Today’s fastest-growing religion began in 610 C.E., when a merchant went into a cave to meditate. That merchant was Muhammad, and in that cave, he received a message from God. This message, along with the many more that would come, formed the basis of the Islamic faith. Islam grew rapidly from its roots in the Arabian city of Mecca and is now the second-largest religion in the world. There are three reasons why Islam spread so quickly: trade, military conquest, and the appeal of its message.
First, trade contributed greatly to the spread of Islam. When people traded, ideas were exchanged along with goods. Had Islam begun in an isolated desert town rather than the bustling city of Mecca, it may have never spread at all. A map of Arabia and
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surrounding areas from 570 C.E. shows that Mecca was centrally located along trade routes that came from Europe, Africa, and Asia. Merchants came to Mecca over land and sea from these three continents, making it an important center of trade and commerce (Document A). Even before Muhammad became a prophet, Mecca saw travelers from many lands. Years later, visitors to the city heard his teachings and shared them when they returned home. However, Mecca was not solely a place of business. It was also an important religious center. Pagans would flock to the city to worship idols of their various deities. According to Desmond Stewart and the editors of Time-Life Books, “Adding to the profits from caravans was a brisk pilgrimage trade, for Mecca was the site of Arabia’s holiest pagan shrine [the Ka’ba]” (Document A). Pagans traveled to Mecca from all over Arabia to practice their faith. But when they got there, they found a new religion that would eventually take its place. Overall, trade from caravans and pilgrimage helped to spread Islam because merchants and pilgrims returning from Mecca told people in many areas of the religion and its teachings. Additionally, expansion of the Islamic World through military conquest also led to the spread of the Islamic faith.
After Muhammad’s death, Islam continued to grow. Muslims began to establish new leaders, called caliphs. A map of Islamic territory expansion in the seventh and eighth centuries shows that by the year 750 C.E., Muslims had conquered most Eurasian lands between Spain and India. Territory had also been added as far north as France and south as Northern Africa (Document C). As the Islamic World expanded, so did the religion itself. The newly conquered became converts, adding to the spread of Islam. Additionally, before Islam discouraged violence within the Muslim community, Arabs got by through the ghazu, or raids on other tribes. But soon Muslims sought to preserve their newfound unity and stop infighting. Islam: A Short History by Karen Armstrong illustrates, "What would replace the ghazu, which had enabled Muslims to scratch out a meager livelihood? … The obvious answer was a series of ghazu raids against the non-Muslim communities in neighboring countries" (Document D). Because Muslims had stopped raiding each other and begun to conquer non-Muslims, more people were exposed to Islam for the first time, and thus became converts. All in all, conquest helped to spread Islam because it gave many people exposure to the
faith. Finally, the appealing messages of the Qur'an were a factor in the spread of Islam. Of course, hearing about Islam would not matter if those hearing did not like what they heard. But Islam's sacred text describes being rewarded by God for leading a worthy life. The Qur'an states, "Those who submit to God and accept the true faith; who are devout, sincere, patient, humble, charitable, and chaste; who fast and are ever mindful of God – on these, both men and women, God will bestow forgiveness and rich recompense [reward]" (Document B). Islam promises a rich afterlife in return only for being a good person. This message brought hope to many people in less fortunate situations, leading them to convert. However, perhaps the most appealing of the Qur'an's messages is for one to treat the world as they wish to be treated. Those who were good to others while alive would receive good treatment after death in the form of Paradise. The Qur'an states, "But the believers who do good works, both men and women, shall enter Paradise. They shall not suffer the least injustice" (Document B). To be treated well, one did not need money or to be of a certain gender or background, one simply needed to believe in the rewards of being good. This message spoke out especially to those who were not treated well, telling them that everything would work out in the end. The appeal of the Qur'an's messages resulted in the spread of Islam because it gave people good reason to believe. Undeniably, the world was forever changed by the rise and subsequent spread of Islam. For example, today it is the world's second-largest and fastest-growing religion. It changed and strengthened Arabia as well as bringing people from many lands hope and faith. But these outcomes would not have been possible if Islam had not spread so quickly when it first came about. It was because of trade, conquest, and a good message that all of these things could happen.
Because of Islam’s holy book, The Qur’an revolved a lot around the sacred language, Arabic, which was very beneficial for trade. Since the text in The Qur’an was in Arabic, it helped spread language, religion and culture when people traded it (Outside Source: Spread of Islam Background Reading Packet). This helped spread Islam because a lot of people read it, they may have thought of the same way and told themselves that they should become and adherent (Adherent: “Sticking to” or “ Having Faith in”) to Islam (Doc
One forceful way that islam was spread was through laws made by the government. It may sound like a stretch at first, but when the government ordinances on document E are
The Muslim Empire began to expand vastly under the Umayyads, with the empire becoming so large many people were converting to Islam religion. The Umayyads were the second of the four major caliphates after the death of Muhammad. The Empire used many different ways to spread the Islamic civilization consisting of war, classes, and appeal. The Islamic civilization spread so strongly because of the way it allured the common man.
