This was the golden period of not only of Islam also of whole humanity. The Muslim rulers (HALIFAH) give peace, education, Justice equally, and all happiness to mankind. The Islamic Golden Age or the Islamic Renaissance, is traditionally dated from the 9th to 13th centuries C.E., for 400 years but has been extended to the 15th century by recent scholarship. During this period, artists, engineers, scholars, poets, philosophers, geographers and traders in theIslamic worldcontributed to the arts,agriculture, economics,industry, law,literature,navigation,philosophy,sciences, sociology, andtechnology, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding inventions and innovations of their own. Howard R. Turner writes: "Muslim artists and scientists, princes and laborers together made a unique culture that has directly and indirectly influenced societies on every continent.

• 1 Foundations
  • 1.1 Ethics
  • 1.2 Institutions
  • 1.3 Polymaths
• 2 Economy
  • 2.1 Age of discovery
  • 2.2 Agricultural Revolution
  • 2.3 Market economy
  • 2.4 Industrial growth
  • 2.5 Labour
  • 2.6 Technology
  • 2.7 Urbanization
• 3 Sciences
  • 3.1 Scientific method
  • 3.2 Peer review
  • 3.3 Astronomy
  • 3.4 Chemistry
  • 3.5 Mathematics
  • 3.6 Medicine
  • 3.7 Physics
  • 3.8 Other sciences
• 4 Other achievements
  • 4.1 Architecture
  • 4.2 Arts
  • 4.3 Literature
  • 4.4 Music
  • 4.5 Philosophy
• 5 End of the Golden Age
  • 5.1 Mongol invasion and Turkic settlement
  • 5.2 Causes of decline
• 6 Notes
• 7 See also
• 8 References
• 9 External links

During the Muslim conquests of the 7th and early 8th centuries, Rashidun armiesestablished the Caliphate, or Islamic Empire, one of the largest empires in history. TheIslamic Golden Age was soon inaugurated by the middle of the 8th century by the ascension of the Abbasid Caliphate and the transfer of the capital from Damascus to the newly founded city Baghdad. The Abbassids were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions and hadith such as "The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of martyrs" stressing the value of knowledge. During this period the Muslim world became the unrivaled intellectual centre for science, philosophy, medicine and education as the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge. They established the "House of Wisdom" (Arabic:بيت الحكمة) in Baghdad, where scholars, both Muslim and non-Muslim, sought to gather and translate all the world's knowledge into Arabic in the Translation Movement. Many classic works of antiquity that would otherwise have been forgotten were translated into Arabic and later in turn translated into Turkish,Persian, Hebrew and Latin. During this period the Muslim world was a cauldron of cultures which collected, synthesized and significantly advanced the knowledge gained from the ancient Mesopotamian,Roman, Chinese, Indian, Persian, Egyptian, North African, Greek and Byzantine civilizations. Rival Muslim dynasties such as the Fatimids of Egypt and the Umayyads of al-Andalus were also major intellectual centres with cities such as Cairo and Córdoba rivaling Baghdad.[6]

A major innovation of this period was paper - originally a secret tightly guarded by the Chinese. The art ofpapermaking was obtained from prisoners taken at the Battle of Talas (751), resulting in paper millsbeing built in the Islamic cities of Samarkand and Baghdad. The Arabs improved upon the Chinese techniques of using mulberry bark by using starch to account for the Muslim preference for pens vs. the Chinese for brushes. By AD 900 there were hundreds of shops employing scribes and binders for books in Baghdad and even public libraries began to become established, including the first lending libraries. From here paper-making spread west to Fez and then to al-Andalus and from there to Europe in the 13th century.[7]

Much of this learning and development can be linked to topography. Even prior to Islam's presence, the city of Mecca served as a center of trade in Arabia. The tradition of the pilgrimage to Mecca became a center for exchanging ideas and goods. The influence held by Muslim merchants over African-Arabian and Arabian-Asian trade routes was tremendous. As a result, Islamic civilization grew and expanded on the basis of its merchant economy, in contrast to their Christian, Indian and Chinese peers who built societies from an agricultural landholding nobility. Merchants brought goods and their faith to China, India (the Indian subcontinent now has over 450 million followers), South-east Asia (which now has over 230 million followers), and the kingdoms of Western Africa and returned with new inventions. Merchants used their wealth to invest in textiles and plantations.

Aside from traders, Sufi missionaries also played a large role in the spread of Islam, by bringing their message to various regions around the world. The principal locations included: Persia, Ancient Mesopotamia, Central Asia and North Africa. Although, the mystics also had a significant influence in parts of Eastern Africa, Ancient Anatolia (Turkey), South Asia, East Asia and South-east Asia.[8][9]

Further information: Islamic democracy and Constitution of Medina

Many medieval Muslim thinkers pursued humanistic, rational and scientific discourses in their search forknowledge, meaning and values. A wide range of Islamic writings on love, poetry, history andphilosophical theology show that medieval Islamic thought was open to the humanistic ideas ofindividualism, occasional secularism, skepticism and liberalism.[10][11]

Religious freedom, though society was still controlled under Islamic values, helped create cross-culturalnetworks by attracting Muslim, Christian and Jewish intellectuals and thereby helped spawn the greatest period of philosophical creativity in the Middle Ages from the 8th to 13th centuries.[6] Another reason the Islamic world flourished during this period was an early emphasis on freedom of speech, as summarized by al-Hashimi (a cousin of Caliph al-Ma'mun) in the following letter to one of the religious opponents he was attempting to convert through reason:[12]"Bring forward all the arguments you wish and say whatever you please and speak your mind freely. Now that you are safe and free to say whatever you please appoint some arbitrator who will impartially judge between us and lean only towards the truth and be free from the empary of passion, and that arbitrator shall be Reason, whereby God makes us responsible for our own rewards and punishments. Herein I have dealt justly with you and have given you full security and am ready to accept whatever decision Reason may give for me or against me. For "There is no compulsion in religion" (Qur'an 2:256) and I have only invited you to accept our faith willingly and of your own accord and have pointed out the hideousness of your present belief. Peace be upon you and the blessings of God!"

The earliest known treatises dealing with environmentalism and environmental science, especiallypollution, were Arabic treatises written by al-Kindi, al-Razi, Ibn Al-Jazzar, al-Tamimi, al-Masihi, Avicenna,Ali ibn Ridwan, Abd-el-latif, and Ibn al-Nafis. Their works covered a number of subjects related to pollution such as air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination, municipal solid waste mishandling, and environmental impact assessments of certain localities.[13] Cordoba, al-Andalus also had the firstwaste containers and waste disposal facilities for litter collection.[14]

A number of important educational and scientific institutions previously unknown in the ancient world have their origins in the early Islamic world, with the most notable examples being: the public hospital(which replaced healing temples and sleep temples)[15] and psychiatric hospital,[16] the public library andlending library, the academic degree-granting university, and the astronomical observatory as a research institute[15] (as opposed to a private observation post as was the case in ancient times).[17]

The first universities which issued diplomas were the Bimaristan medical university-hospitals of the medieval Islamic world, where medical diplomas were issued to students of Islamic medicine who were qualified to be practicing doctors of medicine from the 9th century.[18] The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes the University of Al Karaouine in Fez, Morocco as the oldest degree-granting university in the world with its founding in 859 CE.[19] Al-Azhar University, founded in Cairo, Egypt in the975 CE, offered a variety of academic degrees, including postgraduate degrees, and is often considered the first full-fledged university. The origins of the doctorate also dates back to the ijazat attadris WA 'l-ifttd("license to teach and issue legal opinions") in the medieval Madrasahs which taught Islamic law.[20]

By the 10th century, Cordoba had 700 mosques, 60,000 palaces, and 70 libraries, the largest of which had 600,000 books. In the whole al-Andalus, 60,000 treatises, poems, polemics and compilations were published each year.[21] The library of Cairo had two million books,[22] while the library of Tripoli is said to have had as many as three million books before it was destroyed by Crusaders. The number of important and original medieval Arabic works on the mathematical sciences far exceeds the combined total of medieval Latin and Greek works of comparable significance, although only a small fraction of the surviving Arabic scientific works have been studied in modern times.[23] For instance, Jamil Ragip, anhistorian of science from McGill University, says that 'less than 5% of the available material has been studied.'[24] A Russian historian gives an idea of the numerical quantity of these manuscripts and works always findable:"The results of the Arab scholars' literary activities are reflected in the enormous amount of works (about some hundred thousand) and manuscripts (not less than 5 million) which were current... These figures are so imposing that only the printed epoch presents comparable materials"[25]

A number of distinct features of the modern library were introduced in the Islamic world, where libraries not only served as a collection of manuscripts as was the case in ancient libraries, but also as a public library and lending library, a centre for the instruction and spread of sciences and ideas, a place for meetings and discussions, and sometimes as a lodging for scholars or boarding school for pupils. The concept of the library catalogue was also introduced in medieval Islamic libraries, where books were organized into specific genres and categories.[26]

Several fundamental common law institutions may have been adapted from similar legal institutions inIslamic law and jurisprudence, and introduced to England by the Normans after the Norman conquest of England and the Emirate of Sicily, and by Crusaders during the Crusades. In particular, the "royal English contract protected by the action of debt is identified with the Islamic Aqd, the English assize of novel disseisin is identified with the Islamic Istihqaq, and the English jury is identified with the IslamicLafif." Other legal institutions introduced in Islamic law include the trust and charitable trust(Waqf),[27][28] the agency and aval (Hawala),[29] and the lawsuit and medical peer review.[30] Other English legal institutions such as "the scholastic method, the license to teach," the "law schools known as Inns of Court in England and Madrasas in Islam" and the "European commenda" (Islamic Qirad) may have also originated from Islamic law. These influences have led some scholars to suggest that Islamic law may have laid the foundations for "the common law as an integrated whole".[20]

