How was Islam spread?

Answer 1

Islam was spread by giving the word and then leaving it upto the person to decide

in Islam it is forbidden to kill innocent people for their beliefs

it is not a mission in Islam to make someone Muslim

Islam also, besides conquests by Arab armies, was spread through their preaching, and trade

Answer 2

During Muhammad's lifetime, Islam spread through a variety of methods. A number of individuals were convinced, either by Muhammad himself, the melodious nature of the Qur'an, or by other converts, to convert to Islam. Others were converted when their tribal leaders converted to Islam in order to enter into a military alliance with the Muslims in Medina (during the latter stages of the Mecca-Medina wars).

Answer 3

There were a few different ways that Islam spread during Muhammad's lifetime. The first way was through convincing people on the merits. Either Muhammad himself or other converts led Non-Muslim Arabs to Islam by demonstrating superior morals, the beautiful poetry of the Qur'an, or otherwise appealing to the Non-Muslim Arab. The second way was through fear and intimidation. Especially while Muhammad controlled Medina, he threatened and executed (or sanctioned "the hit on") anyone who openly opposed him. This led to conversions in order to safeguard their lives. The third way was through tribal conversions. During the Mecca-Medina Wars, a number of other Arab Tribes wanted to ally with Muhammad and the Muslims, seeing them as the likely victors in the conflict. As a way to curry favor with Muhammad, the tribal elders would convert the entire tribe to Islam. Similar to the third way, groups defeated by Muslims, such as the Meccan Qoreish and their allies, converted to Islam in order to save-face and retain power in the new Islam-dominated political system.

Answer 4

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.

Answer 5

Muhammad said that he began to receive revelations from the angel Gabriel in 610 CE. He then began to preach the message of Islam in Mecca until he was forced by increasing hostilities to flee to the nearby city of Medina (Yathrib). The migration to Medina (Hijrah) later became the starting point for the Muslim lunar calendar. As Muhammad became established in Medina, he began a series of assassinations of Jews, critics and political opponents.

In March 624, Muhammad led some three hundred warriors in a raid on a Meccan merchant caravan. The Muslims set an ambush for the caravan at Badr. Aware of the plan, the Meccan caravan eluded the Muslims. A Meccan force was sent to protect the caravan, and went on to confront the Muslims upon receiving word that the caravan was safe. The Battle of Badr commenced. Though outnumbered more than three to one, the Muslims won the battle, killing at least forty-five Meccans with fourteen Muslims dead. The victory strengthened Muhammad's position in Medina and dispelled earlier doubts among his followers.

Following the Battle of the Trench, in which the Meccan army unsuccessfully attempted to capture Medina, Muhammad made two expeditions to the north, both ending successfully without any fighting. In 630, following the abrogation of the Truce of Hudaybiyyah, Muhammad marched on Mecca with 10,000 Muslim converts and, with minimal casualties, seized control of Mecca. Most Meccans converted to Islam and Muhammad proceeded to destroy all the statues of gods in and around the Kaaba. Further battles created an Islamic empire that covered much of the Arabian peninsula during the lifetime of Muhammad.

Answer 6

Causes leading to the Rise and Expansion of Islam throughout the Middle East include:

1) Union of the Arab Tribes: The Arab Tribes had been fighting each other for centuries and had thus honed their skills and their strengths in war. In addition, because of the infighting, there were many more warriors per capita than most of the surrounding territories. When Muhammad united these tribes with numerous military divisions, it created an impressive nomadic army. Many considered surrender just on seeing their arrival.

2) Weakening of the Byzantine & Sassanid Empires: The Byzantine and Sassanid Empires in their heyday could have individually held off an Arab advance, even a unified one, but the two empires had been in a war for over twenty years which drained resources, men, and introduced war weariness to the region. In addition, one of Muhammad's Apostles (Salman the Persian) was able to turn Persia over to the Caliphates peacefully because he was Persian himself. These two empires, the only two major powers that stood in the Arabs' way, were unable to hold off the advance except in Anatolia.

3) Repressed Foreign Minorities: In a number of regions, like Southern Spain, minorities were very repressed under the previous government. The Islamic government promised, and delivered, a better system of minority protection than that in place elsewhere. This prompted many minorities, such as the Jews of Córdoba to actively assist the Muslim armies even if they did not actually fight in the expansionary wars.

4) Accessibility of the Religion: Islam as a religion was a universal religion and there was no ethnic requirement for those considering conversion to have a certain race. This made it possible for the elders of a town to decide that the whole town would convert to Islam. This also led to reinforcement building during the Conquest: i.e. each conquered territory would, by volition, produce a corps of volunteers to fight in the advance guard to take the next territory. This system worked so well, that over 80% of the Muslims who attacked Spain (including their leader al-Tariq) were converted Amazigh (Berbers) not Arabs.

Answer 7

Through the military

Answer 8

by the rulers