So, as the Roman Empire faded into the sunset, the opportunity for other civilizations to make a mark arose. I doubt that anyone at the time would have guessed that the major contender would come from the relatively desolate western coast of Arabia. Arabia could only marginally sustain its population agriculturally. But, positioned nicely between the wealthy empires to its north and the untapped resources of Africa to its south -- and later the ocean roots to India and beyond -- it managed to provide its people with the option of lucrative trade.

Mohammed was born 569 ad in Mecca, a merchant town near the Red Sea. His mother died when he was six, so he was raised, first by his grandfather, later by his uncle. He was probably illiterate, but that was the reality for most Arabs of the time.

At 26, he married a wealthy widow 14 years his senior, who would be his only wife until she died 26 years later. He would have ten more wives -- but no living son. He and his first wife had a daughter, Fatima, who would become a significant character in Islamic history. She married Mohammed’s adopted son, Ali.

As he got older, he became increasingly religious, and sought to learn about Judaism and Christianity. He began to meditate alone in the desert and local caves.

In 610 ad, Mohammed fell asleep in a cave, when tradition has it that the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him he would be the messenger of God (Allah*). He would have this experience repeatedly throughout the rest of his ife. Each time, the angel would provide him with a lesson (sura) which he was to commit to memory. These were eventually recorded, and after his death collected into the Islamic holy book, the Quran (or Koran).

He preached to the people of Mecca, but was met with considerable opposition from pagan leaders. When the threat of violence became clear, he left Mecca for the town of Medina, to which he had been invited, with some 200 of his followers. Here, he was much more successful, and eventually he took over secular authority of the the town.

Relations with the pagan families of Mecca continued to deteriorate, and relations with the Jews of Medina, at first promising, deteriorated as well. An alliance between the Meccan families and the Medina Jews fought Mohammed’s followers over the course of several years.

In 630, Mohammed took Mecca. Within two more years, all of Arabia was under his control, and Islam was a force to be reckoned with. Mohammed died June 7, 632.

Mohammed’s basic message was simple enough: We must accept Allah as the one and only God, and accept that Mohammed was his prophet. Say words to this effect three times, and you are a Moslem.

Islam means surrender, meaning that we are saved only by faith. Allah, being all-knowing, knows in advance who will and who will not be saved. This idea (which we will see again among the Protestants in Europe) tends to encourage bravery in battle, but it also tends to lead a culture into pessimistic acceptance of the status quo. But that would not happen to Islam for many hundreds of years!

The Quran says that some day (only Allah knows when), the dead will rise and be reunited with their souls. They will be judged. Some will be cast into one of the seven levels of hell. Some will be admitted into paradise -- described in very physical, even hedonistic, terms. Much of this scenario came from the Jews, who in turn got it from the Persians.

Islam is very rule-oriented, blending the religious with the secular. Church and State are one. In the Quran, there are rules for marriage, commerce, politics, war, hygiene -- very similar to the Jewish laws, which Mohammed imitated. Among those rules, Moslems are not to eat pork or dog meat and may not have sex during a woman’s period, just like the Jews. Mohammed added a rule against alcohol. The society Mohammed envisioned is approximated by such authoritarian states as Saudi Arabia and Iran today.

Marriage was encouraged, and celibacy considered sinful. Polygamy was permitted, within limits. Women, as in Judaism and Christianity, were clearly secondary to men, but were not to be considered property. They were equal to men in most legal and financial dealings, and divorce, while easy, was strongly discouraged. Likewise, although slavery was not condemned, many rules were designed to humanize the institution.

Mohammed and the Moslems were generally accepting of Jews and Christians (“people of the book”), but intolerant of pagans. War and capital punishment were clearly condoned and practiced by the prophet: “And one who attacks you, attack him in like manner” (ii, 194).

The Arabic culture and language, and the religion of Islam, soon would dominate much of the world, from Spain and Morocco to Egypt and Palestine to Persia and beyond. For a while, it would present a progressive, tolerant face, and Moslem philosophy would rival that of the ancient Greeks.

(For more information about Islam, especially its Sunni and Shiite branches, click here!)

* Allah is the Arabic word meaning "the God." It comes from the same root as the Hebrew Elohim, and ultimately comes from the Cananite word El, which referred to the father of all the gods.

© Copyright 2001, C. George Boeree