AP World History
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September 15, 2012
Chapter 14 Outline
Introduction:
Every year or al least once in their life, the Muslims must travel to Mecca. This is a holy pilgrim that has been a tradition for the Muslims since Muhammad made the trip. At the beginning the pilgrims to Mecca were made by small amounts of people. However, by the ninth century, thousands of people traveled to Mecca in the 9th lunar month. All these people survived on food and water provided by the government. The Muslim government made a great effort to keep the roads and the cities clean and ready for the travelers. The hajj was not only solemn observance, but it was also an occasion for joy and celebration. The word Islam means “Submission,” which means obedience to the rule of Allah. If somebody accepts the Islamic faith it means that he/she is a Muslim. Even though this belief started with one man, by the end of the eighth century Islam stood alongside the Byzantine Empire.
A Prophet and his World: Islam appeared in the Arabian Peninsula, and this religion reflected the cultural conditions of it’s homeland. Living in Arabia has always been hard because of the bad agriculture and the harsh climates. However people have been able to survive for a long time and they built a strong empire that was based upon family and submission. Arabia figured out the trading opportunities and took advantage of them. Arabia became an important trading center for India china and the Mediterranean. Plus they started receiving commodities. With the awake of classical empires, trade routes became insecure. Merchants abandoned the overland routes and they started using sea routes that passed through the Arabian Peninsula. This greatly influenced the economy of the city of Mecca.
Muhammad and His Message: The prophet Muhammad was son of nomadic Bedouin herders and merchants. He was born in 570 C.E. and he was son of an honorable merchant family. He had an