Arabia

Arabians are a semstic group of the caucasoid race. Little is know about

them because they have been isolated until the sixteenth century when Europeans

circumnavigated the globe and occupied Musscat and other points on the golf

coast. The first mentions of Arabia were in Babylonian records, the Bible, and in

south Arabian inscriptions. In the third millenium B.C., Egypt went to the Arabian

holy city Mecca to trade spices, incense etc. Because of this, Arabia is know as a

culture of trade.

How arabians inhabitated arabia is still unknow. Today, there are three

types of Arabs: the "true Arabs" (al-arab al-ariba), the "Arabiazed Arabs" (al-arab

al-mustariba) who are decendants of true Arabs, and the "lost Arabs" (al-arab al-

ariba) the origional inhabitants of Arabia.

In the mid-600s, arabians swept away enormous chunks of the Byzantine

empire, including Palastine, Syria, Egypt, North Africa, and Spain. By 650, only

Greece and Asia minor remained to the Byzantines.

The nomads who lived in the arabian peninsula were known as Bedouins.

These people were travelers and traders, sleeping in tents and living off camels.

The only time when they weren't working is when they went on pilgrimages to

Mecca. The Bedoins and townspeople worshiped hundreds pf gods spirits. The

Black Stone of Mecca was embedded within the wall of the shrine called the

Kaaba. Besides the Black Stone, the Kabba contained idols represented 360 gods,

including one diety called Allah. The shrine made Mecca an important religious

center.

In 570 in Mecca, Muhammad was born. Muhammad was an orphin and was

raised by his grandfather nand uncle. He probably was illeterate because he had

very little schooling. Muhammad became a trader and a business manager for a

wealthy businesswoman fifteen years older than him. When he was 25, he married

Khadya. On business trips, Muhammad traveled to Syria and learned about

monothisim from Byzantine Christians and some Jews who setteled in Arab

towns. A few Arab holy men, known as Hanifs, had already turned to the worship

of one god, but it wasent very widespread.

At age 40, Muhammad received a vision while meditating in a cave outside

of Mecca. It was a message from from the angle Gabriel, who told him that he was

the messanger of god. Muhammad belived that Allah was the same god worshiped

by the Jews and Christians. After much soul searching, Muhammad decided that

he was the last of the prophets, and some close friends and family of Khadya were

his first followers.

By 631, Muhammad was preaching in the streets of mecca, trying to spread

the word. This frightened the local merchants, because the main income of mecca

was religion, Muhammad's new monetheistic beliefs could mean trouble. Because

of threats and an order from the Sultan, Muhammad fled to medin with a band of

followers. This escape from mecca became known as the Hegria, Arabic for

"flight"

In Medina, Muhammad attracted many followers and won great political

influence. His new religion became known as Islam, which is Arabic for

"surrender to God", and his followers became known as Muslims, which is Arabic

for "the surrendering ones". Muslims even have their own calander, and the first

year of the Islamic era, the year of the Hegira, became year one.

From Medina, Muhammad led raids against Meccan caravans, and later, his

armies completely defeated the Meccans and took it over. This victory made his

religion more popular, and within ten years, all of Bedoin had accepted Islam as

their faith. By 630, all of Mecca was his and he had 10,000 followers. His first

order was to distroy all of the idols in the Kabba but the black stone. Just two

years later, Muhammad died at age 62.

Luckily, the faithful arab followers had memorized his teachings. The new

leader Abu-Bakar ordered all the words of Muhammad to be gathered into a book

soon after his death. This holy book was called the Koran, and was the same

length as the Christians' New Testament (114 chapters), but it was arranged

according to length. They only considered the Arabic version of the Koran to be

the true word of God, and in any other language, the book is not holy. Because of

this, it is said that if you burned an english or french version of the Koran and

threw it in the streets, nobody would notice or care, but if it was in Arabic, you

might have been execuited on the spot. Only the arabic verson of the Koran could

be used in worship, and because of this, Islam spread through Middle East and

North Africa.

Wherever islamic conquers carried the Koran, Arabic became the language

of scholars and poets. The muslims believed in the five pillars of Islam. The first

pillar of Islam is faith. A Muslim must say "there is no other god but God, and

Muhammad is His prophet". The second pillar of Islam is prayer. Muslims are

required to pray five times a day, facine Mecca, remove shoes, and bow. The third

pillar is Alms. Muslims are required to give a portion of their wealth to the needy.

The forth pillar is pilgrimage. Once in their life, any Muslim who can afford it

must make a pilgrimage to Mecca. With the five pillars, the Koran also established

other customs, morals, and laws for our society. Believers are not allowed to eat

pork, drink wine, or marry an unbeliever. Also, they're allowed to mary as many

as four wives, and they must pray Friday evenings in a mosque in unision, led by

one person. Islam has no formal priesthood. Women are sometimes prayer leaders

of other women, because in Islamic society, men and women lead very different

lives. Muhammad taught that there would be a day when believers were rewarded

and nonbelievers were punished.

Arabia is a land of diversity and mystery. It has faught through the ages and

is a place often visited my Muslims and tourists. We are a people of faith, intellect,

and survival, and that is why we have lasted through the centuries and are still

around today.