Deck 5: Islam: the Many Faces of the Muslim Experience

Question 1

Which of the following does NOT necessarily describe a Muslim?

A) An Arab who follows God.
B) One who is to carry out God's will in history.
C) God's representative on earth.
D) One who seeks to create a socially just society.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The number of adherents to Islam makes it the

A) largest of the world's religions.
B) second largest of the world's religions.
C) third largest of the world's religions.
D) second smallest of the world's religions.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

This member of Abraham's family is NOT considered part of Islam's genealogy.

A) Abraham.
B) Hagar.
C) Sara.
D) Ismail.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Muhammad used force and diplomacy to defeat _______ and unite the tribes of Arabia under the banner of Islam?

A) the West.
B) England.
C) the Meccans.
D) Caesar.

Question 5

"The disaster," as it is known in Muslim literature and consciousness, triggered a period of doubt and self-examination in the 1970s in response to the loss of:

A) large numbers of Muslims to Christianity.
B) the Crusades.
C) major territories, including a holy city, to Israel.
D) military machinery.

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a holy city to Muslims?

A) Jerusalem.
B) Mecca.
C) Cairo.
D) Medina.

Question 7

Ijtihad is

A) War.
B) Violent oppression.
C) The promotion of fundamentalist beliefs.
D) Interpretation or independent reasoning in Islamic law.

Question 8

The one unforgivable sin of Islam is

A) murder.
B) idolatry.
C) unbelief.
D) abuse.

Question 9

Which of the following describes pre-Islamic Arabian society and religion?

A) Monotheistic.
B) Polytheistic tribal.
C) Solely based on mysticism.
D) Secular.

Question 10

Which of the following was NOT condemned by Muhammad?

A) Earning profit in business transactions.
B) False contracts.
C) High-rate lending.
D) Exploitation of the poor, widows, and orphans.

Question 11

Muhammad saw his relationship to the religion of Islam as that of

A) Founder.
B) Prophet and reformer.
C) Creator.
D) Messiah.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT a Muslim belief?

A) Divine judgment.
B) Original sin.
C) God as the creator, sustainer, and ruler of the universe.
D) The existence of prophets and revelation.

Question 13

Which of the following was a role played by Muhammad in the early Muslim community?

A) Arbiter and judge.
B) Political and military leader.
C) Merchant.
D) All of the above.

Question 14

Which term below refers to the sermon that is a special feature of Friday prayer?

A) Khutba.
B) Fiqh.
C) Bida.
D) Masjid.

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT one of the Five Pillars?

A) Faith.
B) Prayer.
C) Purity.
D) Almsgiving.

Question 16

Christians and Jews under Muslim rule could sometimes pay for dhimmi, a

A) Delicious traditional specialty meal.
B) Protected citizenship status.
C) Tax to rent sacred spaces.
D) Conversion fee.

Question 17

When the Jewish population of Medina did not convert to Islam, Muhammad instituted which of the following?

A) Forbade Jews to pray at synagogues.
B) Abolished the Jewish celebration of Yom Kippur.
C) Changed the direction of prayer from Jerusalem to Mecca.
D) All of the above.

Question 18

In America and Europe, Islam is

A) Not growing.
B) Growing slowly.
C) The second fastest growing religion.
D) The fastest growing religion.

Question 19

A condition of dhimmi, or having protected status, was

A) Agreeing to pray five times a day.
B) Tithing 10 percent of income.
C) A special tax to practice a different religion.
D) Wearing distinctive garments.

Question 20

Which of the following is true of Islamic civilization?

A) Great urban cultural centers emerged in Cairo, Baghdad, Cordova, Palermo, and Nishapur.
B) Science, medicine, and philosophy flourished.
C) Muslims made major contributions to medicine, mathematics, and astronomy.
D) All of the above.

Question 21

Muslims believe all of the following about the Quran EXCEPT

A) It was revealed to Muhammad over a period of 22 years.
B) It is the eternal, uncreated, final word of God.
C) It shares the same mother source as the Jewish Torah and the Christian Evangel.
D) It is a chronological account of human history.

Question 22

The Quran recognized the rights of women to

A) Contract marriage.
B) Own and inherit property.
C) Receive and keep a dowry.
D) All of the above.

Question 23

Sunnis and Shiahs split because of a

A) Difference in opinion over who should lead the Muslim community following Muhammad's death.
B) Disagreement about the role Muhammad should play in the Muslim community.
C) Difference in geographical locations.
D) Difference of opinion in how converts to Islam should be acquired.

Question 24

The "Arab Spring" marked a historic transition in the political makeup of

A) Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia.
B) Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Syria.
C) The United States and Canada.
D) Afghanistan, Libya, and Pakistan.

Question 25

The hijra is

A) The emigration of the early Muslim community from Mecca to Medina.
B) The annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
C) The first victory of the early Muslims against the Meccans.
D) A Muslim holiday commemorating Abraham's sacrifice of Ismail.

Question 26

Marriage according to Islamic principles can best be described as

A) A sacrament.
B) A civil contract legalizing intercourse and the procreation of children.
C) The sale of the woman to her husband in exchange for a dowry.
D) An informal agreement between two individuals.

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT one of the Five Pillars of Islam?

A) Jihad.
B) Declaration of faith.
C) Prayer five times daily.
D) Almsgiving.

Question 28

Muslims are required to fast from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadan, abstaining from

A) Prayer, food, and drink.
B) Sex, alcohol, and meat.
C) Food, drink, and sex.
D) Eating pork, beef, or fish.

Question 29

Muslims see Muhammad as the _______, who confirmed and completed all messages from God.