One of the reasons why Islam spread so quickly was because of the trading that was happening about the time islam first began. The people how were trading goods with the muslims would spread the word about muhammad in their home towns. Muhammad lived in Mecca, which was a very important and rich town . Mecca was a major crossroads for for the caravan trade. Everything from silk to spices came through Mecca. People from every direction came to Mecca to trade. Muhammad and his followers would tell the traders about Islam and some
For example, the spread of Islam to the Byzantines and the Persians. The other caliphs (Umar, Uthman and Ali) expanded the Islamic empire rapidly and grew faster than any other religion. The Muslims conquered a massive amount of land from the Indus River, across North Africa and into Spain. There were many factors that helped Islam succeed; for example, people would rather fight for God and their salvation instead of fighting for a king, the use of military force by the Muslims and how easy it was to convert to Islam.
The modern world is linked through networks of communication and exchange between peoples. These exchanges between regions has changed cultures, economics, and politics. Through time the cultural influence between regions has consisted of many factors and elements but comes down to the spread of religion and religious teachings , movement of peoples, technological and cultural advancements affecting trade and commerce. Beginning with the Middle Ages in the years 1100-1500 , Africa, Asia, and Europe developed and influenced each other in several different ways. Starting with religion. The birth of Islam in the Middle East rapidly spread throughout Afro- Eurasia. Islam was attractive to people who were uninterested in the requirements of Christianity and the Church.
... had control various territories. Many merchants learned the Islamic language and became custom to their traditions. This allowed for its culture to spread and Islam had received converts. The trading industry has a major effect on the economy and allows the spread of one’s culture.
The Islamic empire expanded using three methods. These methods included military conquest, political means, and financial incentives. All of these helped Islam to spread from Northern Africa to Spain and to parts of Western Asia by the ninth century.
The conception of the Islamic civilization drew much attention in Arabia. In 600 C.E., the rise of this new empire helped its people improve in all studies of sciences and culture. The ability to spread teachings and customs throughout an entire area could not be easily obtained, therefore they used extended force and violence to take control of lands. In 610 C.E, when Muhammed was met by the angel Gabriel and accustomed his beliefs to those of God, the devotion of Muhammed's followers increased at a rapid rate. Following the death of Muhammed in 632 C.E., the civilization expanded very rapidly through momentous success both by converting nonbelievers to Islam and military conquests of opponents. It is noted that during the expansion of the
The town of Mecca was the birthplace of Islam, at first the leaders of the city refused the changing of this new religion and forced Muhammad to leave. Muhammad returned and preached to the people about what he had heard, that there is only one god. Islam spread quickly for two main reasons they are the message and military conquest. Some people believe that trade routes were most important reason in Islam expansion. People travel through Mecca and trade there while on their way to other cities such as Aden, Medina, and Petra.(Document A)
Islam spread rapidly because of its religious appeal because of its similarities to Christianity and Judaism, as well as the promised recompense to both men and women. In the Qur’an it is promised that “God will bestow forgiveness and rich recompense” as well as “both men and women, shall enter paradise” (Source 4). Both men and women were promised forgiveness if they followed Islam, this was appealing to people because it was universal and everyone
While the events of September 11, 2001, cast the Islam religion in an unfavorable light, this has not dampened the enthusiasm of the Muslim members, nor has it stopped the Islam religion from growing. Obviously, with over one billion members worldwide, Islam is one of the largest religions in the world today.
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 Eastern Roman Empire as well Persia and Africa. Many different practices and methods were used to spread Islam. The religion itself was appealing to, in addition to the inhabitants of Arabia, other people in the surrounding areas because of its distinct religious beliefs and practices, such as the five pillars, as well as the humility and prayerfulness of the Islamic people. They fought cruel, vicious wars with their enemies. Many different things motivated the warriors to expand, but above all, the riches they would gain from the people of the Fertile Crescent encouraged them to expand.
Came, take away all the things, and forced people to convert, or tried to impress people with universal appeal – which one worked as power for Islam to spread? Throughout the history of world, religion played an important role for the development of mankind. Sometimes religion created impact on the gr The world had lots of religion, but none of them were sophisticated Some people used to follow animism, where the nature was worshipped. It showed that people thought that nature was source of power. Polytheism was common form of religion. People used to follow lots of Gods and Goddesses. Religion was one kind of source of fear, where the followers were forced to follow several customs. Islam created a great change in the areas where it spread. Through its views, Islam was successful to convince lots of people. In the postclassical period, Islam spread to Southeast Asia from the Arabian Peninsula. As a religion, Islam was widely accepted to huge numbers of people. The ideas of Islam were successful to create impact on people. Islam spread in the Southeast Asia through trade, Sufism, Islam’s universal appeal, and scientific innovation, though there were also challenges in the way of spreading Islam.
Islam as the Fastest Growing Religion in the World [1] Shahid Athar, an American physician and devout Muslim said of