Why Did Islam Spread So Fast?

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.

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

When the Muslims (follower of Islam) pilgrimage to Mecca (to worship a religious shrine), they introduced the religious ideas to the people and they helped the spread of Islam. This was a way that the Muslims were able to spread Islam through religion

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.

Lastly, Islam spread quickly through military campaigns which is depicted in “The Spread of Islam (map)” (Doc. C) This map shows how the people that were conquered by the Muslims chose to convert to Islam

According to document D, the people within the empire who did not convert or be part of the pact and pay the tax would be subject to jihad, raiding those who are not willing to commit to the religion. Most likely, people will decide to convert since they do not want to pay an additional tax. This statement is supported in document E, it mentioned how jihad would continue in towns within the empire who are not part of the pact(whether you convert to Islam or pay the tax) until you join and decide to pay the tax or convert to a muslim. Document F also also informed the reader about the war between the Islamic empire and the Byzantine empire. The Islamic empire gave the Hims tax money and were told to fight against Heraclius, the troop leader, and the rest of the Byzantine empire which they had no problem with. They were able to defeat the Byzantine despite their outnumbered army claiming Allah, God, was the major leader of the war. This supports my claim since the Islamic empire was able to trust other conquered land to fight off invaders, this is important since the empire has more people to assign work to and protect the

it spread so quickly over a short period of time. There were different factors that had allowed Islamic

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.

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

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…

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

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 spread so quickly because of the message, military conquest, political structure, and trade. THE MESSAGE The main reason Islam spread so quickly is because if of the message. In document B it states multiple reasons why the message is important. A main part in the message states that whoever killed a human has killed all mankind, and if

Islam spread quickly because people converted to their religion to avoid the hassle that Islam had in store. Muslims were extremely violent toward Non-muslims, but if they agreed to become Muslim, the violence would be ended (Doc E). So some people pretended to become Muslim for an easier life, which was a great idea. But some really may have switched over to the Muslim religion from their own. Pretending to, or truly becoming Muslim was the only way out of being threatened, and it was key to a pretty much worry free life. Muslims didn’t have to pay taxes and were not ghazued (Doc D).