Bentley & Ziegler, Traditions & Encounters — Chapter 14: The Expansive Realm of Islam
Note: This is a reading guide, not a study guide. Complete it while you read — it directs you to specific passages, keeps you engaged, and holds you accountable as you move through the text. The goal is comprehension and evidence-gathering, not review.
World history can cover unfamiliar civilizations and time periods. This guide will help you identify the most important events, peoples, and processes so that by the time you finish the chapter, you will have a solid grasp of the material — and be well prepared for the Chapter Quiz.
Step 1: Go to the page indicated. Find the sentence using the opening words provided. Type the entire sentence verbatim into the first box. Step 2: Answer the question in your own words using that sentence as your evidence. No outside research needed or permitted.
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Question 1
Section:
The “Seal of the Prophets”
On Page 274, find the sentence beginning with the words: “He began to refer…”
Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:
How did Muhammad's understanding of his religious mission change during his exile in Medina?
Question 2
Section:
The Shia
On Page 277, find the sentence beginning with the words: “The Shia sect originated…”
Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:
What specific disagreement following the death of Muhammad led to the enduring split between Sunni and Shia Muslims?
Question 3
Section:
Policy toward Conquered Peoples
On Page 279, find the sentence beginning with the words: “Even those who converted…”
Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:
How did the Umayyad dynasty's administrative policies generate resentment among the diverse conquered peoples within their empire?
Question 4
Section:
The Abbasid Dynasty
On Page 280, find the sentence beginning with the words: “Even though they sprang…”
Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:
How did the Abbasid dynasty's approach to imperial administration differ fundamentally from that of the Umayyad dynasty?
Question 5
Section:
Urban Growth
On Page 282, find the sentence beginning with the words: “Increased agricultural production contributed…”
Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:
How did the introduction of new food and industrial crops transform the economy of the western Islamic world during the early centuries of the dar al-Islam?
Question 6
Section:
The Organization of Trade
On Page 284, find the sentence beginning with the words: “Furthermore, Islamic law provided…”
Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:
How did innovations in banking and business organization help to stimulate a massive hemispheric trading zone during the Abbasid period?
Question 7
Section:
Veiling of Women
On Page 285, find the sentence beginning with the words: “Over the centuries, however,…”
Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:
How did the expansion of Islam into the Byzantine and Sasanian empires ultimately impact the social freedoms originally afforded to Muslim women?
Question 8
Section:
Sufi Missionaries
On Page 287, find the sentence beginning with the words: “Sufis were especially effective…”
Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:
Why were Sufi mystics so extraordinarily successful as Islamic missionaries, particularly in lands with long-established religious traditions like Persia and India?
Question 9
Section:
Indian Influences on Islam
On Page 291, find the sentence beginning with the words: “From a more practical…”
Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:
What specific Indian intellectual traditions were most eagerly adopted by Arab and Persian Muslims, and how were they applied practically?
Question 10
Section:
Greek Influences on Islam
On Page 292, find the sentence beginning with the words: “They encountered resistance among…”
Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:
How did the Islamic theologian al-Ghazali view the growing influence of Greek philosophy, and how did later thinkers like Ibn Rushd respond?