[The House of Wisdom in Baghdad; taken from http://ancientbaghdad.weebly.com/index.html]
This page provides readings for students and teachers to use. There are two articles for students to read to deepen their understanding of the society of tolerance and scholarship in al-Andalus, as well as a website on which students can conduct their own research about the history of the Islamic Empire, as well as two scholarly articles for teachers.
READINGS FOR STUDENTS
"Extraordinary Women of al-Andalus"
This short article comes from a website devoted to al-Andalus, a part of the Islamic Empire on the Iberian Peninsula, and discusses the surprising role of women in this society. Al-Andalus has been lauded for years a place of tolerance and peace between the three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. While this tolerance may, at times, be a bit overstated, it is true that for a while, there was a surprising degree of cooperation between the three religious groups. This also extended to women, who played a larger role in al-Andalus than other places in the Islamic Empire.
"Science in al-Andalus"
This longer article from the same website as above goes into detail about the the scientific, medical, cartographic, and technological innovations that scholars in al-Andalus were involved in. It discusses the role of Baghdad and the House of Wisdom, as well as some of the context of these new discoveries. Many of these innovations and advances traveled around the known world and were also studied by later Europeans. It also shows the depth of the scholarship and interests of the Islamic world, and how vital their knowledge was to future cultures.
WEB-BASED RESEARCH
"The Islamic World to 1600"
This website is student-friendly and provides useful, interactive information about the Muslim world from its beginnings in Mecca with Muhammad to the Ottoman, Mughal, and Safavid empires. Of special interest to the Islamic Empire (Caliphate) are the sections entitled: "The Caliphate and the First Islamic Dynasty," which discusses the expansion of Islam from the death of Muhammad and the installation of Abu Bakr as the first Caliph, to the end of Umayyad Dynasty and the rise of the Abbsids; "The Fractured Caliphate and the Regional Dynasties," which discusses the Abbasid dynasty, the re-location of the capital from Damascus to Baghdad, and the separate regions, like al-Andalus on the Iberian peninsula, the presence of Islam in China, Southeast Asia, African, and other areas; "The Arts, Learning, and Knowledge," which goes into depth on Islamic art, the sciences, philosophy, and some of the major figures of the time.
This resource could be used by teachers to gain background knowledge, or by students doing their own investigations and research. The website also provides useful knowledge that most Western, non-Muslim students would not know, like a detailed explanation of jihad, a word that is often misrepresented in Western culture. This is an excellent resource.
"Islamic Medical Manuscripts at the National Library of Medicine"
This website is specifically focused on the contributions that Islamic scholars and doctors made in the field of medicine during the Middle Ages. The site provides images and descriptions of various manuscripts, but the introduction to the site (link above) could be a useful reading for students. The site also provides an extensive glossary of words related to Islam, manuscript production, as well as short biographies of some major figures in the field. This might be useful for student investigation, but would most likely serve better as a source from which teachers can pick out which readings he or she would like their students to do.
SCHOLARLY JOURNALS
"Do Prophets Come with a Sword?" Conquest, Empire, and Historical Narrative in the Early Islamic World by Thomas Sizgorich
The American Historical Review , Vol. 112, No. 4 (Oct., 2007), pp. 993-1015
Available via JSTOR: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40008441 .
"By the time 'Ammar al-Basrl produced his Kitab al-burhan (The Book of Proof), the text in which he claimed that true religion forbids that the sword be taken up in its service, Muslim authors had for a century and more crafted histories of the conquest period in which the purified souls of Muslim Arab mujahidun (practitioners of jihad) were manifested in their interactions with Roman and Persian imperial agents. In these texts, poor and pious Muslim warriors confronted and bested the armies of the great powers of late antiquity. Intriguingly, however, the meaning that these battles carried within the larger narrative of the conquest period (and so within the evolving metanarrative of Islam's formative past) was signaled in small, quiet meetings between Muslim and Roman warriors just before their respective armies clashed on the field. In a topos common to most early Muslim accounts of the conquests, Muslim authors framed the landmark battles of the period by setting poor and pious Muslim Arab warriors in dialogue with agents of Roman and Persian imperial power. The point of these meetings was always to allow the Muslim heroes to hear and reject offers of imperial beneficence, gifts, and friendship from the Romans and Persians they met.
The traditional story about the growth of Islam focuses on its expansion through military might, which helps to cast Islam as a violent religion. This article questions that narrative by looking at Muslim and Roman (Byzantine) accounts that shed light on the power dynamic between Arab tribes and the Byzantine Empire through gift-giving. Sizgorich argues that the balance of power shifted, not through battle, but because Arabs became united and stopped acquiescing to Roman over-lordship. This re-frames the emergence of the Islamic Empire as the greater power in the world as a more peaceful process. The article is an important addition to a discussion of the expansion of the Islamic Empire and violence's role in Islam.In so refusing, these early Muslim heroes were understood by later Muslims to have subverted, disrupted, and reinvented the place of the Arabs within the late ancient political world, and to have done so by means of a revolution fought and won in the hearts of Muhammad's followers long before they appeared, swords in hand, on the horizon of Syria or Mesopotamia. Moreover, the narratives in which these claims were advanced seem to have taken the form that they did in part as a result of the centuries-long relationships between Rome and her Arab clients, allies, and enemies. This becomes apparent, however, only when we read later Roman and early Muslim sources in tandem, a strategy that has not yet gained wide currency among scholars of late antiquity and early Islam." (pp. 995)
Islamic Art as an Educational Tool about the Teaching of Islam
Art Education , Vol. 55, No. 2, One World (Mar., 2002), pp. 18-24
Available via JSTOR: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3193986
"The term 'Islamic' refers not just to a religion, but also to a culture and a civilization. Most of the current literature in the West and the media, especially after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, has depicted Islam as a violent, irrational, and fanatical force. Islamic art speaks a universal language of aesthetics and functions that illustrates the spiritual and peaceful message of Islam. This article introduces Islamic art and discusses workshops conducted at middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area" (pp. 19)
This article provides an introduction to the basics of Islamic art, including its three main elements: calligraphy, geometric designs, and Arabesque (floral and vegetal motifs). It describes each element, their varieties and uses, and then offers a description of a workshop the author conducted so students could experience the process of making Islamic art.
At the height of the Islamic Empire, scholars, doctors, writers, and artists were in great demand and making important discoveries. The art during this time is some of the most beautiful and enduring in the world, and it is good for students to have a greater appreciation for Islamic culture outside of the narratives of war and conquest.
NON-FICTION BOOK
This book focuses on the creation of the Islamic Empire, the interaction between Europe and the Islamic empire, and how that connection helped create Europe as we know it. The argument focuses on how the Islamic culture was more advanced during this period and fights against the prevalent Euro-centrism of our historical studies. This book would be an appropriate source for teachers to use for background research, but could also be used as excerpts in class for students.
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