World History For Dummies (2nd Edition) by Peter Haugen

Author:Peter Haugen
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Published: 2010-03-11T07:00:00+00:00

Clashing cultures

Early on, Muslims were rather tolerant toward other religions, especially Judaism and Christianity, because of the kinship between the three faiths. (Muslims see Mohammed as the ultimate prophet in a line of God’s prophets that began with Abraham, continued through Moses, and included Jesus.) In Syria and Egypt, the Arab conquerors let Christians and Jews keep their faiths as dhimmi, or protected peoples, although they had to pay a tax for the privilege.

Enmity between the Islamic, Jewish, and Christian faiths developed over centuries. The Crusades, which began in the eleventh century as European Christian attacks on the Islamic Seljuk Turk rulers of Palestine, left deep bitterness. So did territorial clashes as Christians struggled to take Spain away from its Muslim rulers, the Moors. The Ottoman Turks, also Muslim, clashed for centuries with Christians over territory in Eastern Europe.

Turks were among many non-Arab peoples who embraced Islam, which also spread among non-Arab people in Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Indonesia is the most populous of the predominantly Muslim countries today. It also has been the site of violent clashes between Muslim and Christian groups.

As Islam spread, sects arose. The two largest groups within the faith are the Sunni Muslims, who are the vast majority, and the Shiite Muslims.

Sunni Muslims: The Sunnis believe that correct religious guidance derives from the sunna (teachings) of Mohammed. They recognize the first four caliphs (spiritual leaders) of the Arab Empire as Mohammed’s legitimate successors. They also believe that a just government can be established on the basis of correct Islamic practice.

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