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.

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