The Causes of and Responses to the Spread of Islam in the Period 600 CE-1450 CE

The paper focuses on the causes of and responses to the spread of Islam in the period 600CE-1450CE. Mohammed who is the founder of Islamic religion was born in 570CE. He was born in the current state of Saudi Arabia at the city of Mecca (Riddell 19). The religion grew to more than a billion adherents which later had a big impact on civilization and humanity in general. Muslim is a solely monotheistic faith which has its principles strongly anchored on Judaic ideas.            The Quran is the spiritual book used by Muslims and Muhammed lived among the Jews population for many years (Riddell 12). However, it is blasphemous to imagine or say that Mohammed was god. Mohammed was born in the Hashemite family in Saudi Arabia at The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Mohammed was raised up as a caravan leader, then a camel driver and later a merchant. Islam rose from war where Mohammed’s forces were able to destroy all the enemies in Medina as they turned towards Mecca. The fight was referred to as Jihad war which was started by Mohammed.

            The Muslim armies were able to move from Saudi Arabian peninsula all the way through Palestine to Syria and Babylonia. Later on, the Muslim armies were able to extend all the way to what is today known as, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran. In addition, the Muslims spread to Northern Coast Africa, Libya, Sudan and Egypt (Riddell 8). The whole face of Africa was changed when Muslims went and occupied the gates of Vienna almost taking the whole of Europe. When Muhammed died, there was a split in the Muslim religion Sunni and Shi’ites (Riddell 17) . The Sunnis did not take too much importance to the Quran and instead, had extra-textual rituals that which were used to modify the Holy book. Muslims later on became great philosophers and in fact inherited the Aristotle.

            Imam’s missionary activities assisted in boosting the conversion to Islam. The Imams were used to propagate and expand the Islamic religious teachings (Riddell 3). The Ottoman Empire expansion forced Muslims to move outwards from Mecca and later on moving towards Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Trade was a significant factor that led to the spreading of Islam in many parts of the world particularly Southeast Asia. After the increased spread of Muslims, several dynasties were formed and many empires that include; Almoravids, Abbasids, Seljukids, Mughals, Safavids, Ottomans, Ajuran, Warsangali and Adal. Eclectic Muslim cultures and cosmopolitan scenarios were facilitated by Islamic expansion throughout East and South Asia.

            The Muslims have a strong belief that Mohammed was a channel in which decisions and revelations by God were given. In addition, Muslims strongly believe in God and believe in the existence of a supernatural being which make them more united. Muslims perceive Muhammed as the last prophet and believe He was the one that God revealed the Quran to (Riddell 10). Since the beginning of the Islamic religion, Muhammed has always been used as a channel through which God’s messages are delivered. However, Muslims have always believed that they do not need any intercessors since all members of the religion a direct access to God (Riddell 14).

            Muslims believe that it is their responsibility to continue the love for Mohammed across many generations and protecting his name from bad influence, abuse and assault. Any form of denigration to Mohammed causes bad omen to the Muslim communities. During the 600 CE- 1450 CE, many Arab-speaking tribes were craftsmen. Nomadic pastoralists, traders and farmers and were the first people who practiced Islamic religion. At the period before 600 CE, many Arab-speaking tribes worshipped gods that included, Uzzat, Manatt and Allat. At first, the Arabs viewed Islamic religion as idolatry, barbarism and immorality (Riddell 13). Later on, there were several Meccans that rejected the teachings of Mohammed that later led to violent persecution among the Muslim community. As time progressed, Mohammed was able to bring peace and unify the communities which later led to a strong Islamic religion. Conclusively, Mohammed passed away in 632 CE and was succeeded by Abu Bakr who was responsible of ensuring the Muslim community remained united and consolidated as they continued to expand across the world.

Works Cited

Riddell, Peter G. Islam and the Malay-Indonesian world: transmission and responses. University of Hawaii Press, 2001.