Notable medieval Muslim polymaths included al-Biruni, al-Jahiz, al-Kindi, Ibn Sina (Latinized: Avicenna),al-Idrisi, Ibn Bajjah, Ibn Zuhr, Ibn Tufail, Ibn Rushd (Latinized: Averroes), al-Suyuti,[33] Geber,[34] Abbas Ibn Firnas,[35] Alhacen,[36] Ibn al-Nafis,[37] Ibn Khaldun,[38] al-Khwarizmi, al-Masudi, al-Muqaddasi, andNasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī.[31]

See also: Islamic economics in the world, Inventions in the Muslim world, Ibn Battuta, and Pre-Columbian Andalusian-Americas contact theories

The Islamic Empire significantly contributed to globalization during the Islamic Golden Age, when theknowledge, trade and economies from many previously isolated regions and civilizations began integrating due to contacts with Muslim explorers, sailors, scholars, traders, and travelers. Some have called this period the "Pax Islamica" or "Afro-Asiatic age of discovery", in reference to the Southwest Asian and North African traders and explorers (though mostly Muslims, some were also JewishRadhanites) who travelled most of the Old World, and established an early global economy[39] across most of Asia and Africa and much of Europe, with their trade networks extending from the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Indian Ocean and China Sea in the east.[40] This helped establish the Islamic Empire (including the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid caliphates) as the world's leading extensive economic power throughout the 7th-13th centuries.[39] Several contemporary medieval Arabic reports also suggest that Muslim explorers from al-Andalus and theMaghreb may have travelled in expeditions across the Atlantic Ocean between the 9th and 14th centuries.[41]

The valve-operatedreciprocating suction piston pumpwith crankshaft-connecting rodmechanism invented by al-Jazari in the 12th century.

The Islamic Golden Age witnessed a fundamental transformation inagriculture known as the "Muslim Agricultural Revolution" or "Arab Agricultural Revolution".[42] Due to the global economy established by Muslim traders across the Old World, this enabled the diffusion of many plants and farming techniques between different parts of the Islamic world, as well as the adaptation of plants and techniques from beyond the Islamic world. Crops from Africa such as sorghum, crops from China such as citrus fruits, and numerous crops fromIndia such as mangos, rice, and especially cotton and sugar cane, were distributed throughout Islamic lands which normally would not be able to grow these crops.[43] Some have referred to the diffusion of numerous crops during this period as the "Globalisation of Crops",[44]which, along with an increased mechanization of agriculture (seeIndustrial growth below), led to major changes in economy,population distribution, vegetation cover,[45] agricultural production and income, population levels, urban growth, the distribution of thelabour force, linked industries, cooking and diet, clothing, and numerous other aspects of life in the Islamic world.[43]

During the Muslim Agricultural Revolution, sugar production was refined and transformed into a large-scale industry by the Arabs, who built the first sugar refineries and sugar plantations. The Arabs andBerbers diffused sugar throughout the Islamic Empire from the 8th century.[46]

Muslims introduced cash cropping[47] and the modern crop rotation system where land was cropped four or more times in a two-year period. Winter crops were followed by summer ones. In areas where plants of shorter growing season were used, such as spinach and eggplants, the land could be cropped three or more times a year. In parts of Yemen, wheat yielded two harvests a year on the same land, as did rice in Iraq.[43] Muslims developed a scientific approach to agriculture based on three major elements; sophisticated systems of crop rotation, highly developed irrigation techniques, and the introduction of a large variety of crops which were studied and catalogued according to the season, type of land and amount of water they require. Numerous encyclopaedias on farming and botany were produced, containing accurate, precise detail.[48]

Early forms of proto-capitalism and free markets were present in the Caliphate,[49] where an early market economy and early form of merchant capitalism was developed between the 8th-12th centuries, which some refer to as "Islamic capitalism".[50] A vigorous monetary economy was created on the basis of the expanding levels of circulation of a stable high-value currency (the dinar) and the integration of monetaryareas that were previously independent. Innovative new business techniques and forms of business organisation were introduced by economists, merchants and traders during this time. Such innovations included early trading companies, credit cards, big businesses, contracts, bills of exchange, long-distance international trade, early forms of partnership (mufawada) such as limited partnerships(mudaraba), and early forms of credit, debt, profit, loss, capital (al-mal), capital accumulation (nama al-mal),[47] circulating capital, capital expenditure, revenue, cheques, promissory notes,[51] trusts (waqf),startup companies,[52] savings accounts, transactional accounts, pawning, loaning, exchange rates,bankers, money changers, ledgers, deposits, assignments, the double-entry bookkeeping system,[53]and lawsuits.[30] Organizational enterprises similar to corporations independent from the state also existed in the medieval Islamic world.[54][55] Many of these early proto-capitalist concepts were adopted and further advanced in medieval Europe from the 13th century onwards.[47]

The systems of contract relied upon by merchants was very effective. Merchants would buy and sell oncommission, with money loaned to them by wealthy investors, or a joint investment of several merchants, who were often Muslim, Christian and Jewish. Recently, a collection of documents was found in an Egyptian synagogue shedding a very detailed and human light on the life of medieval Middle Eastern merchants. Business partnerships would be made for many commercial ventures, and bonds ofkinship enabled trade networks to form over huge distances. Networks developed during this time enabled a world in which money could be promised by a bank in Baghdad and cashed in Spain, creating the cheque system of today. Each time items passed through the cities along this extraordinary network, the city imposed a tax, resulting in high prices once reaching the final destination. These innovations made by Muslims and Jews laid the foundations for the modern economic system.

Though medieval Islamic economics appears to have been closer to proto-capitalism, some scholars have also found a number of parallels between Islamic economic jurisprudence and communism, including the Islamic ideas of zakat and riba.[56]

Muslim engineers in the Islamic world made a number of innovativeindustrial uses of hydropower, and early industrial uses of tidal power, wind power, steam power,[57] fossil fuels such as petroleum, and early large factory complexes (tiraz in Arabic).[58] The industrial uses of watermills in the Islamic world date back to the 7th century, while horizontal-wheeled and vertical-wheeled water mills were both in widespread use since at least the 9th century. A variety of industrial mills were being employed in the Islamic world, including early fulling mills, gristmills, hullers, paper mills, sawmills, shipmills,stamp mills, steel mills, sugar mills, tide mills and windmills. By the 11th century, every province throughout the Islamic world had these industrial mills in operation, from al-Andalus and North Africa to theMiddle East and Central Asia.[59] Muslim engineers also inventedcrankshafts and water turbines, employed gears in mills and water-raising machines, and pioneered the use of dams as a source of water power, used to provide additional power to watermills and water-raising machines.[46] Such advances made it possible for many industrial tasks that were previously driven by manual labour inancient times to be mechanized and driven by machinery instead in the medieval Islamic world. The transfer of these technologies to medieval Europe had an influence on the Industrial Revolution.[60]

A number of industries were generated due to the Muslim Agricultural Revolution, including early industries for agribusiness, astronomical instruments, ceramics, chemicals, distillation technologies,clocks, glass, mechanical hydropowered and wind powered machinery, matting, mosaics, pulp and paper, perfumery, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, rope-making, shipping, shipbuilding, silk, sugar, textiles,water, weapons, and the mining of minerals such as sulphur, ammonia, lead and iron. Early large factorycomplexes (tiraz) were built for many of these industries, and knowledge of these industries were later transmitted to medieval Europe, especially during the Latin translations of the 12th century, as well as before and after. For example, the first glass factories in Europe were founded in the 11th century byEgyptian craftsmen in Greece.[61] The agricultural and handicraft industries also experienced high levels of growth during this period.[40]

The labour force in the Caliphate were employed from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, while both men and women were involved in diverse occupations and economic activities.[62] Women were employed in a wide range of commercial activities and diverse occupations[63] in the primary sector (asfarmers for example), secondary sector (as construction workers, dyers, spinners, etc.) and tertiary sector (as investors, doctors, nurses, presidents of guilds, brokers, peddlers, lenders, scholars, etc.).[64]Muslim women also had a monopoly over certain branches of the textile industry.[63]

During the Arab slave trade, slaves were purchased on the frontiers of the Islamic world and then imported to the major centers, where there were slave markets from which they were widely distributed.[65][66][67] Slaves occupied an important place in the economic life of Islamic world.[68][69]Large numbers of slaves were exported from eastern Africa to work in salt mines and labour-intensiveplantations; the best evidence for this is the magnitude of the Zanj revolt in Iraq in the 9th century.[70]Slaves were also used for domestic work,[71] military service,[72] and civil administration.[73] Central andEastern European slaves were generally known as Saqaliba (i.e. Slavs), while slaves from Central Asiaand the Caucasus were often known as Mamluk.[74]

The programmable automata ofal-Jazari.

A significant number of inventions were produced by medieval Muslim engineers and inventors, such as Abbas Ibn Firnas, theBanū Mūsā, Taqi al-Din, and most notably al-Jazari.

