Why Did Islam Expand

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.

Over the 100 years that Islam expanded, the Arabs collected a wealth of science, philosophy and arts from lands they had conquered as they grew. By the tenth century, nearly all Greek texts were translated into Arabic as a result of the Translation Movement. They preserved a lot of Greek works that would have been lost otherwise. At the time they were thought of as the greatest scholars because of all of the knowledge they combined from different countries. For example, the Greeks liked geometry, and the Hindus liked algebra and arithmetic, so the Arabians developed a combination of both called trigonometry, used for astronomical purposes with the ratios called trigonometric functions. The Islamic people contributed to transmission of knowledge in Europe by all of the writing they had sought after to make their own. It gave them so much more information than other countries. As more expansion occurred, the Greek scientific writings moved westward through the Islamic world and reached Spain by the 9th century.

There are many reasons why Islam spread so quickly. The main reasons are trade, military conquest, and religion. Trade played the biggest role of why it spread so quickly because it went to Spain, Africa, and Europe. Military conquest because a large amount of land was conquered by Islam military. Another reason for Islam spreading is their religious views and spiritual ideas.

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.

One reason for the quick spread of Islam was due to the amount of protection and equality you get in the empire. According to articles E and F, the

Islam was a very popular religious belief that had followers from all around, but we ask why

An even better idea was trade. The idea is talk to a lot of merchants and get them on your side. Then build a lot of roads across the desert and spread the news about paradise (Document B). This will happen fast because all of those camels I mentioned.

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

The Islamic empire expanded in many different ways. One of the ways the Islamic Empire expanded is conquering land. In document A Islam killed the Greeks and conquered some of their land. This means that that the Greeks were taken over by Islam so Islam had more land than before. Another way the Islamic Empire expanded was they made a treaty with Tudmir. In document B “The slaves will not be killed or forced in any way but will be slaves.” This means that Islam had a truce with Tudmir. Islam will have a bigger civilization from getting more slaves/warriors from getting slaves from conquered

Military conquest also played a big role in Islam’s growth. “In the year 636 the Byzantine Emperor… gathered an army… to resist the expansion of Islam. The people… are the… Syrians…

To begin with, the main reason why Islam was able to spread so fast was because of treaties, taxes, and toleration. On document c, Abd al- Aziz and Theodemir state “He and [each of] his men shall pay one dinar every year, together with four measures of concentrated fruit juice, four liquid measures of vinegar, four of honey, and four of olive oil.” In other words, the conquered people must either pay their taxes to keep their religion, convert to Islam, or leave to another empire or civilization. This supports my argument because there had to be a lot of conquered people who wanted to keep their religion, so in exchange for their religion, they would have to pay their taxes which help increase Islam’s stability, prosperity, and food surplus. Just as

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.

    Around the years of 632-750 C.E., Islamic followers created an empire that reached across North Africa into Europe and dominated the Middle East. Due to several aspects leading up to expansion such as war, geography, and establishing an organized impressionable government, the Islamic empire grew rapidly.

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.

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.