The Spread Of Islam: The Rise Of Christianity

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

There were hundreds of religions in the sixth century. However, only one became the fastest growing religion in the world today. Islam was started by a man named Muhammad. Muhammad was an ordinary man with and extraordinary purpose. In 610 C.E., Muhammad went into a cave in Mecca to pray.

In addition, there were prominent figures and leader during this time that also aided in the growth of Christianity. The most prominent figure of Christianity was Jesus who started this new religion. Around the age of thirty when Jesus began his teaching ministry, Jews of various classes heard Jesus’ message, and he soon had a small group of followers that believed that he was the Messiah who would deliver the Jews promised by God to the prophets. “Performing

Muhammad was known as the prophet of Islam. After receiving messages from Allah ( the concept of God in Islam) for two years, he thought it was time to preach the word of Allah. Through that Muhammad successfully was able to spread the word of Allah not only through religion but also politically to. Through the government Islam was able to spread even more after the four “rightly guided” caliphs (caliph means successor or deputy) continued to spread Islam. People seeked for new religious ideas.

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.

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.

Mecca was known as a trading city, for its camel caravans that would constantly visit, and an important religious shrine known as the Ka’ba which was economically beneficial since traders would pay to visit it and its other idols. Islam would begin with the teachings of Muhammad: monotheism, support for the weak and the poor, and that Muhammad was allah’s prophet. Muhammad would be unaccepted by the people of Mecca because his teachings threatened their economy and he wanted to eliminate idol worship. Muhammad fled to Medina and began to create a following known as the Ulma and later developed into a political leader. Eventually, Muhammad would return and conquer the city of Mecca, establishing Islam and destroying everything but the Ka’ba.

Islam is one of the major world religions that quickly proliferated across the world. The spread of Islam started when Prophet Muhammad began to address the public a new revelation that he received from God in 632 CE. It was later written in the Quran, which is the Islamic sacred text. The religion united everyone under one rule and appealed to all because there was no hierarchy. It particularly diffused during the Middle Ages, when Islam had a great desire in exploring new information, developing extensive trade and creating a powerful military system in the Middle East and North Africa, which helped the Islamic World dominate politically and religiously.

The rise of Christianity and Islam happened during a turbulent time in history, when major civilizations like the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire were in decline due to political infighting, disease, and outside barbarians constantly applying pressure. Christianity was adopted in the heart of the Roman Empire, as a way to continue the influence of Rome, while not being able to control all of Europe militarily. (Rise of Christianity, 2012) Therefore, early Christianity, as adopted by Rome, was about maintaining influence in the continent through the use of priests and monarchs under a feudalist system of control. The main benefit of Christianity came from its use of Latin and the Bible, a common language across the old Roman Empire, as well as a new technology in books that enabled priests to record extremely deep and convincing stories in an easily index able format. The Roman pagan religion used tablets for its mode of communication, tablets which could not hold very much information at all, and that lost legitimacy compared to the life of Jesus and the depth of the biblical writing style. Christianity rose during an age of danger in Europe, and the feudal system with knights and castles was simply the most beneficial system of governance that humanity had. (Stark, 1996)

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.

The spread of Islam and Christianity. Both belief systems spread both rapidly and were efficient religions that brought great change for the greater good. They were the largest religions in the entire world and both happened to be monotheistic. Both religions share a similar history and tradition. Christianity appealed to the people because of their unwillingness to live on and how hopeless they were to move forward in poverty. Travel played an enormous role in conversion because of the missionaries sent out to unknown lands to spread the faith through trading routes (Christianity) and contacts (Islam). Islam prospered, on the other hand, with a vision of the angel Gabriel from Muhammed (became a god messenger and prophet of Allah). Interactions with other civilizations developed the Islamic World. These new religions led to more growth in the aspects of their social, economic, and political systems in addition to influencing other upcoming religions in history.

Throughout history many universal religions have spread throughout the world. From cities to cities, countries to countries and so on. Christianity and Buddhism are two of the top universal religions that were practiced and spread throughout the early world. A series of events lead to the early and quick spread of Christianity and Buddhism throughout the early world. As turmoil engulfed the Jews in Judea, Christianity arose. The teaching of Christianity began with a Jew named Jesus. At the age of 30, Jesus began preaching the word of God to villagers near the Sea of Galilee. As Jesus preached, significant amounts of groups crowded around him to learn about his teachings, especially when word spread that he had performed acts of healing. Soon Jesus later formed a group of disciples or close followers to help spread his teachings.

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 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

The rise and expansion of Islam has had a significant impact on the role and rights of women throughout history. Since its origin in the seventh century until modern times, the Muslim faith has somewhat broadened, but has mostly restricted women’s rights in numerous Islamic communities. The history of Muslim women is complex, as it involves many advances and declines in numerous locations, such as Egypt, Afghanistan, and Iran, concerning several subjects, including both civil and social rights. Thus, in general, the rights of Islamic women did not improve significantly over time, instead, conditions remained the same or became worse for women as Islam evolved and spread as a world religion.