Mohammed
Please watch this video featuring Mohammed
Mohammed was born in the Arab trading and pilgrimage city of Mecca, in the Arabian peninsula, between 570 and 580 AD. His parents were part of a family of traders, not among the ruling families of Mecca, but certainly not poor either. Mohammed himself however grew up poor, because both his parents died when he was still very young. Probably his grandfather brought him up.
When he grew up, Mohammed married a wealthy widow named Khadija, whose first husband had been a trader, and so he became well-off again. Probably he became a trader himself.
When Mohammed was almost forty, he said he had heard an angel from God speaking to him for the first time (compare the story of Moses). The angel, Gabriel, told Mohammed that there was only one God, that it was wicked to worship idols (statues and images of gods), and that the end of the world was coming soon, with the Last Judgment. All of these ideas were already common in Mecca, where there were some Christians and many Jews, and presumably also some Zoroastrians. Mohammed also heard Gabriel telling him the words of the Koran (Qu'ran).
At first the Meccans seem to have felt that Mohammed's preaching was harmless, but later, as he got more support from the lower classes, and really began to say that people should not worship the old gods, the upperclass Meccans threw Mohammed out of town. People beat up and even killed his followers, who began to be called Muslims. Some of them fled to Ethiopia. Mohammed himself fled to the nearby town of Medina, a farming town where Arabs of various tribes lived together with many powerful Jews and some Christians. Mohammed's flight to Medina in 622 AD is called the Hejira (hej-EYE-rah) in Arabic, and it is the date where the Muslim calendar begins.
Mohammed gathered a following in Medina, though he failed to convince the Jews to join him as he had hoped. In 630 AD he returned to Mecca with an army and conquered it. After he won another victory against Arabic tribes in 630 AD, other Arabic tribes began to send messengers to Mohammed to say that they would submit to his rule, because he was so successful that he must have God on his side.
On June 8th, 632 AD, Mohammed died, at about 50 or 60 years old.
Wisdom
Create a bubble.us character chart for Muhammad. Place his name in the center. Include at least 4 character traits describing him.
SNIP and submit
Pondering
Create a newspaper article via Fodey Generator announcing Mohammed's arrival in Medina. State WHO Mohammed is, WHAT he represents, WHERE he is from, WHEN he arrived, WHY he's in Medina.
Contemplation
Consider this quote by Muhammed:
It is better for a leader to make a mistake in forgiving than to make a mistake in punishing.
Would King Hammurabi (of Mesopotamia) agree with this quote? Why or Why not? Write a paragraph response and submit.
Righteousness
The Hejira describes a time when Muhammed and the Muslims was persecuted for their beliefs. Write a paragraph. Define the word persecution and describe how Muhammed was persecuted for his beliefs.
Submit your response.