rompt: List and explore in depth the factors that contributed to the rapid and widespread adoption of the Islamic Faith and the creation of an empire that extended from Spain to the farthest borders of the Persian Empire.
Hook Quote: “The rapidity of military conquest and expansive political domination should not lead one to conclude that suddenly the whole of the known world had converted to Islam. It was not primarily missionary zeal that motivated the troops, but the promise of adventure and booty. That is not to say that their leaders entirely avoided the redirect of heavenly reward for bringing the world into the embrace of Islam, but on the whole, desire for conversion was secondary at best.”(p. 19-20) – 101 Q&A Intro:
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Support 2: Cultural:
• In the part of the world that Islam would later control, there were many “world class cities” such as Bagdad, while London and Paris “were still little more than towns” (101 Q&A).
• These cities - Bagdad, Constantinople, Qayrawn (present day Tunisia), and Fez (in Morocco) - were wealthy and they were along trade routes, so ideas such as those of Muhammad traveled rapidly. Ideas in Christian Europe would likely have spread much more slowly.
• Ruling important cities also helped Islam spread quickly because:
1. Islam absorbed ideas and technology from other cultures that used the trade routes. If rulers of these cities, Caliphates, used this knowledge to their advantage it would stabilize and strengthen the Islamic Empire.
2. “During the 10th century, at the height of its splendor, Cordoba was the most advanced city in Europe. It boasted paved streets, street lighting, public libraries, numerous mosques and palaces, and a vibrant literary and intellectual life” (p.71) - Understanding Islam and Muslim Traditions
Support 3: Religious:
• Islam drew its earliest converts from Christianity and Judaism.
• These groups are referred to in the Qur’an “as peoples of the book”. The Qur’an acknowledges that these three peoples came from the same religious traditions.
• Muslims revere the same religious figures as the Jews and Christians did; the primary difference is that Islam considers Muhammad to be the last and greatest
Islam’s massive growth in size can be credited to the constant battles and war with surrounding areas. The Muslims were determined to share
Another reason why islam spread so quickly was because of the military conquering places.In document C it shows us
Trade was a large part in why Islam spread so quickly. Mecca had several trading routes. “By the middle of the sixth century… Mecca was … prosperous and important (Doc A).” They were trading through the two main empires: Byzantine and Persian. East Africa, Spain, India, and China also traded with them. Mecca being at the center of the trading system, they brought in many tourists to see the famous holy shrine. With the help of communication people interested in Islam were also drawn because goods were not just traded, but the Islamic culture as well.
Scholars also made advances in trigonometry, astronomy and mapmaking, and artists used calligraphy to decorate buildings and objects of art as well as to reflect the glory Allah (Docs 5 and 6). In a photograph of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, it shows the different features used from different cultures, such as the Byzantine Empire, as well as adding their own personal touches (Doc 7). All of these were preserved and used in Europe, and are even used in today’s curriculum. A lot of ideas have also been altered just a little bit, and expanded to create things that we use today. Everything that the Muslims passed on through many generations had a large impact on our modern world, and even the places around the Islamic Empire during that time period. A book mentioned before said “In the early 800s, Caliph-al-Ma’mun opened in Baghdad...the House of Wisdom. There, scholars of different cultures, and beliefs worked...translating texts from Greece, India, Persia, and elsewhere into Arabic.” The photograph of the Dome that was also talked about before shows what an impact the inventions made did for the Muslims. A trade route was created later on which says “Masters of the sea, even as of the land, the Arabs spread throughout the geographical area.” (Doc 9). Lastly, an excerpt described the benefits that the Europeans received from Muslim industries. “Finally our commercial vocabulary itself has preserved...proofs that there was a
It is said that the Islamic culture mirrors that of the Roman Empire in terms of expansion and longevity. The now widely practiced faith began in an area called Arabia, which neither Rome nor Persia dared conquer. From its creation, it contributed several important things to Medieval Europe and the World as a whole. It conquered a large region and gained thousands of followers.
During the Golden Age of Islam, scientific and mathematical ideas were developed, later spreading through different regions. There were numerous factors that helped contribute to the spread of knowledge and ideas. Three primary factors were the education system, the production of paper and the prosperity of unification of oral language.
