Order Code RS21432
CRS Report for Congress
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Islam: A Primer
Clyde Mark
Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
Historical Background
According to Islamic belief, in 610 A.D., Muhammad, a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in Mecca, in the Arabian desert (now eastern Saudi Arabia), was commanded by the angel Gabriel to "recite" the message of Allah (Arabic for God). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Solomon, and Jesus, among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgement day. The message to Muhammad was to be God's last; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets."
Muhammad won some converts to Islam, but his monotheist preaching threatened to undermine the profitable polytheist pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed Medina, or city - as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces in Medina, Mecca finally succumbed, converted to Islam, and welcomed the prophet back to the city in 630.
Muhammad died in 632. Tribal elders elected Abu Bakr to be Muhammad's successor, or Caliph (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected Umar ibn al-Khattab the next Caliph. During Umar's ten year reign, Islam spread into Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, and parts of Iran. Umar was assassinated by a Persian in 644, and
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