Ibn Battuta and the Dar al Islam (adapted from Helen Grady) Background

World History AP

Ibn Battuta Essay

50 points possible

Due: Thursday May 19, 2011 (beginning of class)

Ibn Battuta and the Dar al Islam

(adapted from Helen Grady)

Background: Travel has been an important part of Islam since its founding in the seventh century. Mecca was an entrepot for trade and the Prophet Mohammed was a merchant. Trade was an important factor in the spread of Islam and therefore in the establishment of the Islamic community, which included a wide range of people, regions, and political structures. Islam supported and encouraged travel for trade, and the shari’a set restrictions and mandates on equity and fair trade practices. Islam also encouraged travel to make the hajj and to seek knowledge. By encouraging and nourishing contact among Muslims over long distances, travel supported the idea of a common Muslim heritage belonging to the entire community.
Ibn Battuta traveled as a pilgrim, a juridical scholar, and a member of the learned elite. He also sought adventure, as his side-trip to Constantinople shows. In India and the Maldives he enjoyed wealth and high status as a judge in the employ of the government. He experienced the physical reality of the Dar al-Islam as well as its cultural and spiritual unity. His journeys intensified both his sense of his own identity as a Muslim and his recognition of the cultural differences that existed among peoples who lived under the shari’a. The cultural language of Islam helped him transcend the difficulties he experienced in understanding local languages and customs. Ibn Battuta traveled about 117, 480 kilometers and visited the equivalent of more than fifty modern-day nation-states.
Mapping Exercise: Use the map to identify the places that Ibn Battuta traveled during his journey. For places whose names have changed, you may need to find further information in a historical atlas or on the internet. (10 points)
Essay Question: Use the documents from Ibn Battuta’s travels to show how the Dar al-Islam (literally the “house/abode of Islam”) became a unifying force in Eurasia and Africa. In addition, discuss the limits of the Dar al-Islam’s powers of unification. (40 points - score will be converted from 25 point rubric below)
In your essay you may want to:

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  consider the meaning of cultural unity (shared language, laws, customs, expectations, and conventions),
  
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  show examples that illustrate the spiritual and cultural unity of Dar al-Islam. Note specific references to any of the Five Pillars that you find in the documents
  
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  speculate about the values held by the Islamic community and determine how these values may have contributed to a sense of unity within such a broad geographical range.
  
• 
  account for differences in Islam Ibn Battuta sees in different parts of the world
  

Sources: Focus on analyzing the documents to answer the question. If you want to use outside information, go first to your textbook. As well, your GLP library has a wealth of books including an encyclopedia of religious practices, other history textbooks, and a two-volume encyclopedia on Islamic history and practice. You may use internet sources for this project – just make sure that they are of high quality. You will need to turn in a bibliography in proper MLA format with your essay. You should give in-paragraph citations for written sources and any images you choose to use in your essay.
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Quality	5	4	3	2	1
Meaning: the extent to which the response exhibits understanding and interpretation of task	Fulfills the require- ments of the task; does a superior job of showing unification of Islam and limits of unification	Fulfills some re- quirements of the tasks; does a good job of showing unification of Islam and limits of unification	Fulfills some re- quirements of the task; does an adequatejob of showing unification of Islam and limits of unification	Fulfills some re- quirements of the tasks; does a poor job of showing unification of Islam and limits of unification	Fulfills very few requirements of the tasks; make little attemps to show unification of Islam and limits of unification
Organization: the extent to which the response exhibits direction, shape and coherence	Establishes and maintains a clear focus Shows a logical, coherent sequence of ideas through the use of appropriate transitions or other devices	Generally focused though it may include some irrelevant details; Shows a clear attempt at organization	Shows an attempt to maintain focus, but may go off on some tangents; Shows an attempt at organization	May show an attempt to establish focus; May include some irrelevant information; Shows little attempt at organization	Shows little attempt to establish a focus; May be repetitive, focusing on minor details or irrelevant information; Little or no attempt at organization
Language Use: the extent to which the response reveals an awareness of audience and purpose through effective use of words, sentence structure and sentence variety	Is fluent and easy to Read; Is stylistically sophisticated, using varied sentence structure and challenging vocabulary	Is still fluent and easy to read; Takes fewer chances with varied sentence structure, preferring more simple sentences; Primarily uses basic vocabulary	Is readable; Primarily uses simple sentences and basic, grade level vocabulary	Is readable; Uses minimal, below grade level vocabulary; May include fragmented or incomplete thoughts	Difficult to read; Uses minimal, below grade level vocabulary; May include fragmented or incomplete thoughts
Writing Mechanics: The extent to which the response exhibits conventional spelling, punctuation, para- graphing, capitaliza- tion,. grammar, and usage	Demonstrates a thorough knowledge and control of the conventions of English; Few, if any errors (no more than 5-6), and none that interfere with comprehension or flow; Mistakes are minor or repetitive and occur with sophisticated vocab. or structures	Demonstrates a good knowledge and control of the conventions of written English; Contains more errors than a level 5 paper, but none that interfere with comprehension or flow; Mistakes are still minor, but they may occur on basic vocabulary and sentence structures	Demonstrates a partial knowledge and control of the conventions of English; Contains errors that interfere with read- ability but not with comprehension; May contain run on sentences or fragments	Demonstrates a minimal knowledge and control of the conventions of written English; Contains many errors that interfere with readability, flow and comprehension; May contain run on sentences or fragments	Demonstrates a lack of knowledge and control of the conventions of written English; Contains many errors that make the writing incomprehensible
Document Usage/ References (if used)	Student does a superior job of synthesizing the documents and integrating outside knowledge; integrates documents in an unexpected or insightful way	Student does a good job of synthesizing the documents and makes an admirabel attmpt to integrate outside knowledge.	Student does an adequate job of synthesizing the documents and does a decent job integrating outside knowledge.	Student does a poor job of synthesizing the documents and makes some attempt to integrate outside knowledge.	Student does does not understand meaning of most documents and makes little attempt to integrate outside knowledge.