The traditional occupation in the Arabian peninsula was more farming than
(A) pastoral nomadism.
(B) trade caravans.
(C) maritime trading.
(D) artisanship.
Muhammad's teachings built upon the beliefs of
(A) Judaism and Buddhism.
(B) Judaism and Hinduism.
(C) Judaism and Christianity.
(D) Judaism and Zoroastrianism.
The decline of the Umayyad dynasty was due to
(A) converts to Islam numbered no more than 10 percent.
(B) growing unrest among non-Arab Muslims, who demanded access to political power.
(C) a peasant revolt over increases in taxes and decreases in wages.
(D) the arrival of a Jewish messiah.
Why is the Abbasid rule considered a "golden age"?
(A) It created a refined and cosmopolitan culture in Baghdad.
(B) The Spanish region was considered the golden frontier.
(C) It used gold as the standard coinage throughout the empire.
(D) It used the golden cow as the focus of religious worship.
Despite the fact that conversions to Islam were at their peak, Abbasid power declined because
(A) there were constant revolts of non-Muslims against forced conversion.
(B) the empire had to resist nomadic pressures on the frontier.
(C) the empire had become too big to rule effectively.
(D) new religious practices developed that challenged the appeal of Islam.
What is the main message of the Qur'an?
(A) Social justice and obedient worship are demanded of every human.
(B) Reject idolatrous worship of false gods.
(C) Submit oneself completely to God's will.
(D) All of these answers are correct.
Umayyad Spain developed a distinctive Islamic culture because of the
(A) growing influence of Russian and Frankish traditions in Spain.
(B) decrease in Arab power combined with a growing Christian influence.
(C) Viking invasions of the ninth century.
(D) blending of Roman, Germanic, Jewish, Arab, and Berber traditions.
Which of the following statements about Muslim women was not true?
(A) They were permitted to divorce.
(B) They often played a role in public life.
(C) They were permitted to practice birth control.
(D) They were permitted to own property.
Sufism was significant in being a(n)
(A) quest for a direct union with God through rituals and training.
(B) blending of Christian and Buddhist ideas into Islam.
(C) rejection of religious formalism.
(D) new doctrine that excluded the lower classes.
What initiated the division within Islam between the Sunnis and Shias?
(A) Fear that Muslims in conquered lands were "going native" and abandoning Islamic teachings
(B) The imam Ali's new revelation and elaboration of the teachings of Islam
(C) The belief that Husayn, the son of Ali, was the real messiah
(D) Disagreement over who should assume leadership in the Islamic world
Which of the following contributed to the rapid expansion of the Islamic/Arab Empire in the century following the death of Muhammad?
(A) The weakened condition of the Byzantine and Persian empires
(B) A smooth succession of caliphs selected by election
(C) The violent campaigns against infidels
(D) The uniting of all Arabs behind Muhammad's relative Ali
Which of the following statements expresses a view of women found in Quran?
(A) Women were always to remain veiled and secluded.
(B) Women were solely to blame for the existence of evil in the world.
(C) Women were spiritually equal to men.
(D) Women were socially equal to men.
Which of the following was a result of the cross-regional ties created in the expanding Islamic world?
(A) The disappearance of the Silk Roads as trade shifted to the Mediterranean
(B) The exchange of agricultural products and practices from one region to another
(C) The emergence of new systems of slave labor based on plantation crops
(D) The emphasis on secularism in politics and education
Why was the city of Mecca important?
(A) Jews, Christians, and Muslims all regarded it as the Holy Land.
(B) It was the only city in pre-Islamic Arabia that enjoyed a high degree of social equality.
(C) It was a crossroad for all the major ling-distance trade routes.
(D) It was the site of the Kaaba where pilgrims congregated.
Which of the following contributed to the mass conversion of people living in the Middle East to Islam by the eighth century?
(A) Conversion to Islam offered many financial and social benefits.
(B) Newly conquered subjects were forced to covert to Islam upon penalty of death.
(C) Those who refused to convert to Islam were enslaved.
(D) There was no religious tradition in the Middle East to compete with Islam.
What accounts for the disruption of the agricultural economy of the Abbasid Empire?
(A) The decline of the cities led to a fall in the demand for food supplies and consequent drops in agricultural prices.
(B) Progressive desiccation of the region led to a diminution of the land available for agriculture.
(C) Spiraling taxation, the destruction of the irrigation works, and pillaging by mercenary armies led to destruction and abandonment of many villages.
(D) the government ordered regions of the empire populated by Shi'as abandoned.
