EVERYTHING ISLAM
A follower of the religion of Islam who obeys God's guidance and teachings.
What is a MUSLIM?
A group of traders traveling together for safety across long desert routes.
What is a CARAVAN?
A person believed to be chosen by God to receive divine revelations and share moral guidance with the people.
What is a PROPHET?
The title for the highest political and military leader
What is a CALIPH?
The vast region of the African continent located south of the Sahara Desert, characterized by plains, major river systems like the Niger River, and diverse climate zones.
What is SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA?
A monotheistic religion introduced in Arabia by the prophet Muhammad based on messages received from God (Allah). It shares similarities with Judaism and Christianity—such as recognizing many of the same prophets—and spread rapidly across regions through military conquest and trade networks.
What is ISLAM?
A fertile area in a desert where underground water reaches the surface, creating a green region with trees and plants that served as essential stopping points for trade caravans.
What is an OASIS?
A monarch, sovereign, or ruler of a Muslim state or empire.
What is a SULTAN?
A spiritual movement in Islam teaching that people can find God's love through a direct, personal relationship with God, which heavily influenced famous poetry like the works of Omar Khayyám.
What is SUFISM?
A semiarid strip of land in West Africa that divides the dry Sahara Desert from wetter grassland regions, with enough vegetation to support grazing animals like gazelles.
What is the SAHEL?
The holy book of Islam containing God's messages given to Muhammad. It teaches that there is only one God, that God will judge all people on the world's final day, and provides moral guidelines regarding worship, food/drink, freeing slaves, and women's rights.
What is the QUR'AN?
An open-air market or bazaar in Middle Eastern and African cities where merchants gathered to buy and sell goods like spices, textiles, and salt.
What is a SOUK?
The holy ninth month in the Islamic calendar during which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset as one of the Five Pillars of Islam.
A blended African-Arab culture and language that developed along East Africa's coastal trade centers where Bantu Africans, Arabs, and Persians lived, traded, and intermixed.
What is SWAHILI?
A social and political system where leadership, family inheritance, and lineage are passed down through the father's side of the family.
What is PATRILINEAL?
An Arabian merchant born in Mecca around 570 who became a prophet after Muslims believe God spoke to him through an angel. He taught belief in one God (Allah), taught that the rich and poor should be equal, led his followers from Mecca to Medina (the hegira), and later returned to Mecca to clear idol statues from the Kaaba.
Who is Muhammad?
A journey made to a sacred place or shrine for religious reasons, such as the annual trip made by early Arabs to the Kaaba in Mecca or the Muslim hajj.
What is a PILGRIMAGE?
A building for Muslim prayer and worship, which first originated at Muhammad's house in Medina.
What is a MOSQUE?
A collection of about 400 ethnic groups that migrated from West Africa across central, eastern, and southern Africa starting thousands of years ago, spreading ironworking skills, farming practices (like growing beans, melons, and rice), and strong kinship structures.
What are BANTU?
A social and political system where leadership, family property, and lineage are passed down through the mother's side of the family.
What is MATRILINEAL?
The five required acts of worship for all Muslims: 1) declaring belief in God and Muhammad as his prophet, 2) praying five times a day, 3) giving money to the poor and needy, 4) fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, and 5) making a pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca.
What are the 5 PILLARS OF FAITH?
Decorative writing turned into an art form by Muslim artists because religious rules prohibited depicting people or animals in art. It was used to decorate buildings, mosques, carpets, and swords.
What is CALLIGRAPHY?
Islamic law based on the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and human reason that judges the rightness of actions. It is not contained in a single book and varies across different Muslim regions.
What is SHAR'AH?
A brightly colored, handwoven West African fabric crafted by artists and worn for special clothing and occasions.
What is KENTE?
West African storytellers who maintained oral history by reciting proverbs, ancestor stories, and long epics.
What are GRIOTS?