Spread Of Islam Research Paper

Hello! I'm Veronica, a Muslim soldier. I'm here to explain why Islam spread so quickly. In document A, it is stated that Mecca was a good place for trade and these traders went to many places for their dealings. While they were doing this, they also brought their religion and beliefs, and spread it upon the people they met. In document B, some of Islam's beliefs are stated. Many people seem to enjoy these beliefs, therefore converting to the Islam religion. In document C, traders took routes through Medina, Isahan, Merv, Bukhara, Kabul, Damascus, Constantinople, Cairo, Aswan, Caliruan, Tangler, Cordoba, Toledo, Saragossa, and Tours. These are all places where the brought and expressed their religious beliefs.

From its beginnings in Mecca to its extensive empire across the Middle East, Asia, North Africa and parts of Europe, the spread of Islam in the late 600’s and 700’s A.C.E has drawn much attention. The spread of Islam began when Prophet Muhammad (579-632) (pbuh) started preaching the revelation he claimed to have received from God. Muslim dynasties were soon established and eventually the Abbasid Dynasty ruled over the vast Islamic empire, and through wealth in money and knowledge, the Muslim world experience it's Golden Age. The people of the Islamic world created numerous sophisticated centers of culture and science with far-reaching trade networks. The Islamic world achieved its Golden Age through its advancements in medicine, math and

Islam’s spread throughout 630-1600 CE was extremely rapid and sudden; however, it led to many favorable aspects. Over the span of 630-1600 CE, Islam managed to spread throughout Arabia, Mesopotamia, Persia, North Africa, Spain, and parts of Central Asia. Women and education were on a rise, socially. Also, flourishing trade contributed to Islam’s economic wealth. Furthermore, political and legal reforms were also established during its spread. Overall, the spread of Islam brought forth many positive social, political, and economic impacts.

The prophet Muhammad sparked the rise of Islam on the Arabian Peninsula by preaching the word of Allah, and inspired the caliphs that came after him to expand the religion and lead it to a period of prosperity. Without the benefits that Islam brought and the power of the Muslim army Islamic Civilization might have secluded itself to one region like Judaism did and not spread so quickly across the region like it did. The appeals that Islamic culture and the teachings of Muhammad offered, as well as practical benefits of converting to Islam, brought many People of the Book and other non-Muslims into the religion. Muslims used military force and threats in the name of Allah to strike fear into all non believers and expand Muslim territory through

One of the first major reasons for the swift spread of Islam was

Islam spread to the east as far as Afghanistan. The Spread of Islam Map of Document C shows the orange and the arrows traveling through Iran to Afghanistan. Examining this map reveals something amazing. At first, this religion was just someone talking about what a God said to him. Nowadays, however,

“ Headed north on the way from Yemen to the markets and headed east from the Red Sea across the desert to Iraq” ( document A paragraph 1). This quote shows how far the trade routes went, because of the easy access to the trade routes the Muslims were able to spread their religious ideas. The Muslims would pilgrimage to Mecca to worship an ancient shrine called the kaaba, because that was part of their religion, so Mecca was important to the Muslims and to the Muslim religion. They worshipped in religious place call the mosque. In Mecca the Muslims were able to spread Islam, not only because of the trade routes , but also because of the geography.

As a matter of fact, Mecca was the crossroads of the lucrative caravan trade. Vast camel trains, bearing spices, perfumes, precious metals, ivory and silk, filed through the town, headed north on the way from Yemen to the markets of Syria, etc. (Doc A). In addition, Doc A, also illustrated on a map that these trade routes lead all across the East, from Arabia, all the way to China proving that Islam had the means to travel rapidly. For instance, on trade routes such as the Silk Roads, traders could spread Islam all the way to China and India, making it easy for Islam to spread large distances. However, this information doesn’t explain why it traveled rapidly along these mentioned trade routes. Certainly, this can be explained by the process of cultural diffusion, in which a group’s cultural beliefs are spread from one group to another. In fact, through cultural diffusion, traders could pick up some Islamic influence, and spread it to the other trade

In Document C, a map of the Arabian Peninsula shows how Islam spread through military campaigns. The campaigns were successful because during the seventh and eighth centuries the empires surrounding the Arabian Peninsula, Persia and the Byzantine Empire, were weak after battling each other for almost a century. This allowed for the followers of Islam to conquer them, allowing for the religion to spread easily.Document D explains how military operations aided the spread of Islam. Under the Ummah Muslims are not allowed to attack other Muslims, leading to an increase in ghazu raids against non-Muslim communities around the Middle East. Persia and Byzantium were still weakened, causing effortless raids. In these raides the Muslims would spare those they were attacking who then converted to Islam. These raids were simple for the Muslims and produced copious amounts of followers for their

Trade and trade routes played a crucial role in the spread of Islam. Mecca, the birthplace of Islam, was a very prominent trade hub. Due

In the “Arabian Peninsula Trade Routes” (Doc. A) it shows how Mecca was very busy with all kinds of trade. Since Mecca is where Islam would start in the upcoming years, traders would come and go taking the teachings of Muhammad with them. Mecca was both the center of trade and the center of Islam which leads to the quick spread of faith through the many traders and merchants that

The trade between Islam and many other countries helped spread Islam. Trade leads to a good economy meaning more jobs (less unemployment). As people move around to trade they sometimes stay they traded to causing the spread of

In the 7th and 8th centuries, Islam spread from its beginnings in Arabia to cover the entire Middle East and parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe. As (Document 8) shows, by the year 750, Islam stretched from Eastern Persia in the Middle East, all the way to the westernmost edges of Spain and North Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Islam expanded so rapidly because of its techniques on conquering unstable areas and converting people to Islam, preventing setbacks and obstructions. Islam had three main reasons for its eminent prosperity. The way that Muslims treated the conquered people allowed for peace throughout the empire. Tolerance, combined with the military power, a disciplined army, and an overall appealing religion of Islam, provided the template that allowed the empire to expand to encompass an enormous amount of area.

It was a crossroad for caravan trade and an added advantage was that Mecca was home to the Ka’ba, a holy pagan shrine that many people the follows the Five pillars make a pilgrimage to sometime during their life. Many cities were easily reached from Mecca because of several surrounding trade routes, land and sea, that connected Mecca to multiple nearby locations. Mecca was a central location of the Arabian Peninsula and was very easy to get to. Not only this, Mecca also had surrounding bodies of water that were very important for trade that led to cultural diffusion. The Surrounding large empires, once conquered would add large additions to the current Islamic empire of the time. This could cause the fast spread of Islam since they were such big areas. (Doc A) Islam stretched across several regions. In the 600’s it spread North to France and out East towards India. Islam was the fastest spreading religion ever and it’s military was able to conquer many areas within a very short period of time. Followers of islam were not only devoted to sharing their religion but they were also well-organized and skilled in fighting. (Doc C) The Byzantine and Persian Empires were nearby and the Muslims were able to take over those areas because the empires were weak from their own battling. (Doc D) The Byzantine Empire tried to resist the expansion of Islam however, the people of the Hims in

On document a titled “Merchant Trade Routes” from the McDougal Littelll World History: Medieval and Early Modern Times it states “Overseas trade to the Arabian Peninsula included amazing luxury goods like spices, textiles (for clothing) and spices from Asia. Adding to the profits from caravan was a busy pilgrimage trade…” Though this may be true, transportation and travel took a long time during that time period, so it probably took them a while to receive or get the resources from the other empires. Military conquest and taxes, treaties, and toleration are a stronger argument because they show that they were able to increase population of Muslims by either letting them convert to Muslim or pay them taxes. Either way, Islam had more followers and became prosperous.