Grade 7 Fall — The Medieval World c. 500-1500 CE: Byzantium, the Islamic Caliphates and Golden Age, Tang and Song China, West African Empires (Ghana/Mali/Songhai), Mesoamerica (Postclassic Toltec/Aztec) and the Inca, the Mongol Empire and Pax Mongolica, the Indian Ocean and Trans-Saharan Trade Networks, Medieval Europe as ONE Region Among Many — Whose Golden Age? Whose Crusade? Whose Trade Network?
History · CUL
G7
hist.g7.f.cul.rise_of_islam_muhammad_caliphates
Trace the rise of Islam 610-661 CE — Muhammad's prophetic mission, the Qur'an, the Five Pillars, the Hijra 622, the Rashidun Caliphate, and the Sunni-Shia distinction taught respectfully
Apply respectful current-practice framing: Muslims ARE 1.8 billion people today, ~24% of world population. Identify Muhammad (570-632 CE), the Qur'an as primary source, the Five Pillars (Shahada/Salat/Zakat/Sawm/Hajj), the Hijra 622 CE as Islamic calendar Year 1, the Rashidun (Abu Bakr/Umar/Uthman/Ali) 632-661 CE, and the Sunni-Shia distinction over succession (Abu Bakr-line vs Ali-familial-line, ~85-90% Sunni + ~10-15% Shia today). Refuses Orientalist stagnation framing per Rodinson.
Mastery threshold
90%
Min instances
12
Typical minutes
45
Spaced intervals (days)
1, 3, 7, 14, 30, 60
Common misconceptions
- Conflating 'Islam' with 'Arab' — Islam is a global religion, Arabic-language is one of many spoken by Muslims today (Indonesian/Urdu/Bengali/Turkish/Persian all have more native speakers than Arabic in some categorizations)
- Treating Sunni-Shia as ancient ethnic-tribal hostility — it is a within-faith theological-historical distinction, like Catholic-Orthodox-Protestant within Christianity
- Misframing the Five Pillars as historical practice — they are CURRENT lived practice for 1.8 billion people today