The Influence Of Islam In The 7th Century

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.

    Islam’s massive growth in size can be credited to the constant battles and war with surrounding areas. The Muslims were determined to share

Islam soon acquired vast amounts of territory in Afro-Eurasia, and according to the map, “The Growing Worlds of Islam (900-1500),” it occupied an area from parts of central Asia to West Africa and Eastern Europe by the start of the sixteenth century. This map documents the phases of the growth of Islam for six hundred years, which combined with further analysis will reveal each step in the conquest of each new phase of territory. Controlling all of these nations created standardized trade and common business practices throughout the empire. Using already intact trade routes, such as the Silk Roads, documented in the map provided as document 1, the Islamic empire built an economic system that was unified by common religious beliefs. Comparing the trade routes mapped on both the Silk Roads map and the “The Growing Worlds of Islam (900-1500)” map, one can see that they are very similar, suggesting that they remained the same and that the Islamic empire just took over the control of each. Yet it was not just the Silk Roads that saw a revival at the hands of Muslim commercial excursions. The Mediterranean and Indian Ocean sea routes, as well as the trans-Saharan routes were given new life as well due to the Islamic empire. These routes not only produced trade, but they also opened up opportunities for new agricultural products and a sharing of ideas and innovations. These

The rise of the Islamic religion and the growth of Islam’s territory happened rather quickly. During the life of their prophet and Islam’s originator, Muhammad, and interestly it even increased after his death, but how? Islam spread so fast after it was originated because of three things: trade, military conquest, and the appeal of its government.

Islamic civilization was spread using a variety of useful techniques, ranging from extreme violence, to the use of peaceful doctrine. Without these practices and methods, the spread of Islam would not be as profound as it has shown to be, especially from 632 to 750 CE. Islamic civilization spread to encompass such an extensive empire through the “way of the sword”, use pre-existing roads, ruthless fighting techniques, and the way of salvation and religious doctrine. One of the biggest methods that were used to spread Islam was the way of the sword, and other practices of intimidation. When new lands were taken over by Islam, Muslims gave a few options.

Though the religion started in Mecca, Islam spread far and wide. Under the rule of Muhammad, the Four Caliphs, and the Umayyad caliphs, lands from Spain and North Africa to the Middle East became Muslim territory. (Document C). The expanding of Muslim lands exposed more people to the religion. Previously they may not have heard of Islam until the areas in which they lived in came under Muslim control. Later on, a golden opportunity for the Muslims came from their neighboring kingdoms, "Persia and Byzantium had both been engaged for decades in a long . . . series of wars with one another. Both were exhausted. (Document D). With both kingdoms, Persia and Byzantium, weakened, Muslims had a quick and effortless victory and were able to double the size of their kingdom. Altogether, the expansion of Muslim territory resulted in the spread of Islam due to more people being exposed to the Islamic

In the beginning, Muhammad started to preach his teachings, called Islam, in a populous trade center known as Mecca. Though, at first, his preachings were resisted as the people worried that idol worship and pilgrimages, or journeys to a sacred place, would end. This, in fact, proved to be true as with enough support, Muhammad ordered that the idols be destroyed and that a shrine dedicated to Allah be built instead, making Mecca the birthplace and foundation of Islam. However, within 100 years of Muhammad’s death in 632 CE, Islam had spread to multiple other countries including Europe, North Africa, and Asia. The question is, how did Islam spread so rapidly over the course of 100 years? Briefly put, Islam spread rapidly due to trade routes, military campaigns, and non-Muslim converts.

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

Islam has become one of the most popular world religions, but how did this come to be? Islam was an empire with astonishing influences, It's military campaign took 3000 miles north to 2000 miles east. The political pressure that Islam put into the commons didn't stain their overall popularity with them. Islam became one of the main world religions because of the geographical influence, political pressures, and its

September 11, 2001. “Islam equals terrorism” is a thought of most people when they hear the word “Islam”, but many people don’t immediately think of the greatness of Islam, like how the religion spread so fast in such little time. Islam is the second-largest and the fastest-growing religion in the world that began in the 7th century. When Muhammad first began spreading his religion, he had as little as 70 families as members. A century after Muhammad’s death, Islam already spread to Europe and Asia. As of last year, there was about 50 Muslim-majority countries with approximately 1.5 billion people praising the religion. Islam is a religion with many requirements such as fasting, praying everyday, free-will donation, and many more. So, why would a religion with so many demanding rules become so popular? Islam spread quickly because of trade, military conquests, and because it was an amiable religion that was fair to all people with its laws set for the people.

Islam is a major world religion. Its origin can be traced back to 610 CE in Arabia. The basis of this religion is the revelations to the prophet Mohammad. Dissatisfied with his life, he traveled to deserts, hills, and the wilderness surrounding Mecca, where he lived, to meditate and reflect. He became a new man through his revelations, which many of his followers believe Allah transmitted to him through his angel Gabriel. Islam was originally an Arab religion, but many different beliefs and practices were added to it, making it extremely popular and aiding in its rapid spread. This new religion spread to many different areas surrounding Arabia, both under Mohammad and after his death. The Muslim Empire grew to encompass Spain and

Islam also spread because people like their government. They had people who were called caliphs who did a great job. They also sang Hymns which the people loved and they signed up.

parents at an early age and working as a merchant most of his life . He retreated to a cave in a near

As history continues, many religions have had an over powering effect on western civilization. When the 5th century arose, the religion, Islam, had an extremely important impact on the civilization. Muhammad, an Arabic prophet founded Islam and began to introduce it the people of his time. Diplomacy, violence, warfare, public laws, and Arabic tradition played a crucial role in the building of the Islamic religion. These important aspects helped shape and build the Islam religion that is now one of the world’s most widely practiced religions.

Pre-Islamic Arabia was a culture knit together by kinship. In this society there was no emperor or ruling elite. The people of pre-Islamic Arabia were bound together by nomadic tribes who made profit by trading and most importantly “raiding”. These raids were often described as small-scale warfare and were instrumented by tribal leaders in order to increase the wealth and power of the tribe (Gordon 5). This was the society in which Islam came to power. Warfare and raiding were essential in order to be successful in pre-Islamic Arabia. The integration of warfare into the Islamic religion created a similarity among Muslims, those who follow Islam, and non-Islamic Arabian people. This relationship and common interest established by the prophet Muhammad helped in the rise of Islam among non-Islamic