Why Did Islam Spread so Fast?
Write a 5-paragraph essay using “How to Write Your Essay” instructions and evidence from Documents A-C.
DBQ: How Did Islam Spread So Quickly?
In 610 A.D., in a cave on the Arabian Peninsula, a merchant from Mecca, Islam named Muhammad was meditating when he was interrupted by the Angel Gabriel, who told him to recite and spread the words that Allah is the one God, which he would later be spread and known as Islam. So, why did Islam spread so quickly? Some people argue that Islam spread so quickly because of trade, military conquest, or treaties, taxes, and toleration. However, the main reasons why Islam spread so quickly was because of military conquest and taxes, treaties, and toleration. To begin with,
…show more content…
On document b titled “Battle of the Yarmuk (Modified),” Muslim historian Ahmad al-Biladuri states “In this battle 24,000 Muslims took part. By Allah’s help some 70,000 of them [the Greeks] were put to death, and their remnants took to flight, reaching as far as Palestine, Antioch, Aleppo, Mesopotamia, and Armenia.” In other words, the Muslim forces were able to expand their territory by winning the Greeks at war, even though the Muslims were outnumbered by the Greeks. This helps support my argument because the passage shows that the Muslims had a very strong military that was able to win even the toughest fights possible and still come out successfully. It also shows that Muslims used their strong military as an advantage to expanding their territory and increasing the population of Islam. This is also a reliable source because it is written by a Muslim historian who is an expert and probably examined Muslim history very carefully, although it may be a little biased since he is Muslim and might be trying to make the Muslim forces look good. The influence of context is to show the military power of Islam and show how great they were. This was also written during the Golden Age of Islam and explains what it took to get them there. The facts and examples used in this text seem to be of quality because it was written by someone who studies Muslims for a living, the numbers seem reasonable for …show more content…
On document a titled “Merchant Trade Routes” from the McDougal Littelll World History: Medieval and Early Modern Times it states “Overseas trade to the Arabian Peninsula included amazing luxury goods like spices, textiles (for clothing) and spices from Asia. Adding to the profits from caravan was a busy pilgrimage trade…” Though this may be true, transportation and travel took a long time during that time period, so it probably took them a while to receive or get the resources from the other empires. Military conquest and taxes, treaties, and toleration are a stronger argument because they show that they were able to increase population of Muslims by either letting them convert to Muslim or pay them taxes. Either way, Islam had more followers and became prosperous. Since Muslims forces were so powerful and were able to extend their territory, they had to have conquered many other civilizations or empires, which means that Islam was able to get so popular so fast and easy. Military conquest and treaties, taxes, and toleration had more reliable sources, because the military conquest document was written by a Muslim Historian who examined Muslim history very closely and the treaties, taxes, and toleration document was written write at the time of the treaty and was signed/gone over by both sides (Muslims
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
I’m sure everyone knew about how islam one of the most popular religions, but most people never realized how quickly it spread. Islam is a religion that was created in the time 610 C.E. by a judge named Muhammad who lived in Mecca. He went to pray at mt. Hira as he usually does, but then an archangel appeared. The angel then grabbed Muhammad and shared information about Allah or God and and called the religion Islam. This brings you to the question, how did Islam spread so quickly. I believe the main ways Islam spread so quickly was because of the protection they give you in the empire, conquering land, and through trade.
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.
This leaves the question. How did Islam spread so quickly. Islam spread quickly because it was in the middle of many trade routes, it spread with military conquests, and it appealed to rulers. For starters, Islam shad the benefit of starting at the center of multiple trade routes.
“ Headed north on the way from Yemen to the markets and headed east from the Red Sea across the desert to Iraq” ( document A paragraph 1). This quote shows how far the trade routes went, because of the easy access to the trade routes the Muslims were able to spread their religious ideas. The Muslims would pilgrimage to Mecca to worship an ancient shrine called the kaaba, because that was part of their religion, so Mecca was important to the Muslims and to the Muslim religion. They worshipped in religious place call the mosque. In Mecca the Muslims were able to spread Islam, not only because of the trade routes , but also because of the geography.
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.
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.
One reason Islam spread fast was because Muslims used force. From the beginning, Muhammad believed that Arab Muslims should not attack other Muslims. However, they could raid non-Muslims and take their things. These were called ghazu raids (Document D). Later the raids got bigger and became military campaigns and spread across the middle east, North Africa, and into Spain (Document C). Without force, Islam would not have spread so quickly.
The prophet Muhammad sparked the rise of Islam on the Arabian Peninsula by preaching the word of Allah, and inspired the caliphs that came after him to expand the religion and lead it to a period of prosperity. Without the benefits that Islam brought and the power of the Muslim army Islamic Civilization might have secluded itself to one region like Judaism did and not spread so quickly across the region like it did. The appeals that Islamic culture and the teachings of Muhammad offered, as well as practical benefits of converting to Islam, brought many People of the Book and other non-Muslims into the religion. Muslims used military force and threats in the name of Allah to strike fear into all non believers and expand Muslim territory through
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.
• Follow standard formatting. Your essay should be a minimum of 1000 words and a maximum of 1500 words, typewritten (Times New Roman, 12 point font), double-spaced with 1-inch margins. Acceptable citation style is Chicago (footnotes or endnotes). For additional information, go to
Islam spread so quickly because they had strict religious rules, trade, the military and mercy to muslims and other races.
Islam’s spread throughout 630-1600 CE was extremely rapid and sudden; however, it led to many favorable aspects. Over the span of 630-1600 CE, Islam managed to spread throughout Arabia, Mesopotamia, Persia, North Africa, Spain, and parts of Central Asia. Women and education were on a rise, socially. Also, flourishing trade contributed to Islam’s economic wealth. Furthermore, political and legal reforms were also established during its spread. Overall, the spread of Islam brought forth many positive social, political, and economic impacts.
it spread so quickly over a short period of time. There were different factors that had allowed Islamic
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.