A) Primary prophet.
B) Seal of the prophets.
C) God-man.
D) Final judge.

Question 30

Women's rights granted by the Quran included all of the following EXCEPT

A) Contracting her own marriage.
B) Maintaining guardianship over children until they reach adulthood.
C) Owning and inheriting property.
D) Receiving and keeping her dowry upon marriage.

Question 31

Which of the following is NOT a source of Islamic law?

A) The Quran.
B) The Sunnah.
C) Ijma.
D) Tawhid.

Question 32

The chosen person who calls the faithful to prayer from the mosque's minaret is called

A) Purdah.
B) Mufti.
C) Muezzin.
D) Salat.

Question 33

The two major Islamic revivalist movements in the Middle East and South Asia in the 1930s were

A) Wahhabi and Mahdi.
B) Jamaat-i-Islami and Muslim Brotherhood.
C) Wahhabi and Muslim Brotherhood.
D) Nation of Islam and Muslim Brotherhood.

Question 34

Almsgiving, or zakat, requires that Muslims contribute annually

A) 2.5 percent of one's income.
B) 5 percent of one's income.
C) 2.5 percent of one's accumulated wealth and assets.
D) 5 percent of one's accumulated wealth and assets.

Question 35

Religious ceremony is conducted by

A) Masses.
B) Ulama.
C) Jahiliyya.
D) Imams.

Question 36

Muhammad al-Ghazali, in the early twelfth century, most likely prevented the demise of Sufism by

A) Encouraging the Sufis to go underground for a generation.
B) Producing a religious synthesis of mysticism and orthodoxy.
C) Convincing the ulama that Sufism held nothing of value and therefore was not a threat.
D) Changing the stories that the Sufis told.

Question 37

The African American Islamic movement in America that has the largest number of followers and does not practice black separatism or preach black nationalism is

A) Nation of Islam.
B) Muslim Nation.
C) Black Muslims.
D) American Muslim Mission.

Question 38

Which is NOT an issue of debate for contemporary Islamic reformers?

A) Restoration of the caliphate.
B) Status of women.
C) Status of non-Muslims.
D) Compatibility of Islam and democracy.

Question 39

Judaism, Christianity and Islam all share a common ancestor.

Question 40

Islam's formative period was the time just before Muhammad was born.

Question 41

Many Muslims believe that religious texts must be reinterpreted.

Question 42

Throughout history it has been rare for Islamic law to impact government.

Question 43

Following World War II, many Muslim nation-state boundaries were arbitrarily drawn by Europeans.

Question 44

A Muslim shaman leads the prayer and is paid to look after the mosque.

Question 45

During the 1960s and 1970s, Islam lost tremendous grounds as Muslim societies became more westernized and secular.

Question 46

The vast majority of Muslims live in the Middle East.

Question 47

Islam is the fastest growing religion in North America and Europe.

Question 48

It is more important in Islam to participate in almsgiving than to believe in God and Muhammad.

Question 49

The pilgrimage to Mecca must be taken by every Muslim at least once in their lifetime or they cannot be considered Muslim at death.

Question 50

In the tribal polytheism into which Muhammad was born, individual identity was of utmost importance.

Question 51

The interpretation or reinterpretation of Islam or Islamic law is called shariah.

Question 52

Muhammad was born shortly before Jesus.

Question 53

Muslims believe that the Quran is taken from an Arabic tablet that preexists with God in heaven.

Question 54

After Muhammad started receiving revelations, the path of preaching to others was smooth sailing.

Question 55

Allah is the Arabic word for God.

Question 56

Muhammad changed the direction of prayer in order to create a more distinctive identity for Islam when the Jews did not willingly convert.

Question 57

The Quran denies that Jesus was a prophet or has any special status.

Question 58

Muhammad was 20 years old when he received the first revelation at Mount Hira.

Question 59

Muslims are required to pray six times daily.

Question 60

American Muslims have become increasingly economically and politically integrated into mainstream American society over the past few decades.

Question 61

After 10 years of preaching, Muhammad and his followers moved from Mecca to Cairo.

Question 62

The sacred language of Islam is Arabic.

Question 63

Translations of the Quran have only occurred in the past century.

Question 64

The "Arab Spring" marked a historic transition in the political makeup of countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Syria.

Question 65

The ulama are Shiah peasants.

Question 66

Many in Byzantium willingly exchanged Greco-Roman rule for that of new Arab masters, fellow Semites, with whom they had closer linguistic and cultural affinities and to whom they paid lower taxes.

Question 67

Islamic modernism saw no distinction between the unchanging laws of God and social legislation or regulations.

Question 68

Of the Five Pillars of Islam, the Declaration of Faith is said to be viewed as the most important.

Question 69

The Umayyad dynasty was responsible for the emergence of imperial Islam.

Question 70

Sunni Islam is more concerned with contemporary consensus than authorities of the past.

Question 71

The Quran did not address the status of women.

Question 72

The largest Muslim population in Western Europe is in Germany.

Question 73

Islam is the fastest growing religion in North America.

Question 74

Shiah Muslims comprise the majority of Islam's adherents around the world.

Question 75

The Umayyad dynasty was responsible for the emergence of imperial Islam.

Question 76

Muslims trace their roots back to Abraham and his son Isaac.

Question 77

Muslims believe the Quran is taken from an Arabic tablet preexisting with God in heaven.

Question 78

Muslims have traditionally advocated separation of church and state.

Question 79

One of the Five Pillars of Islam is _______ during the month of Ramadan

Question 80

_______ refers to Islamic law as found in the Quran and also means the "right" or "straight" path