Some of the inventions believed to have come from the Islamic Golden Age include the camera obscura, coffee, soap bar, tooth paste, shampoo, pure distillation, liquefaction, crystallization,purification, oxidization, evaporation, filtration, distilled alcohol, uric acid, nitric acid, alembic, valve, reciprocating suction piston pump, mechanized waterclocks, quilting, scalpel, bone saw, forceps, surgical catgut, vertical-axle windmill, inoculation, smallpox vaccine, fountain pen, cryptanalysis,frequency analysis, three-course meal, stained glass and quartz glass, Persian carpet, and celestial globe.[75]

As urbanization increased, Muslim cities grew unregulated, resulting in narrow winding city streets andneighbourhoods separated by different ethnic backgrounds and religious affiliations. These qualities proved efficient for transporting goods[citation needed] to and from major commercial centres while preserving the privacy valued by Islamic family life. Suburbs lay just outside the walled city, from wealthy residential communities, to working class semi-slums. City garbage dumps were located far from the city, as were clearly defined cemeteries which were often homes for criminals. A place of prayer was found just near one of the main gates, for religious festivals and public executions. Similarly, military training grounds were found near a main gate.

Muslim cities also had advanced domestic water systems with sewers, public baths, drinking fountains,piped drinking water supplies,[76] and widespread private and public toilet and bathing facilities.[77] By the 10th century, Cordoba had 700 mosques, 60,000 palaces, and 70 libraries.[21]

The average life expectancy in the lands under Islamic rule also experienced an increase, due to the Agricultural Revolution as well as improved medical care. In contrast to the average lifespan in the ancient Greco-Roman world (22-28 years),[78][79] the average lifespan in the early Islamic Caliphate was more than 35 years.[80] The average lifespans of the Islamic scholarly class in particular was much higher: 84.3 years in 10th-11th century Iraq and Persia,[81] 72.8 years in the 11th century Middle East, 69-75 years in 11th century Islamic Spain,[82] 75 years in 12th century Persia,[83] and 59-72 years in 13th century Persia.[84] The Islamic Empire also experienced a growth in literacy, having the highest literacy rate of the Middle Ages, comparable to Athens' literacy in classical antiquity but on a larger scale.[85]

Further information: Islamic contributions to Medieval Europe, Timeline of science and technology in the Islamic world, and List of Muslim scientists

The traditional view of Islamic science was that it was chiefly a preserver and transmitter of ancient knowledge.[86] For example, Donald Lach argues that modern science originated in Europe as an amalgam of medieval technology and Greek learning.[87] These views have been disputed in recent times, with some scholars suggesting that Muslim scientists laid the foundations for modernscience,[88][89][90][91][92] for their development of early scientific methods and an empirical, experimentaland quantitative approach to scientific inquiry.[93] Some scholars have referred to this period as a "Muslim scientific revolution",[4][94][95][96] a term which expresses the view that Islam was the driving force behind the Muslim scientific achievements,[97] and should not to be confused with the early modernEuropean Scientific Revolution leading to the rise of modern science.[98][99][100] Edward Grant argues that modern science was due to the cumulative efforts of the Hellenic, Islamic and Latin civilizations.[101]

Early scientific methods were developed in the Islamic world, where significant progress in methodology was made, especially in the works of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) in the 11th century, who is considered the pioneer of experimental physics.[93][102] The most important development of the scientific method was the use of experimentation and quantification to distinguish between competing scientific theories set within a generally empirical orientation. Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) wrote the Book of Optics, in which he significantly reformed the field of optics, empirically proved that vision occurred because of light raysentering the eye, and invented the camera obscura to demonstrate the physical nature of light rays.[103][104]

Ibn al-Haytham has also been described as the "first scientist" for his introduction of the scientific method,[105] and his pioneering work on the psychology of visual perception[106][107] is considered a precursor to psychophysics and experimental psychology.[108]

The first scientific peer review, the evaluation of research findings for competence, significance and originality by qualified experts, was described later in the Medical Essays and Observations published by the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1731. The present-day scientific peer review system evolved from this 18th century process.[109]

Further information: Maragheh observatory, Islamic astrology, List of Muslim astronomers, and List of Arabic star names

Photo taken from medieval manuscript by Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi(1236-1311), a Persian astronomer. The image depicts an epicyclic planetary model.

Some have referred to the achievements of the Maragha school and their predecessors and successors in astronomy as a "Maragha Revolution", "Maragha School Revolution" or "Scientific Revolution before the Renaissance".[4] Advances in astronomy by the Maragha school and their predecessors and successors include the construction of the first observatory in Baghdad during the reign ofCaliph al-Ma'mun,[110] the collection and correction of previous astronomical data, resolving significant problems in the Ptolemaic model, the development of universal astrolabes,[111] the invention of numerous other astronomical instruments, the beginning ofastrophysics and celestial mechanics after Ja'far Muhammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir discovered that the heavenly bodies and celestial spheres were subject to the same physical laws as Earth,[112] the first elaborate experiments related to astronomical phenomena and the first semantic distinction between astronomy and astrology byAbū al-Rayhān al-Bīrūnī,[113] the use of exacting empiricalobservations and experimental techniques,[114] the discovery that the celestial spheres are not solid and that the heavens are less dense than the air by Ibn al-Haytham,[115] the separation of natural philosophy from astronomy by Ibn al-Haytham and Ibn al-Shatir,[116] the first non-Ptolemaic models by Ibn al-Haytham and Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi, the rejection of the Ptolemaic model on empirical rather thanphilosophical grounds by Ibn al-Shatir,[4] the first empirical observational evidence of the Earth's rotationby Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī and Ali al-Qushji, and al-Birjandi's early hypothesis on "circular inertia."[117]

Several Muslim astronomers also considered the possibility of the Earth's rotation on its axis and perhaps a heliocentric solar system.[91][118] It is known that the Copernican heliocentric model inNicolaus Copernicus' De revolutionibus was adapted from the geocentric model of Ibn al-Shatir and the Maragha school (including the Tusi-couple) in a heliocentric context,[119] and that his arguments for the Earth's rotation were similar to those of Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī and Ali al-Qushji.[117]

Geber (Jabir ibn Hayyan) is considered a pioneer of chemistry,[120][121] as he was responsible for introducing an early experimental scientific method within the field, as well as the alembic, still, retort,[75]and the chemical processes of pure distillation, filtration, sublimation,[122] liquefaction, crystallisation,purification, oxidisation and evaporation.[75]

The study of traditional alchemy and the theory of the transmutation of metals were first refuted by al-Kindi,[123] followed by Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī,[124] Avicenna,[125] and Ibn Khaldun. In his Doubts about Galen, al-Razi was the first to prove both Aristotle's theory of classical elements and Galen's theory ofhumorism false using an experimental method.[126] Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī stated an early version of the law of conservation of mass, noting that a body of matter is able to change, but is not able to disappear.[127]Alexander von Humboldt and Will Durant consider medieval Muslim chemists to be founders of chemistry.[89][91]

Among the achievements of Muslim mathematicians during this period include the development ofalgebra and algorithms by the Persian and Islamic mathematician Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī,[128][129] the invention of spherical trigonometry,[130] the addition of the decimal point notation to the Arabic numerals, the discovery of all the trigonometric functions besides sine, al-Kindi's introduction of cryptanalysis and frequency analysis, al-Karaji's introduction of algebraic calculus andproof by mathematical induction, the development of analytic geometry and the earliest general formula for infinitesimal and integral calculus by Ibn al-Haytham, the beginning of algebraic geometry by Omar Khayyam, the first refutations of Euclidean geometry and the parallel postulate by Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī, the first attempt at a non-Euclidean geometry by Sadr al-Din, the development of symbolic algebra byAbū al-Hasan ibn Alī al-Qalasādī,[131] and numerous other advances in algebra, arithmetic, calculus,cryptography, geometry, number theory and trigonometry. An Arabic manuscript describing the eye, dating back to the 12th century

Further information: Islamic psychology, Bimaristan, and Ophthalmology in medieval Islam

Islamic medicine was a genre of medical writing that was influenced by several different medical systems. The works of ancient Greekand Roman physicians Hippocrates, Dioscorides, Soranus, Celsusand Galen had a lasting impact on Islamic medicine.[132][133][134]

Muslim physicians made many significant contributions to medicine, including anatomy, experimental medicine, ophthalmology,pathology, the pharmaceutical sciences, physiology, surgery, etc. They also set up some of the earliest dedicated hospitals,[135]including the first medical schools[136] and psychiatric hospitals.[137]Al-Kindi wrote the De Gradibus, in which he first demonstrated the application of quantification and mathematics to medicine and pharmacology, such as a mathematical scale to quantify the strength of drugs and the determination in advance of the most critical days of a patient's illness.[138] Al-Razi (Rhazes) discovered measles andsmallpox, and in his Doubts about Galen, proved Galen's humorism false.[126]

Abu al-Qasim (Abulcasis) helped lay the foudations for modern surgery,[139] with his Kitab al-Tasrif, in which he invented numerous surgical instruments, including the first instruments unique to women,[140]as well as the surgical uses of catgut and forceps, the ligature, surgical needle, scalpel, curette,retractor, surgical spoon, sound, surgical hook, surgical rod, and specula,[141] and bone saw.[75] Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen) made important advances in eye surgery, as he correctly explained the process of sight and visual perception for the first time in his Book of Optics.[140]

Ibn Sina (Avicenna) helped lay the foundations for modern medicine,[142] with The Canon of Medicine, which was responsible for introducing systematic experimentation and quantification in physiology,[143]the discovery of contagious disease, introduction of quarantine to limit their spread, introduction ofexperimental medicine, evidence-based medicine, clinical trials,[144] randomized controlled trials,[145][146] efficacy tests,[147][148] and clinical pharmacology,[149] the first descriptions on bacteriaand viral organisms,[150] distinction of mediastinitis from pleurisy, contagious nature of tuberculosis, distribution of diseases by water and soil, skin troubles, sexually transmitted diseases, perversions,nervous ailments,[135] use of ice to treat fevers, and separation of medicine from pharmacology.[140]

Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) was the earliest known experimental surgeon.[151] In the 12th century, he was responsible for introducing the experimental method into surgery, as he was the first to employ animal testing in order to experiment with surgical procedures before applying them to human patients.[152] He also performed the first dissections and postmortem autopsies on humans as well as animals.[153]

Ibn al-Nafis laid the foundations for circulatory physiology,[154] as he was the first to describe thepulmonary circulation[155] and coronary circulation,[156][157] which form the basis of the circulatory system, for which he is considered "the greatest physiologist of the Middle Ages."[158] He also described the earliest concept of metabolism,[159] and developed new systems of physiology andpsychology to replace the Avicennian and Galenic systems, while discrediting many of their erroneous theories on humorism, pulsation,[160] bones, muscles, intestines, sensory organs, bilious canals,esophagus, stomach, etc.[161]

Ibn al-Lubudi rejected the theory of humorism, and discovered that the body and its preservation depend exclusively upon blood, women cannot produce sperm, the movement of arteries are not dependent upon the movement of the heart, the heart is the first organ to form in a fetus' body, and the bones forming theskull can grow into tumors.[162] Ibn Khatima and Ibn al-Khatib discovered that infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms which enter the human body.[163] Mansur ibn Ilyas drew comprehensive diagrams of the body's structural, nervous and circulatory systems.[5]

The study of experimental physics began with Ibn al-Haytham,[164] a pioneer of modern optics, who introduced the experimental scientific method and used it to drastically transform the understanding oflight and vision in his Book of Optics, which has been ranked alongside Isaac Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica as one of the most influential books in the history of physics,[165] for initiating a scientific revolution in optics[166] and visual perception.[167]

The experimental scientific method was soon introduced into mechanics by Biruni,[168] and early precursors to Newton's laws of motion were discovered by several Muslim scientists. The law of inertia, known as Newton's first law of motion, and the concept of momentum were discovered by Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen)[169][170] and Avicenna.[171][172] The proportionality between force and acceleration, considered "the fundamental law of classical mechanics" and foreshadowing Newton's second law of motion, was discovered by Hibat Allah Abu'l-Barakat al-Baghdaadi,[173] while the concept of reaction, foreshadowing Newton's third law of motion, was discovered by Ibn Bajjah (Avempace).[174] Theories foreshadowing Newton's law of universal gravitation were developed by Ja'far Muhammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir,[175] Ibn al-Haytham,[176] and al-Khazini.[177] Galileo Galilei's mathematical treatment ofacceleration and his concept of impetus[178] was enriched by the commentaries of Avicenna[171] and Ibn Bajjah to Aristotle's Physics as well as the Neoplatonist tradition of Alexandria, represented by John Philoponus.[179]

Further information: Islamic geography, Islamic psychology, Early Muslim sociology, and Historiography of early Islam

Many other advances were made by Muslim scientists in biology (anatomy, botany, evolution,physiology and zoology), the earth sciences (anthropology, cartography, geodesy, geography andgeology), psychology (experimental psychology, psychiatry, psychophysics and psychotherapy), and the social sciences (demography, economics, sociology, history and historiography).

Other famous Muslim scientists during the Islamic Golden Age include al-Farabi (a polymath), Biruni (a polymath who was one of the earliest anthropologists and a pioneer of geodesy),[180] Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī(a polymath), and Ibn Khaldun (considered to be a pioneer of several social sciences[181] such asdemography,[182] economics,[183] cultural history,[184] historiography[185] and sociology),[186] among others.

The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, that was built under Mughal rule.

Selimiye Mosque, built by Sinan in 1575. Edirne, Turkey.

The Great Mosque of Xi'an in China was completed circa740, and the Great Mosque of Samarra in Iraq was completed in 847. The Great Mosque of Samarra combined the hypostyle architecture of rows of columns supporting a flat base above which a huge spiralingminaret was constructed.

The Spanish Muslims began construction of the Great Mosque at Cordoba in 785 marking the beginning of Islamic architecture in Spain and Northern Africa (see Moors). The mosque is noted for its striking interior arches. Moorish architecture reached its peak with the construction of the Alhambra, the magnificent palace/fortress ofGranada, with its open and breezy interior spaces adorned in red, blue, and gold. The walls are decorated with stylized foliage motifs, Arabic inscriptions, and arabesque design work, with walls covered in glazed tiles.

Another distinctive sub-style is the architecture of the Mughal Empire in India in the 15-17th centuries. Blending Islamic and Hinduelements, the emperor Akbar constructed the royal city of Fatehpur Sikri, located 26 miles (42 km) west of Agra, in the late 1500s and his grandson Shah Jahan had constructed the mausoleum of Taj Mahal for Mumtaz Mahal in the 1650s, though this time period is well after the Islamic Golden Age.

In the Sunni Muslim Ottoman Empire massive mosques with ornate tiles and calligraphy were constructed by a series of sultans including the Süleymaniye Mosque , Sultanahmet Mosque, Selimiye Mosque, and Bayezid II Mosque

Further information: Islamic calligraphy, Arabesque, Iranian art, and Persian miniature

See also: Islamic music, Arabic music, and Persian traditional music

An Arabic manuscript from the 13th century depicting Socrates(Soqrāt) in discussion with his pupils.

The golden age of Islamic (and/or Muslim) art lasted from 750 to the 16th century, when ceramics, glass, metalwork, textiles, illuminated manuscripts, and woodwork flourished. Lustrous glazing was an Islamic contribution to ceramics. Islamic luster-painted ceramics were imitated by Italian potters during the Renaissance. Manuscript illumination developed into an important and greatly respected art, and portrait miniature painting flourished in Persia. Calligraphy, an essential aspect of written Arabic, developed in manuscripts and architectural decoration.

The most well known fiction from the Islamic world was The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights), which was a compilation of many earlier folk tales told by the Persian QueenScheherazade. The epic took form in the 10th century and reached its final form by the 14th century; the number and type of tales have varied from one manuscript to another.[187] All Arabian fantasy tales were often called "Arabian Nights" when translated into English, regardless of whether they appeared in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, in any version, and a number of tales are known in Europe as "Arabian Nights" despite existing in no Arabic manuscript.[187] "Ali Baba" by Maxfield Parrish.

This epic has been influential in the West since it was translated in the 18th century, first by Antoine Galland.[188] Many imitations were written, especially in France.[189] Various characters from this epic have themselves become cultural icons in Western culture, such asAladdin, Sinbad and Ali Baba. However, no medieval Arabic source has been traced for Aladdin, which was incorporated into The Book of One Thousand and One Nights by its French translator, Antoine Galland, who heard it from an Arab Syrian Christian storyteller fromAleppo. Part of its popularity may have sprung from the increasing historical and geographical knowledge, so that places of which little was known and so marvels were plausible had to be set further "long ago" or farther "far away"; this is a process that continues, and finally culminate in the fantasy world having little connection, if any, to actual times and places. A number of elements from Arabian mythology and Persian mythology are now common in modernfantasy, such as genies, bahamuts, magic carpets, magic lamps, etc.[189] When L. Frank Baumproposed writing a modern fairy tale that banished stereotypical elements, he included the genie as well as the dwarf and the fairy as stereotypes to go.[190]

Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran, is a mythical and heroic retelling of Persian history.Amir Arsalan was also a popular mythical Persian story, which has influenced some modern works of fantasy fiction, such as The Heroic Legend of Arslan.

A famous example of Arabic poetry and Persian poetry on romance (love) is Layla and Majnun, dating back to the Umayyad era in the 7th century. It is a tragic story of undying love much like the laterRomeo and Juliet, which was itself said to have been inspired by a Latin version of Layli and Majnun to an extent.[191]

Ibn Tufail (Abubacer) and Ibn al-Nafis were pioneers of the philosophical novel. Ibn Tufail wrote the first fictional Arabic novel Hayy ibn Yaqdhan (Philosophus Autodidactus) as a response to al-Ghazali's The Incoherence of the Philosophers, and then Ibn al-Nafis also wrote a novel Theologus Autodidactus as a response to Ibn Tufail's Philosophus Autodidactus. Both of these narratives had protagonists (Hayy inPhilosophus Autodidactus and Kamil in Theologus Autodidactus) who were autodidactic feral childrenliving in seclusion on a desert island, both being the earliest examples of a desert island story. However, while Hayy lives alone with animals on the desert island for the rest of the story in Philosophus Autodidactus, the story of Kamil extends beyond the desert island setting in Theologus Autodidactus, developing into the earliest known coming of age plot and eventually becoming the first example of ascience fiction novel.[159][192]

Theologus Autodidactus, written by the Arabian polymath Ibn al-Nafis (1213-1288), is the first example of a science fiction novel. It deals with various science fiction elements such as spontaneous generation,futurology, the end of the world and doomsday, resurrection, and the afterlife. Rather than giving supernatural or mythological explnations for these events, Ibn al-Nafis attempted to explain these plot elements using the scientific knowledge of biology, astronomy, cosmology and geology known in his time. His main purpose behind this science fiction work was to explain Islamic religious teachings in terms of science and philosophy through the use of fiction.[193]

A Latin translation of Ibn Tufail's work, Philosophus Autodidactus, first appeared in 1671, prepared byEdward Pococke the Younger, followed by an English translation by Simon Ockley in 1708, as well asGerman and Dutch translations. These translations later inspired Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Crusoe, regarded as the first novel in English.[194][195][196][197] Philosophus Autodidactus also inspired Robert Boyle to write his own philosophical novel set on an island, The Aspiring Naturalist.[198] The story also anticipated Rousseau's Emile: or, On Education in some ways, and is also similar to Mowgli's story inRudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book as well as Tarzan's story, in that a baby is abandoned but taken care of and fed by a mother wolf.[199]

Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, considered the greatest epic of Italian literature, derived many features of and episodes about the hereafter directly or indirectly from Arabic works on Islamic eschatology: theHadith and the Kitab al-Miraj(translated into Latin in 1264 or shortly before[200] as Liber Scale Machometi, "The Book of Muhammad's Ladder") concerning Muhammad's ascension to Heaven, and the spiritual writings of Ibn Arabi. The Moors also had a noticeable influence on the works of George Peeleand William Shakespeare. Some of their works featured Moorish characters, such as Peele's The Battle of Alcazarand Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Titus Andronicus and Othello, which featured a Moorish Othello as its title character. These works are said to have been inspired by several Moorishdelegations from Morocco to Elizabethan England at the beginning of the 17th century.[201]

Main articles: Islamic music and Arabic music

A number of musical instruments used in Western music are believed to have been derived from Arabic musical instruments: thelute was derived from the al'ud, the rebec (ancestor of violin) from therebab, the guitar from qitara, naker from naqareh, adufe from al-duff,alboka from al-buq, anafil from al-nafir, exabeba from al-shabbaba(flute), atabal (bass drum) from al-tabl, atambal from al-tinbal,[202]the balaban, the castanet from kasatan, sonajas de azófar fromsunuj al-sufr, the conical bore wind instruments,[203] the xelami from the sulami or fistula (flute or musical pipe),[204] the shawm anddulzaina from the reed instruments zamr and al-zurna,[205] the gaitafrom the ghaita, rackett from iraqya or iraqiyya,[206] the harp andzither from the qanun,[207] canon from qanun, geige (violin) fromghichak,[208] and the theorbo from the tarab.[209]

A theory on the origins of the Western Solfège musical notationsuggests that it may have also had Arabic origins. It has been argued that the Solfège syllables (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti) may have been derived from the syllables of the Arabic solmization system Durr-i-Mufassal ("Separated Pearls") (dal, ra, mim, fa, sad, lam). This origin theory was first proposed by Meninski in his Thesaurus Linguarum Orientalum(1680) and then by Laborde in his Essai sur la Musique Ancienne et Moderne (1780).[210][211] See as well the gifted Ziryab(Abu l-Hasan 'Ali Ibn Nafi').

Further information: Logic in Islamic philosophy, Judeo-Islamic philosophies (800 - 1400), and List of Muslim philosophers

See also: Islamic theology, Avicennism, Averroism, Early Muslim sociology, and Historiography of early Islam

Averroes, an Arab Muslim polymath is the founder of theAverroism school of philosophy, was influential in the rise of secular thought in Western Europe.[212]

Arab philosophers like al-Kindi (Alkindus) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and Persian philosophers like Ibn Sina (Avicenna) played a major role in preserving the works of Aristotle, whose ideas came to dominate the non-religious thought of the Christian and Muslim worlds. They would also absorb ideas from China, and India, adding to them tremendous knowledge from their own studies. Three speculative thinkers, al-Kindi, al-Farabi, and Avicenna (Ibn Sina), fused Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism with other ideas introduced through Islam, such as Kalam and Qiyas. This led to Avicenna founding his own Avicennism school of philosophy, which was influential in both Islamic and Christian lands. Avicenna was also a critic of Aristotelian logic and founder of Avicennian logic, and he developed the concepts of empiricism and tabula rasa, and distinguished between essence and existence.

From Spain the Arabic philosophic literature was translated into Hebrew, Latin, and Ladino, contributing to the development of modern European philosophy. The Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides, Muslim sociologist-historian Ibn Khaldun, Carthage citizen Constantine the African who translated Greek medical texts, and the Muslim Al-Khwarzimi's collation of mathematical techniques were important figures of the Golden Age.

One of the most influential Muslim philosophers in the West was Averroes (Ibn Rushd), founder of theAverroism school of philosophy, whose works and commentaries had an impact on the rise of secular thought in Western Europe.[212] He also developed the concept of "existence precedes essence".[213]

Another influential philosopher who had a significant influence on modern philosophy was Ibn Tufail. Hisphilosophical novel, Hayy ibn Yaqdhan, translated into Latin as Philosophus Autodidactus in 1671, developed the themes of empiricism, tabula rasa, nature versus nurture,[214] condition of possibility,materialism,[215] and Molyneux's Problem.[216] European scholars and writers influenced by this novel include John Locke,[217] Gottfried Leibniz,[197] Melchisédech Thévenot, John Wallis, Christiaan Huygens,[218] George Keith, Robert Barclay, the Quakers,[219] and Samuel Hartlib.[198]

Al-Ghazali also had an important influence on Jewish thinkers like Maimonides[220][221] and Christianmedieval philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas[222] and René Descartes, who expressed similar ideas to that of al-Ghazali in Discourse on the Method.[223] However, al-Ghazali also wrote a devastating critique in his The Incoherence of the Philosophers on the speculative theological works of Kindi, Farabi and Ibn Sina. The study of metaphysics declined in the Muslim world due to this critique, though Ibn Rushd (Averroes) responded strongly in his The Incoherence of the Incoherence to many of the points Ghazali raised. Nevertheless, Avicennism continued to flourish long after and Islamic philosophers continued making advances in philosophy through to the 17th century, when Mulla Sadra founded his school of Transcendent Theosophy and developed the concept of existentialism.[224]

Other influential Muslim philosophers include al-Jahiz, a pioneer of evolutionary thought and natural selection; Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen), a pioneer of phenomenology and the philosophy of science and a critic of Aristotelian natural philosophy and Aristotle's concept of place (topos); Biruni, a critic of Aristotelian natural philosophy; Ibn Tufail and Ibn al-Nafis, pioneers of the philosophical novel; Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi, founder of Illuminationist philosophy; Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, a critic of Aristotelian logic and a pioneer of inductive logic; and Ibn Khaldun, a pioneer in the philosophy of history[186] and social philosophy.

The Mongols and Turks from Central Asia conquered most of the Eurasian land mass, including bothChina in the east and parts of the old Islamic Caliphate and Persian Islamic Khwarezm, as well asRussia and Eastern Europe in the west, and subsequent invasions of the Levant. Later Mongol leaders, such as Timur, though he himself became a Muslim, destroyed many cities, slaughtered thousands of people and did irreparable damage to the ancient irrigation systems of Mesopotamia. These invasions transformed a settled society to a nomadic one. On the other hand, due to the lack of a powerful leader after the Mongolian invasion and Turkish settlement, some local Turkish kingdoms appeared in the Islamic world and they were in war and fighting against each other for centuries. The most powerful kingdoms among them were the empire of Ottoman Turks, who became Sunni Muslims and the empire of Safavi Turks, who became Shia Muslims. Eventually, they invaded very wide parts of the Islamic world and entered in a competition and a series of bloody wars until the middle of seventeenth century.

Traditionalist Muslims at the time, including the polymath Ibn al-Nafis, believed that the Crusades and Mongol invasions were a divine punishment from God against Muslims deviating from the Sunnah. As a result, the falsafa, some of whom held ideas incompatible with the Sunnah, became targets of criticism from many traditionalist Muslims, though other traditionalists such as Ibn al-Nafis made attempts at reconciling reason with revelation and blur the line between the two.[227]

Eventually, the Mongols and Turks that settled in parts of Persia, Central Asia, Russia and Anatoliaconverted to Islam, and as a result, the Ilkhanate, Golden Horde and Chagatai Khanates became Islamic states. In many instances, Mongols assimilated into various Muslim Iranian or Turkic peoples (for instance, one of the greatest Muslim astronomers of the 15th century, Ulugh Beg, was a grandson ofTimur). By the time the Ottoman Empire rose from the ashes, the Golden Age is considered to have come to an end.

See also: Great divergence and European miracle

"The achievements of the Arabic speaking peoples between the ninth and twelfth centuries are so great as to baffle our understanding. The decadence of Islam and of Arabic is almost as puzzling in its speed and completeness as their phenomenal rise. Scholars will forever try to explain it as they try to explain the decadence and fall of Rome. Such questions are exceedingly complex and it is impossible to answer them in a simple way." - George Sarton , The Incubation of Western Culture in the Middle East'[228]

Islamic civilization, which had at the outset been creative and dynamic in dealing with issues, began to struggle to respond to the challenges and rapid changes it faced from the 12th century onwards, towards the end of the Abbassid rule. Despite a brief respite with the new Ottoman rule, the decline continued until its eventual collapse and subsequent stagnation in the 20th century. Some scholars such as M. I. Sanduk believe that the declination began from around the 11th century and still continued after this.[229]

Despite a number of attempts by many writers, historical and modern, none seem to agree on the causes of decline. The main views on the causes of decline comprise the following: political mismanagement after the early Caliphs (10th century onwards), foreign involvement by invading forces and colonial powers (11th century Crusades, 13th century Mongol Empire, 15th century Reconquista, 19th century European colonial empires), and the disruption to the cycle of equity based on Ibn Khaldun's famous model of Asabiyyah (the rise and fall of civilizations) which points to the decline being mainly due to political and economic factors.[2]

The North Africa's Islamic civilization collapsed after exhausting its resources in internal fighting and suffering devastation from the invasion of the Bedouin tribes of Banu Sulaym and Banu Hilal.[230][231] TheBlack Death ravaged much of the Islamic world in the mid-14th century. Plague epidemics kept returning to the Islamic world up to the 19th century.[232]

