Question 1

What are the major divisions in the Islamic world,and how do they offer different interpretations of the Qur'an? How did these various traditions impact different parts of the Islamic world?

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Question 2

What was the importance of the umma to Muslim society? How were religious minorities and non-Arab converts treated? How did the change of the Islamic capital to Baghdad affect the empire?

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Question 3

Which of the following did NOT contribute to the fragmentation of the Muslim world after 800 C.E.?

Accepted Answer

The collapse of trade and commerce in the empire is not a factor that contributed to the fragmentation of the Muslim world after 800 C.E. In fact, trade and commerce continued to flourish in many regions of the empire, facilitating cultural exchange and the spread of Islam. The other three factors - the enormous size and diversity of regions in the empire, weak and incompetent caliphs, and civil wars and invasions - all contributed to the fragmentation of the Muslim world by creating political, economic, and social divisions that weakened the unity of the empire.

Question 4

Describe the main reasons for the decline of the Arab Empire.What was the role of the Mamluks in the process of decline? How important was local control to the decline of empire? What were lasting contributions of the Arab Empire?

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Question 5

Discuss the importance of Mecca to the development of Arab unity.What role did Medina play? Was Islam a "religion of the desert"?

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Question 6

Discuss the classical culture of the Abbasid Dynasty.What role did foreign influence play and what was the importance of grammar to the culture? What was the main artistic and architectural achievement of this period?

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Question 7

Compare the political and economic development of Islamic civilization through 800 C.E.to comparable civilizations in Europe,China,and India.Which society exhibited the most vitality? The least? What factor or factors do you think best explains this vitality?

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Question 8

What is the position of women in Islam,and how does this differ from or resemble the position of women in other religions,such as Christianity,Judaism,Buddhism,and Hinduism?

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Question 9

Discuss the different architectural forms in the major religious buildings of the Muslim faith.How do these compare to religious architecture in the Christian and Chinese world during the Middle Ages? What were the distinctive features and functions of these buildings?

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Question 10

Which of the following would have been least likely to be translated and discussed by Muslim scholars in the 8thand 9th centuries C.E.?

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St. Augustine was a Christian theologian and philosopher, and therefore would not have been studied by Muslim scholars in the 8th and 9th centuries C.E. as they were primarily focused on translation and discussion of works in the fields of mathematics, science, and philosophy from the Greek, Persian, and Indian traditions.

Question 11

The traditional report, or hadith, became the chief source of

Accepted Answer

The traditional report, or hadith, played a central role in shaping legal and religious norms within Islamic society. It provided guidance on matters such as prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, and moral behavior.

Question 12

How did geography contribute to the economic and political expansion of the early Islamic world? What limitations did geography place on that expansion?

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Question 13

Discuss some of the major obstacles to a universal acceptance of the Islamic faith and state in the conquered areas.Why did it take so long for Syria and Egypt to accept the faith?

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Question 14

Discuss the role of the ulama in Muslim society.How did this group receive their education? What was their relation to the caliphs? Why were they the new elite in society?

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Question 15

What are the main concepts of the doctrine of Islam? How is this faith different from and/or similar to Christianity? How does it resemble or differ from Judaism? What is the importance of other faiths to this movement?

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Question 16

In general, Muslims in the Umayyad and Abbasid Dynasties

Accepted Answer

Muslims in the Umayyad and Abbasid Dynasties preserved and expanded Greco-Roman philosophy and science. They translated and studied works of thinkers such as Aristotle, Plato, and Galen, and incorporated their ideas into Islamic philosophy and science.

Question 17

What were the different kinds of leadership in the Islamic world,and how did Islamic scholars view the relationship between politics,law,and the Qur'an?

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Question 18

How were non-Arabs and converts treated in the Islamic world? What impact did Islam have on the lives of citizens in conquered areas?

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Quiz 10: The Formation of Islamic Civilization, 622-1000