Why did the medina convert to Islam?

Answer 1

Medina had suffered a hundred years of war between the Tribes of the North and Tribes of the South. Everyone wanted the killing to stop. Abdullah ibn Ubayy, the new chief of the Awfs, had remained neutral in the most recent war, and he had even spared the lives of some Jewish hostages whom his boss had ordered him to kill. So many of the Medinans (northern pagans, southern pagans and Jews - each group representing about a third of the population) wanted to crown Abdullah King of Medina.

For political reasons, some citizens were not happy with this choice, or else they didn't want any King at all. The Awfs heard that Mohammed, who was their cousin, wanted to move out of Mecca, so they negotiated to bring him to Medina as a rival leader. Mohammed said he would come if they converted to Islam. So these dissident citizens, mainly his relatives, became Muslims. Soon the faction that supported him became large enough to put an end to the crowning of Abdullah ibn Ubayy. Abdullah knew he was beaten, and he didn't want to start another war over it, so he converted to Islam to keep the peace. Mohammed never quite trusted him, because he knew this conversion was politically motivated.

Some of the pagans in Medina converted to Islam because they genuinely believed it was a better religion. Others realised that Mohammed was very powerful and that it wasn't safe to displease him. There was only one pagan tribe that did not convert fairly soon after Mohammed's arrival. The Jews never accepted Mohammed's leadership, and within five years, Mohammed had ejected all of them from Medina. By the time Mohammed died, Islam was the default religion of the whole region.