How and why did Islamic civilization spread?

Answer 1

Answer 1

geography and well manners . !!! Islam was born in Mecca, in what is known as Saudi , in modern times. in the center of what is know as the old world , Asia , Africa and Europe. the prophet of Islam was charismatic very agreeable and lovable person . he lead by example , he was patient understanding and very open minded , that people from all walks of life can relate to him . he preaches what all other biblical prophets preached , without ever trying to claim authority or financial gain he didnt have any special powers like previous , prophets . e.g. walking on water , turning water into wine , or building arch or turning stick into snake , none of that , he spoke to their brains and souls , provided answers for long lingering questions and solutions to time old problems . he brought structure and system to their lives. but above all he fought injustices of all kinds and shapes. he promoted equality , ur color ur age ur sex or ur family and ancestors were no longer advantage or disadvantage . people for first time were told that they owned how to compose themselves and took control of their fate under one god . Arab at the time were merchants and controlled all the roads between the different kingdoms in Asia and Africa . travelling back and forth in Importing and Exporting meeting with new people , their well manners and distinguished cultural aspects of their civilized made them admired , loved and mimicked and then more people started converting . there is a theory suggested that it was wars. that Muslims forced Islam on other nations in the new territories they captured and ruled . decades later they were defeated and had to leave them countries, but people remained Muslims since. if they were forced or treated unjustly , converting back to their original religions would v been the expected outcome, another fact discredited that theory is , Jewish minorities and christian minorities still exist in all muslim dominated countries to this day. if they forced . people to convert to islam , why didn not they force everyone ??

Answer 2

Islam is a heavenly religion, a continuation of Judaism and Christianity. Its message is universal and simple to follow. It believes in universal human brotherhood. For these reasons Muslim civilization is still spreading through out the world.

Answer 2

Islam spread quickly 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 both in terms of territory and belief.

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.

8) Commerce: Islam, like most religions, spread also through peaceful means of commerce and education whereby non-Muslims learned of the faith and adopted as their own amidst business dealings with Muslims. This happened especially in maritime cities like Zanzibar or Aceh whose primary source of wealth was trading with Muslims.

I also fundamentally disagree with the Community Answer, which is rather indicative of the Muslim perspective on this matter. If you want to see my comments on the Community Answer, please see this question's Discussion Section.