The Life of Muhammad

Viewing Guide for BBC Two The Life of Muhammad, episode 1

Key Terms: Rageh Omaar(host of this series), Ziauddin Sardar and Faris Kermani (writer and director of this documentary), pilgrimage clothes, declaration of faith/shahada, Ka’aba, ‘just a man,’ time, location and political context of Muhammad’s birth, clans, Mecca, Muhammad’s parents, circumstances of Muhammad’s birth, Tariq Ramadan, Danish cartoon of Muhammad, hadith, Qur’an, Robert Hoyland, oral tradition and memory in Arab culture, non-Muslim evidence/Sebeos, Quraysh, jahaliya, Allah, Adam, Ishmael, death of Amina, historical records of Mecca, Petra, experience of the world, Muhammad’s experience of marriage, Khadija, Muhammad’s children, “ontological anxiety,” Jebel Noor, Muhammad’s reaction to the first revelation, Tom Holland, “ummi,” Ali, Abu-Bakr, Abu Talib, “surrender,” prophet/reformer, Ethiopian Muslim community, Public Enemy #1, satanic verses, fatwah, stoic non-violent resistance, ‘year of sorrows,’

Short Answer Questions:

1. What difference of opinion about the nature of Mecca as a trading city does the documentary describe? Outline the argument as presented in the movie and explain what you think about this difference of opinion.

2. What does Abdur-Raheem Green mean when he says Muhammad had “ontological anxiety”? Outline the issue, and respond with your thoughts.

3. What are the debates about illiteracy as presented in the episode? Summarize the different positions, and the arguments each scholar presents. What are the stakes in these arguments?

4. What challenges did Muhammad face in creating a religious community?

5. What controversy over ‘satanic verses’ is discussed in the episode? Summarize the different positions, and the arguments each scholar presented on each side. What are the stakes in these arguments? How does this controversy reflect events during Muhammad’s lifetime?