Islamic Civilization Islam, As a Religion, Has Essay

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Islamic Civilization

Islam, as a religion, has been adopted and is practiced by a variety of different ethnic groups and cultures around the world; and each ethnic group has had an influence on Islamic culture. As Islam spread out from its home in Arabia, the followers of Mohammed were joined by a number of different ethnic groups who adopted Islam. From Spain to Persia, India to Indonesia, Islamic Civilization is a patchwork of different peoples, languages, cultures, and traditions which make Islamic culture a form of "multiculturalism." And over the many centuries of Islamic culture, these different cultures have influenced and helped Islamic culture evolved into what it is today.

Because the prophet Mohammed was an Arab, Islam has its origins in Arabian culture, and thus all other cultures that have adopted Islam have technically influenced Islamic culture's development. For instance, before the 7th century and for more than 100 years after Islam's beginning, "Arabs had no science." (Dallal Chapter 1, p.9) It was not until the Arab Muslims conquered parts of the Byzantine and Persian Empires that Islamic culture came into contact with "a very large amount of scientific material from Greek, Persian, and [even] Indian sources." (Iqbal 12) This information was translated into Arabic by Arab scholars such as Hunayn ibn Ishaq, who in the second half of the 9th century translated ancient texts from Hippocrates, Galen, and Plato. And almost all the works of Aristotle were translated into Arabic, with the exception of the Politics. The acquisition of this material formed the basis for the flourishing of sciences, as well as the development of medicine, during the "Golden Age of Islam." And it was from the Muslims in Spain that much of the knowledge of the ancient world was regained by the Europeans.

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If Islamic culture had not adopted and incorporated the traditions of other cultures, it would have remained a desert-based Arabic culture and not developed into anything else. Islamic art would never had developed into the great tradition it became a few centuries later; a tradition that incorporated "Qur'anic sources; a folk element; and a variety of regional developments." (Kuiper 134) Strangely, like science, the early Muslims had not developed their own artistic tradition until more than a century after its inception, and early Islamic artifacts often are indistinguishable from pre-Islamic artifacts. (Kuiper 134) Many credit the establishment of the Umayyad dynasty, which ruled from 661 to 750 and was the only dynasty to ever rule the entire Islamic world, with the establishment of such disciplines as the arts and sciences.

As Islamic culture was a blending of different people and cultures over time, the conquest of Spain can provide an example of how Islamic culture adapted to local customs and traditions; and thus enriched itself. "al-Andalus," as the Muslims called the kingdom they established in Spain in the early 700's, was a place where a small number of Arab Muslims ruled over a large number of Romance-speaking Christians. As a result of the population ratio, intermarriage, and daily contacts, al-Andalus was able "to form its own cultural blend." (Watt and Cachia 75) This kingdom would be the center of Islamic learning and culture, west of Egypt, for centuries. In fact, Islamic Spain would develop its own style of art, called "Moorish," which incorporated the materials and techniques of the Visigoths, while the "decorative motifs show considerable Hellenistic influence." (Watt and Cachia 77)

Another culture that Islam incorporated elements from into its own culture was that of Persia. The Abbasid.....

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