RELIGION: The Rise of Islam

Section Author: Niall Christie, Langara College

 

Learning Objectives

• Explain how the Muslim community came into existence
• Identify key individuals in early Islamic history
• Explain important Muslim beliefs and practices
• Examine the origins of major historic and current divisions in the Muslim religion

In this module we will examine the origins of Islam from its beginnings in Arabia in the early 7th century to the end of the first fitna in 661. We will begin by examining the life and career of the Prophet Muhammad (c. 570-632), then consider some basic Muslim beliefs and practices. After that we will look briefly at the leaders of the Muslim community who came after the Prophet, known as the rashidun, which will allow us to examine both the early Muslim expansion and the origins of the Sunni-Shi‘ite split in Islam that continues to loom large in modern-day news reports and intra-Muslim relations in both the West and the Muslim world.