There was an increasing lack of tolerance of intellectual debate and freedom of thought, with some seminaries systematically forbidding speculative philosophy, while polemic debates appear to have been abandoned in the 14th century. A significant intellectual shift in Islamic philosophy is perhaps demonstrated by al-Ghazali's late 11th century polemic work The Incoherence of the Philosophers, which lambasted metaphysical philosophy in favor of the primacy of scripture, and was later criticized inThe Incoherence of the Incoherence by Averroes. Institutions of science comprising Islamic universities, libraries (including the House of Wisdom), observatories, and hospitals, were later destroyed by foreign invaders like the Crusaders and particularly the Mongols, and were rarely promoted again in the devastated regions.[233] Not only wasn't new publishing equipment accepted but also wide illiteracy overwhelmed the devastated lands, especially in Mesopotamia. Meanwhile in Persia, due to the Mongol invasions and the plague, the average life expectancy of the scholarly class in Persia had declined from 72 years in 1209 to 57 years by 1242.[84]

American economist Timur Kuran proposed an answer why economic development in the Middle East lagged that of the West: Islamic partnership law and inheritance law interacted to keep Middle Eastern enterprises small, never allowing the development of corporate forms.[234][235]

Some scholars have come to question the traditional picture of decline, pointing to continued astronomical activity as a sign of a continuing and creative scientific tradition through to the 15th and 16th centuries, with the works of Ibn al-Shatir, Ulugh Beg, Ali Kuşçu, al-Birjandi and Taqi al-Dinconsidered noteworthy examples.[236][237] This was also the case for other fields, such as medicine, notably the works of Ibn al-Nafis, Mansur ibn Ilyas and Şerafeddin Sabuncuoğlu; mathematics, notably the works of al-Kashi and al-Qalasadi; philosophy, notably Mulla Sadra's transcendent theosophy; and the social sciences, notably Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah (1370), which itself points out that though science was declining in Iraq, Al-Andalus and Maghreb, it continued to flourish in Persia, Syria andEgypt during his time.[2]

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• Gaudiosi, Monica M. (April 1988), "The Influence of the Islamic Law of Waqf on the Development of the Trust in England: The Case of Merton College", University of Pennsylvania Law Review136 (4): 1231-1261
• Donald Routledge Hill, Islamic Science And Engineering, Edinburgh University Press (1993), ISBN 0-7486-0455-3
• Morelon, Régis & Roshdi Rashed (1996), Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, vol. 3,Routledge, ISBN 0415124107
• Hudson, A. (2003), Equity and Trusts (3rd ed.), Cavendish Publishing, ISBN 1-85941-729-9
• George Sarton, The Incubation of Western Culture in the Middle East, A George C. Keiser Foundation Lecture, March 29, 1950, Washington DC, 1951
• Shatzmiller, Maya (1994), Labour in the Medieval Islamic World, Brill Publishers, ISBN 9004098968
• Shoja-e-din Shafa, Rebirth (1995) (Persian Title: تولدى ديگر)*Shoja-e-din Shafa, After 1400 Years(2000) (Persian Title: پس از 1400 سال

Islamic studies

This is a contentious topic and as a result, has three distinct categories of answers. The answers will be organized by category:

• Answer A: Those that assert that the claim of Islam spreading by war is FALSE. Those who assert this claim hold that Islam spread exclusively through peaceful means
• Answer B: Those that assert that the claim of Islam spreading by war is TRUE, but was a minimal part of the expansion of Islam that occurred only in select instances.
• Answer C: Those that assert that the claim of Islam spreading by war is TRUE, and that Islam spreading by war was an important part in the growth of the faith. Note, that Answer C's position does not mean that the only way that Islam spread was war, but that war was one of several critical mechanisms that led to Islam spreading.

ANSWER A: ISLAM WAS NOT SPREAD BY WAR

Answer A1

Some non-Muslims claim that Islam would not have millions of adherents all over the world, if it had not been spread by the use of force. The following arguments may prove that it was the inherent force of truth, reason and logic that was responsible for the rapid spread of Islam.

1. Islam means peace

Islam means peace. It means, also, full submission of one's will to God (Allah). Thus Islam is a religion of peace, which is acquired by submitting one's will to the will of the Supreme Creator, Allah. Islam is an Arabic word that means submission and surrender to God will. It is the faith and religion of all God creatures since start on universe creation. Refer to question below on when Islam was made. The root word of Arabic 'Islam' is 'Salem' that means be in peace and its noun is 'salam' that means peace.

2. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace

Every one in this world is in favor of maintaining peace and harmony. There are many, who would disrupt it for their own vested interests. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace. It is precisely for this reason that we have the police who use force against criminals to maintain peace within the community. Islam promotes peace. At the same time, Islam urges its followers to fight when there is no other way to resist oppression. The fight against oppression may, at times, require the use of force. In Islam force can only be used to promote peace and justice.

3. Opinion of the historian De Lacy O'Leary

The best reply to the misconception that Islam was spread by the war is given by the noted historian De Lacy O'Leary in the book "Islam at the cross road" (Page 8):

"History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myth that historians have ever repeated."

4. Muslims ruled Spain for 800 years

Muslims ruled Spain for about 800 years. The Muslims in Spain never used the sword to force the people to convert. Later the Christian Crusaders came to Spain and wiped out the Muslims and Spanish Muslims were not exempted from torture and expelling. There was not a single Muslim in Spain who could openly call for prayers.

Just as one example to explain that Islam was not spread by war is that: could you explain how Spain was under Muslims control for over than 800 years and when left control of it was still the wide majority of the Spanish Christians (Spain has less than 1% Muslims).

5. Around 14 million Arabs are Coptic Christians

Muslims controlled Arabia for 1400 years. For a few years the British ruled, and for a few years the French ruled. Overall, the Muslims are controlling Arabia for 1400 years. Yet today, there are 14 million Arabs who are Coptic Christians i.e. Christians since generations. If the Muslims had used the sword there would not have been a single Arab who would have remained as Christian.

6. More than 80% non-Muslims in India

The Muslims ruled India for about a thousand years. If they wanted, they had the power of converting each and every non-Muslim of India to Islam. Today more than 80% of the population of India are non-Muslims. All these non-Muslim Indians are bearing witness today that Islam was not spread by war or by force.

7. Islam in Indonesia and Malaysia

Indonesia is a country that has the maximum number of Muslims in the world. The majority of people in Malaysia are Muslims. May one ask, "Which Muslim army went to Indonesia and Malaysia?". Of course, no Muslim forces or armies reached these places.

8. East Coast of Africa

Similarly, Islam has spread rapidly on the East Coast of Africa. One may again ask, if Islam was spread by the sword, "Which Muslim army went to the East Coast of Africa?"

9. Sayings of Thomas Carlyle

The famous historian, Thomas Carlyle, in his book "Heroes and Hero worship", refers to this misconception about the spread of Islam:

"The sword indeed, but where will you get your sword? Every new opinion, at its starting is precisely in a minority of one. In one man's head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it. There is one man against all men. That he takes a sword and try to propagate with that, will do little for him. You must get your sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself as it can."

10. No compulsion in religion

With which sword was Islam spread? Even if Muslims had it they could not use it to spread Islam because the Quran says [Quran chapter 2, verse 256]:

"Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error"

11. Sword of the Intellect

It is the sword of intellect. The sword that conquers the hearts and minds of people. Qur'an says [Quran, chapter 16, verse 125]:

"Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching;and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious."

12. Increase in the world religions from 1934 to 1984

An article in Reader's Digest 'Almanac', year book 1986, gave the statistics of the increase of percentage of the major religions of the world in half a century from 1934 to 1984. This article was published also in 'The Plain Truth' magazine. At the top was Islam, which increased by 235%, and Christianity had increased only by 47%. May one ask, which war took place in this period which converted millions of people to Islam?

13. Islam is the fastest growing religion in America and Europe

Today the fastest growing religion in both America and Europe is Islam. Which war or sword is forcing people in the West to accept Islam in such large numbers?

14. Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson sayings

Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson rightly says: "People who worry that nuclear weaponry will one day fall in the hands of the Arabs, fail to realize that the Islamic bomb has been dropped already, it fell the day Mohamed (peace upon him) was born."

15. Irrelevance of the Battles in Arabia

It is true that in the early years of Islam; per Quran revelation to prophet Muhammad; there were many military battles with the pagans. However, all these battles were on defence by Muslims especially that they were less in number and provisions. Only that one against the Makkahans in which Muslims moved to Makkah (or Mecca), destroyed the idols, prayed in Al-Kaaba, and left it back to Medina without war, without single blood shed, and without taking any one's properties. Although Muslims when left Makkah (or Mecca), all their properties were taken by force by the pagans at that time.

Concerning what is discussed in Answers C, the following are some challenges to those arguments:

Concerning the Copts in Egypt:

It is true that the followers of the former president Morsi raised fires in some churches but this was due to political reasons that is to raise the protest of the West against the following presidency and rule. It is true also that all Egyptians; Muslims and Christians; payed charities in a campaign to repair and rebuild all the churches and mosques that were harmed by the former president Morsi.

Concerning Punishments to Apostasy:

It is true that converting out of Islam would subject the one to penalty but this was only in the early days of Islam because many non Muslims converted to Islam for short periods and then reconverted back to give the impression that Islam is not a true Divine religion. Then this penalty was applied for anyone to convert into Islam he/she should think deliberately and when is truly convinced with Islam faith he/she can convert. Currently, there is no restriction (in Islamic or non Islamic country for any Muslim or non Muslim to convert to the faith he/she is convinced with. In Egypt, it is the opposite, if one converts to Islam he/she is returned by the authorities to the church to decide what to do with him/her.

Concerning the Wars in Arabia:

However, all Islamic wars during Muhammad were to repel attacks on them by the pagans and non believers.

