Between the fall of Rome and the European voyages of discovery, few events were more significant than the rise of Islam. Within a few centuries, the Islamic empires blossomed, projecting their power from Africa to the East Indies, and from Spain to India. Inspired the worlds of the Prophet Muhammed, and led by caliphs and sultans, this political and religious expansion remains unequaled in speed, geographic size and endurance. This three hour program is a broad survey of Islam's history from the birth and life of the prophet Muhammad through the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent and the Ottoman Empire. The filmmakers recreate scenes and use the art and artifacts of Islam. Scholars discuss how the Muhammad's message, which taught concepts of social justice and equality which many believe accounts for its rapid spread. As his following grew, they called themselves Muslims "those who serve God" and his followers began to record his message which would become the Koran - a revelation of ethical and social guidance, revealed and remaining in Arabic. The Koran resonates, the scholars say, with the images and language or Bedouin oral tradition. The scope of the film includes discussion of Islamic and Arabic influences on Western culture, sciences, fine arts, economics and other intellectual and cultural endeavors. It was the intellectual work of the Baghdad scholars [the House of Wisdom], at the height of the empire, to gather all of information of the classical scholars. Unlike their Christian counterparts, the Muslims welcomed the works of Aristotle and the other Ancients because they saw no conflict between observing their faith and the intellectual pursuit of knowing the natural and physical world around them. Islam: Empire of Faith attempts to offer the broadest possible survey of Islam's history in an effort to present more than the stereotypical notion of Muslims and Islam. Among scholars and others interviewed: Jonathan Bloom [Boston College], Michael Sells [Haverford College], Esin Atil [Historian of Islamic Art], John Renard [St. Louis University], Walter B. Denny [U. of Massachusetts], George Saliba [Columbia University], Ahmet Karamustafa [Washington University], Cornell Fletcher [U. of Chicago], Victoria Holbrook [Ohio State University]. Notes: Produced by Robert Gardner. Directed by Gardner. Written by Jonathan Grupper. Edited by Christopher Schultz and David Grossbach. Photography by Regis Becker. Music by Leonard Lionnet. Narrated by Ben Kingsley.
Documents the rise and growth of Islam throughout the world, from the birth of Prophet Muhammad in the 6th century through the peak of the Ottoman Empire 1000 years later. Discusses the impact of Islamic civilization on world history and culture.
