Question

What accounts for the rapid expansion of the Arabs after the rise of Islam in the early seventh century? Provide specific examples.

Answer 1

Its a detailed answer, go through bold sentences for brief answer

Some factors that led to the rapid expansion of Islam between the 7th and 15th centuries were trade routes and military conquests.

• Islam was a religion that had to defend itself from war, using Muslim armies.This had led to people seeing how powerful and strong this religion is which caused people to convert in respect of how powerful the religion really was.
• Trade routes had also caused people to convert to Islam because while trading was occurring in a territory populated with Muslims, merchants started to gain knowledge about the religion.
• Many merchants then decided to convert due to the influence of Islam that had been surrounding them.
• Another factor is missionaries because certain people were targeted, such as the lower class or the elite, which had led people to seeing the benefits of the religion, leading to people to convert.

Spread of Islam

1. In Sub-Saharan Africa, Islam was attractive and appealing to people because of the high status and power it had. Islam had mainly spread throughout the region due to missionaries coming into contact with people. The religion had appealed to many because it "... represented high social status..." . This showed people that this religion would make you look like a person of a higher class and seem more "powerful".
2. In India, Islam seemed very attractive to lower caste members as it promised "...spiritual equality rather than the Hindu ideas of successive reincarnations . However, Islam did not have a very big influence on India as Hinduism was the prominent religion followed by much of the country.
3. In central Asia, Islam was influenced throughout the region by using force and persuasion. Through conquests, such as the Mongol Invasion, "...brought new contacts between central Asia and the Middle East that in turn completed the conversion of the territory to Islam" .
4. In Southeast Asia, Islam was appealing to inland people because it had seemed to bring unity.

Islam had spread mainly through oversea trading and merchants. For example, "Merchants established crucial contacts in the coastal towns, where they influenced the ruling class" . Also, it appealed to "...inland peoples as a way of integrating with the coastal populations..." .Islam had changed as it moved through different regions depending on the religion that was already present at the time. For example, " Muslim religious leaders also adapted to the cultural setting, using Hindu stories but with Muslim characters...". Transformations in religions can be beneficial to a certain extent. A religion can use different aspects, such as using Hindu writings with Muslim characters, that appeal to people based on knowledge that they already have. This allows for more people to convert tot he religion since it appeals to them in a way they understand. However, transformations of a religion can be a negative thing since a religion may lose its initial values. This causes, in a way, a different religion which can be hard to manage.

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