Concerning the Conquest of Persia:

However, no Muslims was forced to convert to Islam. Refer to historical books to find that Muslims became majority over hundreds of years which means that it was by their free will and not by force. The evidence is that no Muslims was forced to convert to Islam. Refer to historical books to find that Muslims became majority over hundreds of years which means that it was by their free will and not by force.

Answer A2

The question of Islam's spread by Sword is a very complex one. The Muslim faith has often been credited as a religion spread by force and coercion. The question, if answered in a logical way, has two answers: Yes and No. Let us take a look at the 'Yes' first,

"Unlike Christianity, which preached a peace that it never achieved, Islam unashamedly came with a sword."

Steven Runciman (1903 - 2000)

Muhammad, the founder and prophet of Islam, began preaching his visions in Mecca (in present-day Saudi Arabia) in 610. Within 25 years he and his supporters, called Muslims, had gained control of the whole Arabian Peninsula. By 650 a structured Islamic state ruled the Arabian Peninsula, the entire Fertile Crescent and Egypt; by the early 700s Islam subjugated a wide area, stretching from the edges of China and India in the east to North Africa and Spain in the West

This rapid spread of the religion was due to two factors: Conquest and Conversion. These two ideas were mutually dependent. The former, no doubt, was a contributor to the propagation of Islam.

In the later days of Islam, many tyrants started converting their subjects to Islam by force. These conversions didn't take place in very large numbers and cannot be called responsible for such a great populace of Muslims throughout the world.

Then we examine the 'No' position.

It is an irrefutable fact that a portion of the Muslim populace (a very small one) was converted by force.

"Every new opinion, at its starting is precisely in a minority of one. In one man's head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it, there is one man against all men. That he takes a sword and try to propagate with that, will do little for him."

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881),

As pointed by Carlyle, It is impossible for an idea to spread by force. There must be some logic to it that tempts the conscious of people and makes them accept it. So is it with Islam. When an Idea is deeply rooted in the mind, it is impossible to replace it with the use of force. Force only reduces the allure of an idea, no matter how great it is. Even if a person is coerced into believing a notion, he will never accept it by heart.

De Lacy O'Leary rightly pointed out that "History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myth that historians have ever repeated."

If Islam was spread by sheer force, then how can you explain these facts?

1. In spite of Muslim dominion of the Arabian Peninsula and neighboring countries, 14 million Arabs belong to the Coptic Christian Church.

2. Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population. It is a historical fact that no Muslim Army ever entered Indonesia.

3. Muslims ruled India for nearly a millennium. So why the 80% of the Indian populace is non-Muslim (primarily Hindu).

4. Muslims ruled Spain for some 800 years. When they left the country, a major portion of the population was Christian.

5. In the mid portion of the last century, the amount of Muslim population increased rapidly. Which war forced such large amount of converts?

6. Today, Islam is the fastest growing religion in U.S.A. Which war is causing this huge explosion in the population of Muslims?

The answer is clear. Sword was and is being used to convert people to Islam but this is the sword of intellect, not of coercion.

Let me present an analogy: During the Portuguese colonization of the Indian subcontinent, the Christian preachers were able to convert many people to Christianity (especially in Goa). After some decades, they started the Inquisition of new converts. Instead of an increase in the number of converts, there was a rapid decrease in number of converts to Christianity and a rapid increase of converts from Christianity.

Conclusion: The notion that Islam was spread by sword is as absurd as the notion that the Christian faith was spread by thumbscrews.

The above arguments were all from facts; let's now explore the idea of forced conversion in the context of the Islamic set of beliefs.

The word 'Islam' itself means peace. According to the faith, it is haram to force anybody to the convert to Islam. Allah proclaims straightaway in the Holy Qur'an that:

'The truth is from your Lord; so let whosoever will, believe, and let whosoever will, disbelieve' ( 1 8.28).

These words prove that the very essence of Islam is against the notion of forced conversion and depends upon the free will of a person. It is also said in the Qur'an that:

"Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error" [2:256]

Even if the rightful Muslims were tempted to resort to the use of force, they were prohibited from using it by the proclamation of the Lord.

Conclusion: The idea of forced conversions is against the essence of Islam. No fair Muslim will ever resort to such a heinous method.

In a nutshell; it can be said that the overall spread of Islam was not due to the sword, as is regurgitated by most Western historians but due to some other factors among which the effective preachers are one.

Answer A3

No. Islam was spread by love, peace, good morals, forgiveness, and tolerance.

Otherwise, how do you explain that it took hundreds of years for Muslims to become majority in the Persian empire, in Indonesia, in Malaysia, ...etc. Muslims were in control of Spain for 800 years. According to Western Historians, they never killed a civilian, a woman, or a child for being non Muslim. This explains that when they lost control of the country after 800 years Muslims were still not majority.

Muslims believe that no compulsion in religion as commanded in Quran and prophet Muhammad (PBUH) teachings.

Islam was never spread by violence, it is a message of love and it was spread by love and peace. It was the beauty of Islam which invited people towards the religion and the fact that it is a religion which covers the complete way of life.

refer to question below for more information.

Answer A4

Muslims were in control of Spain for 800 years. According to Western Historians, they never killed a civilian, a woman, or a child for being non Muslim. This explains that when they lost control of the country after 800 years Muslims were still not majority.

Islam was spread by love, peace, good morals, forgiveness, and tolerance.

Answer A5

simple thing to realize which is the country having largest Muslim population: Indonesia. Now which Islamic army in past went there conquered Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, etc. Now Muslims ruled the Indian sub continent for more than 1000 years in which for 800 years Muslims were undisputed rulers but today if you will check demographic of Indian subcontinent, Muslims are not more than Hindus. Third and most important thing soon after the death of Prophet of Islam peace be upon him. Muslims conquered the Arabic Peninsula but today if you see there are more than 200 million non Muslims in the Islamic countries. so all these facts proves that Islam was not spread with sword. It was spread with love and with its principles like equality of mankind.

ANSWER B: ISLAM WAS RARELY SPREAD BY WAR

Answer B1

Islam was indeed spread by war, from the time of Muhammad onwards. The word 'Islam' does not mean 'peace' as stated in Answer A1. The Arabic for peace is salam (as in al-salam 'alaykum). Islam means 'submission', which is a very different thing. Islam has always been the most violent of religions. Until Muslims come to terms with their own history, they cannot hope to answer this question. The answer is, yes Islam was spread by war, but forced conversion following conquest was rare.

Answer B2

Never is not to be used in history.

In the middle ages, as any other religion or ideology, Islam's expansion from Spain to Philippines had known military conquests. But, actually, much less than Christianity in Europe. History of Islam has been more based on trade.

Most of the regions were Islam had became the predominant religion were much more tolerant than in christian Europe.

In Spain, Muslims, Christians and Jews had lived for 800 years in harmony until the Catholic kings came in power and instated the Inquisition.

The message of Islam was (and still is) morality, forgiveness, love, and tolerance. Moreover, Islam was often advanced in science, literature, philosophy, medicine, ... etc. The list of enlightened Muslim scientists, philosophers of Medicine men is long and their contribution to human knowledge is priceless.

ANSWER C: ISLAM WAS OFTEN SPREAD BY WAR

Answer C1

General Answer

Islam was also a political force, i.e the Islamic Caliphates. The armies of these Caliphates were also fighting an expansionary war for territory just as every other empire did in those days. As the above answers note, the call to "convert or die" was very rare, but when countries were annexed to the Caliphates, many citizens did convert either because they saw the Truth of the religion or to gain from the tax, work-related, and legal benefits that came from conversion. As a result the massive expansion of these empires was the primary method of gaining converts and it had spill-over effects. When more people had converted to Islam under the various Islamic Empires, more merchants from non-Islamic States gained exposure to Muslims and Islam. The same is true today in that with the mass immigration of Muslims to Europe, common Europeans have more exposure to Muslims and therefore a higher likelihood of converting themselves.

Many Muslims claim that these empires expanded peacefully. They did not, but by the sword as no country just opens it doors to a new power. In fact, Muslims are very proud of their conquest of the Byzantine Empire and the "liberation" of its territories under General Khaled ibn Waleed and the destruction of the Sassanid Zoroastrian Persian Empire under General Sa'ad ibn Waqas. Some particularly useful examples, due how thoroughly they have been researched are: the Muslim Conquest of Iberia, the Mughal Conquest of central India, and Ottoman expansion into the Balkans.

Discussion of Various Apologist Arguments:

Answers A1 and A2 present some very interesting arguments, points, or rhetorical questions in an attempt to advocate the incorrect view that Islam spread peacefully. It is worthwhile to examine these arguments. They roughly follow the order in A1, and there will be a notation if they also correspond with the rhetorical questions in A2.

1. Meaning of the word Islam - Peace vs. Surrender

The problem with this debate is that it does not go anywhere. The root S-L-M (سلم) is part of Salaam (سلام) which means peace and Istislaam (إستسلام) which means surrender. The essence of the idea is that when somebody surrenders to the Divine Will, they will be at peace. This following of Divine Law that creates peace is what Islam means. Of course, this says nothing about those who refuse to surrender to the Divine Will, which is what the war issue is about.

2. Defensive War and Resistance

This is a red-herring. Nobody objects to defensive warfare to protect your beliefs and the question does not even ask about this. It asks about "spreading" which implies offensive war, militant outreach, or peaceful outreach with the intent to expand Islam. It is undeniable that armies of Muslims conquered neighboring regions and continued on an expansionary conquest. Even if they were being threatened by the Byzantine Empire and Zoroastrian Empire, which are unlikely, stripping one of 2/3 of its territory, completely enveloping the other and then sending military missions beyond the borders of those countries to the hinterland is not defensive warfare.

