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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In 1988, Salman Rushdie published his novel called The Satanic Verses. What did Muslims believe?

2. Did Muhammad's early preachings of the Quran teach anything new? `

3. In 625, Muhammad took another wife, Hafsah. What reason did he have this marriage?

4. What did supporters of Rushdie feel that Islam did?

5. Into what era was Muhammad born into?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was decided during the negotiations between Muhammad and the Quraysh?

2. Describe Muhammad's first three years of preaching.

3. Why were many converting to Islam?

4. Compare Muhammad's later teachings to his earlier ones. How did his supporters react to this?

5. Describe many of the references in the Quran. What is their purpose?

6. What was the affect of the Badr?

7. Who were Muhammad's first followers? Why?

8. Why were the Muslims and Jews supposed to live in peace? What happened to the tribal society? How did this affect others?

9. What do the Muslims say is the cause for the acceptance of polytheism in the Quran? What happened when Muhammad started to demand monotheism after the removal of the passage regarding polytheism? How did various societies react to this demand?

10. Describe the raids done by those who had emigrated to Medina. How did this affect the Quran?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Arabs united under Muhammad's teachings.

Part 1) Describe Muhammad's teachings. How did they unify the Arabs?

Part 2) How did the Arabs benefit from this unification? Why and how did some also fight it? Why was Muhammad ultimately successful? How is this success seen today?

Part 3) How have groups of people unified under other leaders and other religions? What do these people and religions all have in common that lead to unification?

Essay Topic 2

Salman Rushdie published The Satanic Verses.

Part 1) Who is Salman Rushdie? Why did he publish The Satanic Verses?

Part 2) What was the reaction to these verses? How might these have affected Muslim relations with non-Muslims? Why?

Part 3) How does this attitude by Muslims towards Islam reflect the attitudes and actions of Muslims found throughout history? Why do these attitudes exist, and why do these actions take place?

Part 4) Have other religious groups or individuals had similar difficult situations? If so, when and why? If not, why not?

Essay Topic 3

Islam does not teach theology.

Part 1) What is theology? What does Islam teach? How is this different from Judaism and Christianity?

Part 2) Why does Islam not teach theology? Do Judaism and Christianity teach theology? If so, how and why? If not, why not?

Part 3) Is theology necessary for a belief system to be considered a religion? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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