The reason why the Islamic Empire expanded successfully is because of trade, Muslim Rule, and the Military. Trade was the first reason why Islam spread successfully this is because on slide #8 the question was” What did trade bring to the Arabian Peninsula?” I said, Wealth, people, culture, and ideas together. By finding these things and meeting more people and wealthy people you can expand better. Also, according to Islam student slides #8. Question 6 asks, How does trade help Islam spread. I said “Muslim merchants spread Islam through Africa, Asia, and Europe. The importance of the evidence is that when trading you meet new people and spread Islam through Africa, Asia, and Europe. The second reason why the Islamic Empire spread successfully
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
Chapter one explores on the ways in which the people living today in the Western Europe percept on Islam as the rapidly spreading religion in the Arabian peninsula within the third decade of the seventh century. Greece, and particularly Athens is identified by the European as the source of core components of the culture and thought of the “Western civilization.” The Greeks never considered themselves as Europeans or Westerners, but much less originators of anything resembling “European” or “Western.” Greeks considered themselves as neither Asian nor European but rather as a distinct people who by virtue of their intermediate location being between the two continents endowed with the best qualities of both. For the Romans, they came to adopt
The Quran offers specific instructions for its followers which pertain to conversions of others and the results of believing in the Quran or not. The Quran states that the Islamic people either do battle with those who do not believe, or they must convert to Islam. It says that whoever obeys God and His Apostle (Mohammed) shall be brought to Paradise, but those who do not believe or follow their teachings will be punished. This means that if the Muslims did not engage in these wars with the Christians and others of non-Islamic faith they would be punished. These wars were brutal and merciless. The Muslims killed everyone in sight and took
The Islamic religion began to spread rapidly through the world due to its accepting religion and cultural diffusion through trade routes and missionaries/scholars. The tolerance of the religion was one of the most important accounts for the spread since “Conversion to Islam generally did not mean a sudden abandonment of old religious practices in favor of the new.” People were admired by this “rule” and did not feel suspicious of the Islamic faith as if they would destroy you if you practiced things from other religions. Islam in the Early Modern Era could also be described as “assimilating Islamic rituals, cosmologies, and literatures into... local religious systems.” Unlike many other conquered, Muslims did not force conversion after military
For 140 years, foll0owers of Islam had created an empire that ruled the Middle East and stretched across North America into Europe. There’s many more interesting facts about Islam such as political orders, military conquest and how Islam spread so quickly.
“Fight in the name of God and in the ‘path of god’. Combat those who disbelieve in God.” The quote above is an excerpt from Matthew Gordon’s book, “The Rise of Islam”. Throughout the course of history, many religions have had a profound effect on western civilization. During the early 5th century a religion arose that had an extremely important impact on western civilization. The Arabic prophet Muhammad founded the religion known today as Islam. Violence, diplomacy, Arabic tradition, and public law played a vital role in the rise and conquest of Islam. These four key elements that fostered the rise of Islam helped establish one of the largest religions in western civilization.
Rise of Islam – In the 600’s Arabian armies conquered Iran. The Arabian armies that conquered Iran transformed most Iranians to Islam over time. Persian language was replaced by the language Arabic. The new changes in Iran transformed people’s lives in a lot of different ways; changing language, new religion, transformed beliefs and more. Later on in the 800’s Iran became a big part of new subjects such as: art, literature, and science. The change gave people an innovative start to convert themselves into something they seemed too long for. Iran became several little kingdoms ruled by various Iranian rulers after the Arabs control got weaker in the 900’s.
Arab conquest led to the spread of the Arabic culture within Central Asia, including the spread of the Arabic language as the state and literary language. However, from 700s the authority of Arab governors and military leaders declined, and the flowering of the literature in non-Arabic languages began under the rule of the Samanids and the Karakhanids. Non-Arab peoples adjusted the Islamic religion to their way of life. Therefore, this decline in the prestige of the Arabs in politics did not symbolize a failure of Islam, but represented a transformation of Islam in Central Asia. This paper will evaluate how the gradual changes in the social status of Arabs and non-Arabs from the 600s to the 700s affected development of Islam. In order to