Mawali

After Muhammad’s death, the Umayyad was the first Muslim state. The leaders of the Umayyad dynasty came from a wealthy and prominent family. They were not powerful because of religion, but because of where they came from. Under the Umayyad dynasty, social classes developed because of discrimination. The dynasty’s stability came from unity of a strong, devoted group of Arab soldiers. Arab Muslims were the highest level of society, followed by the non-Arab Muslims, or mawali. The mawali were considered second-class citizens by the Arab Muslims and encountered degradation and discrimination. Dhimmi made up the third social class. These were the people that belonged to tolerated religions. Because the Qur’an forbids forcing “the people of the Book” to convert to Islam, Umar instituted jizya. This meant that religious people that were not Muslim could show their submission by paying a tax and would then be allowed to continue practicing their faith. Slaves made up the lower class in Umayyad society. Umar believed that Islam was intended for Arabs and non-Arab Muslims were not considered as an equal. Under Umar’s caliphate, non-Arabs were forced to leave Arabia. Marriages between Arab Muslims and non-Arab muslims…

661-750 CE, was the first Islamic dynasty under the leader Mu'awiya. Mu’awiya would bribe rather than go to war, as war was costly. He ruled for nineteen years and was free of a civil war and was peaceful. He moved the capital to Damascus, and the Arab army was loyal to him and only to him. One other important thing he did was established the first Muslim navy. The navy challenged and defeated the Byzantines in the Mediterranean Sea. The Umayyad government set up administration to manage…

661-750 CE, was the first Islamic dynasty under the leader Mu 'awiya. Mu’awiya would bribe rather than go to war, as war was costly. He ruled for nineteen years and was free of a civil war and was peaceful. He moved the capital to Damascus, and the Arab army was loyal to him and only to him. One other important thing he did was established the first Muslim navy. The navy challenged and defeated the Byzantines in the Mediterranean Sea. The Umayyad government set up administration to manage…

eighth century, they could claim arrives the extent that Turkestan and the Indus valley. The backbone of the Umayyad dynastic force was the decision class comprising of an Arab military nobility, who shaped an advantaged class enormously dwarfed by non-Arabic proselytes to Islam - Egyptians, Syrians, Persians, Berbers, and others. A considerable lot of these changed over people groups had societies much more progressed than that of the Arabs, and the financial and social existence of Arab…

Mawali were also restricted by a “wala’ “contract to the Arab society if they were to become Muslims1.However, the concept of mawali and the contract were thrown out altogether once the Abbasids came to power and this was the major difference between Abbasids and Umayyads. This also created a surge in the number of soldiers serving the Caliph as non-Arabs joined the army from a multitude of different areas and gave the Abbasid Caliphate a good initial army. The new sense of equality among all…

necessarily the ones who know it best. This can be applied to all religions and even other ideas. Ahmed got a much better, richer understanding of Islam from the women in her family which was much more accessible because it could be applied to decisions in morality of everyday life. This idea that not just the well educated men know about religion is something that should not be overlooked. In fact we all have something unique to bring to the table on a subject, especially religion and it…

that God is all-powerful and emphasizes predestination. Not only that, but it states that God is the prime mover and gives energy to any and all actions (Lecture, October 12). In the beginning, the term “Muslim” was restricted to Arabs only. They argued that only they could be Muslim because the true and original Qur’an had been written in pure Arabic (Lecture, September 28). Another reason being a Muslim was only confined to Arabs was because Muhammad was considered an Arab prophet. What…