The early Caliphates (or Islamic Empires) due to a number of factors. It is notable that although there are a few occurrences of Muslims carrying out the "Convert or Die" scenario, this is not the most common reason for Islam's expansion exclusively in terms of territory.
1) Arabia - What's that?: Prior to Mohammed, Arabia had been seen as a cultural and political backwater barely worth notice and therefore Mohammed's consolidation of the Arab Tribes was not seriously considered by the Byzantine and Sassanian Empires. This lead to a very porous southern defense and miscalculation of the Islamic Armies.
2) Byzantine-Sassanian Wars: Since the Byzantines and Sassanians considered each other the only real civilizations in the region, they fought each other numerous times in the early 600s C.E. over control of what is today East Turkey and Iraq. These were intense religious wars (Christian vs. Zoroastrian) and greatly weakened both empires at just the wrong time.
3) Tribal Command Structure: Arab Tribes and warriors owed their loyalty to their Sheikhs and leaders without fault because the Sheikh provided each person with all of the amenities and protection necessary to live a full life. Whenever the Arabs went to war, the Sheikhs could count on the ability to muster their tribesmen as soldiers without issue.
4) Support of the Locals: Since the Byzantine Empire and Sassanian Empire were engaged in religious zealotry, it stands to reason that they did not tolerate their religious minorities very well. The Muslims professed to (and did) treat minorities far better than either of these Empires. This led to religious minorities (especially Jews) from within the conquered territories helping Muslims to secure outposts and positions, freeing the Muslims to continue to spread the religion.
5) Citizenship by Conversion: The Islamic Empire was interesting in that being the leader or a person of import in the Empire was not contingent on ethnicity or place of birth as was the case of most prior empires. All a person had to do to gain power and prestige was to convert to Islam. This simple integration mechanism resulted in massive number of Persians, Berbers, and Turks converting to Islam. In fact, the furthest expansions of Islam (Spain, India, West China, South Russia, the Balkans) were all accomplished by non-Arabs (respectively Berbers, Persians/Mughals, Turkmen, Azeris, and Ottomans).
6) Warfare: The leaders charged with expanding the influence of Islam were thoughtful and diligent military leaders. Caliph 'Omar, who conquered much of the Levant, Egypt, Persia, and Iraq was well-known as a strategist and a fighter. It was this knowledge of warfare that allowed Muslim forces to expand the territory's influence.
7) Universality: Islam, as a religion, claims salvation for all people in all places, making the religion very attractive, especially to people born into low castes and bad economic positions.
There is no Islamic Empire.
The Islamic Caliphate at one point in time spread from the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) all the way to India. And there were also many colonies in the Malaysian islands South of China. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Age-of-caliphs.png
In 1492 the Islamic Empire finally left Spain but i dont know when it began.
The Islamic Conquests spread Islam throughout all of the Middle East,North Africa,and Spain.
The Abbasids, as the ones from the Islamic Empire.
There are two "Islams". The first is the religion which spread primarily through peaceful interaction or the benefits it provided under the stewardship of an Islamic State. The second Islam was an actual Empire or Islamic State which expanded through warfare and conquest. It is necessary to understand that while the Islamic Empire grew through warfare, most conversions to Islam were not compelled.
There is no Islamic Empire.
Islam spread when it became an empire. What I mean is Islam started out as just a religon but the Islamic people started to fight againnst other countries and built a huge empire of Islams only
The Islamic Caliphate at one point in time spread from the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) all the way to India. And there were also many colonies in the Malaysian islands South of China. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Age-of-caliphs.png
YES. The policies of discrimination against Non-Muslims in Islamic Empires led to large-scale conversions by Non-Muslims to Islam.
The title of the Islamic Empire was Caliphate. The Caliph was called Amir-ul-Momineen.
The Islamic empire expanded through conquest. Islam as a religion spread both due to the imperial growth and due to peaceful conversions of those outside of the empire.
It depends on the Islamic Empire in question. Assuming that you are talking about the Abbassid Caliphate (which is most commonly referred to as "the Islamic Empire"), the group that brought them down was the MONGOLS.
In 1492 the Islamic Empire finally left Spain but i dont know when it began.
Askia Muhammed, the ruler of the Songhai Empire in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, spread Islam through various means, including promoting education and the establishment of Islamic schools and universities, particularly in the city of Timbuktu. He also strengthened trade relations with other Muslim regions, which facilitated cultural exchanges and the spread of Islamic beliefs. Additionally, Askia Muhammed undertook religious pilgrimages, notably his hajj to Mecca, which reinforced his commitment to Islam and inspired others in his empire to adopt the faith. His policies encouraged the integration of Islamic principles into the governance and legal systems of the empire.
The spread of the Arabic language can be attributed to the historical expansion of the Islamic Empire, trade routes, and the strong cultural and religious significance of Arabic in the Islamic world. Additionally, the Arabic language has become important in fields such as science, mathematics, and literature, further contributing to its widespread use.
Several different empires continued to spread Islam after the collapse of the Abbassid Caliphate, the last Arab-led Caliphate (prior to the 21st century). Some of these numerous states include: the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid Empire, the Timurid Empire, the Mughal Empire, the numerous Islamic Sultanates in Indonesia (specifically in Sumatra and Java), the Omani Empire and Somali States, the Songhai Empire in central Africa, etc.