The Islamic World
Teacher Resources
Lesson Guide
Find lesson timing, sample answers, teaching tips, and important teacher instructions.
Teaching Sensitive Topics Guide
Belief systems, while interesting, can be a bit dicey to talk about in class. Before kicking off this lesson, revisit discussion norms so students share ideas respectfully while connecting belief systems to the course frames.
Driving Question: How did the spread of Islam influence human communities and networks in Afro-Eurasia during this period?
Today, Islam is a world religion practiced all over the globe, but it didn’t start out that way. Islam began in seventh-century Arabia and quickly spread across Afro-Eurasia through trade, conquest, and cultural interactions. In many areas, it formed the basis of a new form of state known as the caliphate. During Europe’s Middle Ages, the Islamic world was experiencing a golden age.
Learning Objectives:
- Examine the extent to which the Islamic world experienced a golden age.
- Analyze how the collapse and recovery of empires affected the spread of belief systems and the expansion of trade networks like the Silk Road.
- Use the historical thinking practice of claim testing to evaluate the spread of Islam along networks of exchange.
Vocab Terms:
The map in this activity is OER Project’s Spread of Islam map. You can find this and other highly detailed world history maps in our Maps Index.
What do you believe about belief systems? Connect what you know with some of the big ideas in this course.
Students may assume Islam spread only through conquest. As they work through the article and video, have them track multiple causes of expansion—such as trade, governance, and cultural exchange—so they build a more complete understanding.
Today, Islam is one of the largest religions in the world. Explore an article and video to get a better sense of how it began—and how it expanded to shape a vast global empire.
-
Guiding Questions
-
Guiding Questions
The Islamic world—often called Dar al-Islam—was expansive. When Ibn Battuta made his journeys, the Islamic world stretched from West Africa to Southeast Asia. The shared cultural system of Islam allowed people to move relatively freely across political borders. Ibn Battuta’s story and the cultural connections forged by the Crusades can help students complexify their preexisting ideas about Islam and its relationship with other parts of the world.
Looking for more graphic biographies? We’ve got 'em! Check out this list of graphic biographies in our courses.
Conflict and connections. It sounds like a board game, but it’s also a great way to describe history. Use the materials below to see how Christian-Muslim clashes reveal both.
-
Guiding Questions
-
Guiding Questions
-
Guiding Questions
Mapping the spread of Islam across Afro-Eurasia can help you expand your understanding the causes and impacts of the changes you’ve encountered in this lesson.
