Spread of Islam

Islam began in Mecca when the Prophet Muhammad began to spread the word of God (292). The Prophet “sought to warn his people against worshipping false gods and all immortality, especially injustice to the poor, orphans, widows, and women altogether” (293). The first converts of the religion were Meccan townsfolk and farmers (292). While some prominent Meccans joined him, the aristocracy generally resisted his teachings (293-94). According to the Qur’an, paradise lies in gratitude to God as well as in his guidance and forgiveness (293). Muhammad is accepted as the last of many prophets chosen to spread the word of God (293). Unfortunately, the Prophets’ teachings did not readily spread and succeed (293). Still, many peoples followed his wife, Khadija, and recognized him as a “chosen reformer” (293). After Muhammad’s death in 632, the lack of a successor or son led to a political struggle between the Meccan and Medinan peoples. This ended when Abu Bakr was selected as the successor to the Prophet (297). However, as in most previous cases, many Arab tribes renounced allegiance to the Prophet after his death (297). Nonetheless, the rule of Abu Bakr “reestablished religious conformity for much of Arabia and forced Arabs to recognize the faith and practice of Islam as opposed to a certain leader; the Prophet Muhammad in this case” (297)

Following Bakr, Caliphs Umar and Uthman pushed Arab armies beyond the peninsula and conquered Byzantine and Sasanid territories, Egypt, and most of Iran by 643 (297). This success can be accounted to the leadership of the first caliphs and field generals as well as the weakness of the Byzantine and Iranians (297). By 651, Arab armies defeated the last of the Sasanid rulers (297). The fourth caliphate; ...

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...sian oppression (298). Muslims were accepting of other religions and allowed Christian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian groups to live under protection of Islamic rule “provided they recognize Islamic political authority, pay a non Muslim head tax, and not interfere with Muslim religious practices” (298). The head tax and other divisions on non-Muslims encouraged many to convert (298). Islamic culture was also highly adaptable and open to blending of cultural traits, allowing it to spread in even hostile societies (346). Muslims could exchange ideas and goods with Muslims of radically different backgrounds and “encounter them as brothers and sisters of the Umma” (347).

Thus, Islam primarily spread through the conquests of Arab armies and successfully spread due to its tenets, high adaptability, the weakening of Byzantine and Sasanid Empires, and its immense leadership.