

A) a statue of Muhammad
B) a mountain
C) a burning bush
D) a black stone

Question 5

A person who commits the entire Qur'an to memory is given the title

A) sawm.
B) salat.
C) ayatollah.
D) hafiz.

Question 6

Which day of the week did Muhammad declare to be a special day of prayer?

A) Sunday
B) Tuesday
C) Friday
D) Saturday

Question 7

Conflict between the Muslims and the Jewish tribes in the early days of Islam was intense; Jewish tribes were offered the choice of conversion to Islam or

A) death.
B) exile.
C) imprisonment.
D) enslavement.

Question 8

Muhammad was given divine messages from God that he memorized and taught to his companions. Eventually, these messages were written down to become the

A) Khadija.
B) Five Pillars.
C) Kaaba.
D) Qur'an.

Question 9

The month long fast required of Muslims during the month of Ramadan is called

A) shahada.
B) salat.
C) zakat.
D) sawm.

Question 10

According to the Qur'an, while he was meditating, Mohammad was visited by

A) Allah.
B) Yahweh.
C) the angel Gabriel.
D) Khadija.

Question 11

In the early years of Islam, how were caliphs chosen?

A) by the Council of Caliphs
B) by nepotism
C) by election
D) by birthright

Question 12

What was a pressing concern for Muhammad when he went into the hills surrounding Mecca to meditate?

A) his people's poverty
B) his people's idol worship
C) his people's worship of one female god
D) his inability to save his people from marauders

Question 13

The words and acts of the Prophet Muhammad and his close companions are known as

A) jihads.
B) hadith.
C) hajj.
D) imams.

Question 14

What is the name for a religious pilgrimage to Mecca?

A) salat
B) jihad
C) hajj
D) zakat

Question 15

One reason that Muhammad's early preaching was met with open hostility was because of his message of

A) monotheism.
B) polytheism.
C) bigamy.
D) polyandry.

Question 16

The word Qur'an literally means

A) Revelation.
B) Recitation.
C) Holy Book.
D) Word of God.

Question 17

The Hijira is the

A) journey from Mecca to Yathrib.
B) pagan shrine in Medina destroyed by Muhammad.
C) doctrine of prayer according to Muhammad.
D) name of a month-long fast.

Question 18

Many Africans turned to Islam as a response to

A) slavery.
B) colonialism.
C) Judaism.
D) Arab invasion.

Question 19

Muslim beliefs concerning heaven and hell are

A) dissimilar to those of Jewish eschatological schemes.
B) dissimilar to those of Christian eschatological schemes.
C) similar to both Jewish and Christian eschatological schemes.
D) completely unique.

Question 20

Which of the following is true concerning the origins of Islam?

A) Its origins were only influenced by Byzantine Christianity.
B) Its origins were only influenced by Judaism.
C) The Arabian people had been exposed to various religions for centuries and were influenced by them.
D) Islam sprang out of a religious vacuum.

Question 21

In what sense is Islam a fatalistic religion? In what sense is it not?

Question 22

Those things that one must do to be a good Muslim are referred to as

A) Ramadan.
B) the Five Pillars.
C) zakat.
D) salat.

Question 23

Which of the following is true of modern-day Iran?

A) It is the most liberal of all of the Islamic nations.
B) Women play a strong role in society and government.
C) It represents the "left wing" of Islamic fundamentalism.
D) It represents the "right wing" of Islamic fundamentalism.

Question 24

Describe in detail the set of religious observances known as the Five Pillars of Islam and their importance in Islam.

Question 25

Which country is destined to play a much larger role in the Islamic world partly due to its enormous petroleum reserve?

A) Indonesia
B) Kuwait
C) Iraq
D) Saudi Arabia

Question 26

Describe the process by which the Qur'an came into being. Compare this to the formation of the Jewish Talmud.

Question 27

Discuss the ways in which other major religions influenced the development of Islam.

Question 28

The first words a Muslim child hears is a confession of faith called

A) shahada.
B) salat.
C) zakat.
D) sawm.

Question 29

These Muslims make up 85 percent of the Muslim population and think of themselves as guardians of Islamic orthodoxy and tradition.

A) Shi'ites
B) Umayyads
C) Abbasids
D) Sunnis

Question 30

Discuss the origins of Sufism. Compare Sufism to the Sunni and Shi'ite versions of Islam.

Question 31

The one central and unifying office in the history of Islam is

A) the ummah.
B) the priesthood.
C) the caliphate.
D) the Umayyad.

Question 32

The whirling dervish is likely a member of this group within Islam.

A) Sunni
B) Shi'ite
C) Mahdi
D) Sufi

Question 33

This traditional celebration occurs on the twelfth day of the third month.

A) New Year
B) Feast of Sacrifice
C) Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad
D) Feast of Fast-Breaking

Question 34

Shia Islam still has a strong hold on which one of the following countries?

A) Kuwait
B) Iran
C) Ethiopia
D) Lebanon