3. Opinion of the historian De Lacy O'Leary and the Christian Polemicist Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson

Both of the quotes referred to in Answer A1 are quote-mined and taken entirely out of context. De Lacy O'Leary was not saying that there was no conquest, but that the conquest was not subject to fanaticism.

This is the full quote from De Lacy O'Leary in context:

"The loss of revenue from conversions was so serious that, in spite of protests, tribute was levied even from those who had embraced Islam. In fact, within ten years from the Prophet's death, by the conquest of great and wealthy provinces, Islam was faced with conditions which had never been contemplated and the attempt to reconstruct it so as to preserve the original purpose under these new conditions, was too artificial to last. History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races, is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated. There are plenty of instances of such fanaticism and forced conversion, but these do not belong to the early history of Islam nor that of the Arabs; those stories come from the banks of the Niger, from the Sudan, and from Sumatra, and are connected with Muslim religious revivals of later days and dubious orthodoxy."

Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson was not describing the "Islamic Bomb" in a positive sense, but in a strongly negative fashion. His book: The Koran: Testimony of Antichrist, makes the ridiculous claim that Mohammad was himself the Anti-Christ and that Islam is a demonic scourge on mankind and is causing wanton damage like a nuclear bomb does. A link to web-version of the book is provided to demonstrate that this is the proper interpretation of the quote regardless of the fact that his views are incendiary and ridiculous. When Muslim Apologists, like Zakir Naik, actually uses this source, they have undermined their argument because Pearson is claiming that Islam is violent and very un-peaceful.

4. Islamic Rule of Spain -- A2 Question #4

Almanzor was one of the most famous rulers of Andalucia (Islamic Spain), even if he was not a proper Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba (also known as Andalucia). Almanzor is remembered historically in Spain precisely for punitive raids and devastating the various cities throughout northern Spain. He conducted over 60 such operations which destroyed Leon (984), Barcelona (985) Santiago de Compostela (997) Pamplona (999) and San Millan de la Cogolla (1002) along with other emblematic cities in the northern Christian Kingdoms. Almanzor fervently believed that he was acting in full compliance with the requirement of jihad (regardless of whether he was or not) and it is said that he would collect the dust and blood that stained his clothes during these anti-Christian incursions so that he could be interred with them. The argument that the Muslim invasion and conquest of Spain was peaceful is incorrect.

It is true that there are not many Muslims in Spain, but this is due to causes other than the way Islam was spread. First, there was never a major intent to convert Spaniards. Also between 1293 and 1492, the only area under Muslim control was Granada which meant that most Muslims were under Christian rule. Many of them converted to Christianity in order to reap the benefits of being Christian in a Christian society and to avoid the various massacres that occurred in 14th and 15th century Spain against Muslims. And of course, most importantly, after the Muslims left, there was the Spanish Inquisition which forced many Iberian Muslims to convert to Christianity or flee to Islamic States. This led to a precipitous drop in the Muslim population.

5. There are 8 million Christian Copts in Egypt and roughly 14 million worldwide -- A2 Question #1

This is true, but what happened to all of the Christians who lived in Tunisia (Tunis was an important Christian city). What happened to all of the Moroccan Jews (there were 260,000 in 1940 and there are now 3,600)? What happened to the Christian population of Anatolia? The fact that there are some Arab Christians left does not mean that force was not used, but merely that the result of the use of force has not fully achieved its goal. As concerns Copts specifically, throughout Morsi's Presidency, Coptic Churches in Egypt were bombed more frequently than usual and there was no recourse for Copts other than to flee. This resulted in some of the highest Coptic emigration rates in decades in the last two years.

6. 80% of Indians are non-Muslim and are Hindu -- A2 Question #3

Using the population of India alone is disingenuous. Muslims controlled Pakistan and Bangladesh as well as India as part of one unified Empire. If the populations of Pakistan and Bangladesh are added to India, the subcontinent is 35% Muslim, which makes sense given that Muslims only occupied the area for less than 500 years and internal information movement in India is very slow given a high terrain difficulties. This is why the largest Muslim populations were along Rivers where major cities were built by the Mughal. The closer to such a population center, the more likely a person would be compelled to convert. Akbar was known for his tolerance and reviled by Muslims for it although loved by non-Muslim Indians. His grandson Aurangzeb was known for compelling conversion and loved by Muslims for it and hated by non-Muslim Indians.

7. Islam spread to Indonesia and Malaysia without war -- A2 Question #2

It is true that Indonesia has the largest Muslim populations and no foreign Islamic army conquered Indonesia. However, once Islam established a beachhead in Indonesia through commerce and peaceful religious acquisition, Muslim armies did exist in Indonesia that were composed by Muslim Indonesian Sultanates (like the Acehnese). It took centuries of Sultanates and repressive policies in Indonesia for most Indonesians to convert to Islam. Even today, Indonesian Islam is the most syncretic forms of Islam outside of Africa since not all of the local culture has been successfully purged.

Additionally, even if it were the case that Indonesian Islam was propagated entirely peacefully, just as European Jehovah's Witnesses were propagated entirely peacefully, it does not disprove the claim that Islam was spread by war. If Islam was spread by war even one time in a different context, the claim that it is not spread by war at all is incorrect.

8. Islam spread to the East Coast of Africa without war

It's really the same argument as Indonesia (7): peaceful beachhead to indigenous sultanate. However, there were some Arab conquests of East Africa (Omani Empire) as well as indigenous sultanates like the Zanzibar Sultanate and several Somali ones like Ajuuran State and the Warsangali Sultanate.

9. Forced Conversion Works

The quote from Carlyle is used to justify the view that forcing a person to accept an idea does not work. However, while the religion of Islam did not usually expand through forcible conversion, it is not a ridiculous assertion to say that forcible conversion works, such as the quote and Answer A2 claim. Europe did this in many places which is what assured the strength of Catholicism in Spain, Austria, and France as opposed to Protestantism which grew organically in each of those territories. By using Inquisitions, Stake Burnings, and numerous other suppression techniques, the Catholics prevented the rise of Protestantism in these areas. As for citing Qur'anic verses in support of this idea, there is also verse 9:5 which is the famous "kill them wherever you find them" verse. Of course, Islamic Empires have typically been more tolerant (and thus more approving of the "no compulsion" verse) but the treatment of non-Muslims by Muslims was conditioned more on the governmental powers at any one time than by actions proscribed in the Qur'an since the Qur'an could sensibly be read either way. As to the Goa Analogy, since the Portuguese only controlled Goa, the Indian converts could easily flee to non-Portuguese controlled areas, but when you have an Empire whose borders stretch across timezones without break, there is no way to escape and so you are forced to deal with whatever the government may send your way. Additionally, the children of forced converts are often more accepting of the faith that their parents were compelled to join.

10. Pressure through Dhimmi Status

While forced conversion was rare, there was certainly pressure placed on Non-Muslims of Islamic States called Dhimmi to convert within Islamic States. There is also Qur'anic verse 9:29 which provides an antipode to 2:109. There were economic, social, and political benefits to being a Muslim, which creates compulsion. Read about the status of Non-Muslims conquered by Islamic States in the Related Question below.

11. Intellectual Complexity of Islam

This is a red-herring. Many very intellectual ideas, ideologies, and religions were exported through violence and many were not. This does not provide any useful information.

12. Conversion Rates -- A2 Questions #5 & #6

The statistics on Western Conversion to Islam are taken out of context. In many Muslim countries it is either by law or by de facto societal conduct that conversion out of Islam to other religions (such as Christianity) is forbidden and punishable by death. On top of that, proselytization of these non-Muslim faiths is also punishable by long jail terms. As a result, Muslims who realize the Truth of other religions are few and far between and those who would admit to doing so are even rarer. As a result, most Muslim conversion to Christianity is minimal and kept secret to avoid death. The fact that Muslims are compelled to stay Muslims by force is just as problematic as forcibly converting non-Muslims to Islam. Compare that to Western countries where multi-culturalism and liberal values have allowed Islam to come to various countries and expose new people to its religion and its Truth. Additionally, conversion out of Christianity is barely even a consideration among other Westerners and certainly not something worth killing over.

If the marketplace of ideas were freer, it is likely that many more Muslims would convert to Christianity, given how effective Christian proselytizers have been in places where there is no ban on their activities (even with rules on no material inducements).

13. Key Importance of the Battles in Arabia

The Arabian Tribal Wars were where Islam was developed and where Mohammed set the example that would be followed for generations. It created a theology with clear war doctrines and determined how wars would be fought int the future. Rather than being irrelevant to discussing how Islamic Empires and the Islamic Religion expanded, the Battles in Arabia were important to explain why Islam has such a developed position on war and expansion.

14. Conquest of Persia

The Conquest of Persia that answers C2 and A4 argue about is worth discussing. Persia is a clear example of the violence of Islamic conquest. After Mohammed's death several Arab Muslim tribes began to attack and pillage Sassanid Persian controlled cities in Mesopotamia. King Yazdagerd III of Sassanian Persia asked if the Arabs, led by Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas, would be willing to agree to a peace treaty where most of Mesopotamia would be under Arab control in return for no more pillaging. Waqqas replied that the only way that there could be peace between the Arabs and the Sassanid Persians was if (a) the Persians all converted to Islam; or (b) the Sassanid Persian government paid a collective jizya tribute to the Muslims as a symbol of Muslim ascendance. Yazdagerd III refused both of these options and engaged the Arab Muslims. He was routed by the Arab Muslims in the Battles of Qadisiyyah and Nahavand, leading to the fall of Persia.

Answer C2

in old Persian empire, for sure yes!

they killed thousands of people with the excuse of spreading Islam.