Spread of Islam

Thespread of Islamspans almost 1,400 years. Theearly Muslim conqueststhat occurred following thedeath of Muhammadin 632 CE led to the creation of thecaliphates,expanding over a vast geographical area;conversion to Islamwas boosted by Arab Muslim forces expanding over vast territories and building imperial structures over time.Most of the significant expansion occurred during the reign of therāshidūn( "rightly-guided" ) caliphs from 632 to 661 CE, which were the first four successors of Muhammad.These earlycaliphates,coupled withMuslim economics and trading,theIslamic Golden Age,and the age of the Islamicgunpowder empires,resulted inIslam's spread outwards fromMeccatowards theIndian,Atlantic,andPacificOceans and the creation of theMuslim world.TheIslamic conquests,which culminated in the Arab empire being established across three continents (Asia,Africa,andEurope), enriched the Muslim world, achieving the economic preconditions for the emergence of this institution owing to the emphasis attached to Islamic teachings.Trade played an important role in the spread of Islam in some parts of the world, such as Indonesia.During the early centuries of Islamic rule, conversions in the Middle East were mainly individual or small-scale. While mass conversions were favored for spreading Islam beyond Muslim lands, policies within Muslim territories typically aimed for individual conversions to weaken non-Muslim communities. However, there were exceptions, like the forced mass conversion of theSamaritans.

Muslim dynastieswere soon established and subsequent empires such as those of theUmayyads,Abbasids,Mamluks,Seljukids,and theAyyubidswere among some of the largest and most powerful in the world. TheAjuranandAdal Sultanates,and the wealthyMali Empire,inNorth Africa,theDelhi,Deccan,andBengal Sultanates,andMughalandDurrani Empires,andKingdom of MysoreandNizam of Hyderabadin theIndian subcontinent,theGhaznavids,Ghurids,Samanidsin Persia,Timurids,and theOttoman EmpireinAnatoliasignificantly changed the course of history. The people of the Islamic world created numerous sophisticated centers of culture and science with far-reaching mercantile networks, travelers, scientists, hunters, mathematicians, physicians, andphilosophers,all contributing to the Islamic Golden Age. TheTimurid Renaissanceand the Islamic expansion in South and East Asia fostered cosmopolitan and eclecticMuslim culturesin the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia, Indonesia and China.The Ottoman Empire, which controlled much of the Middle East and North Africa in the early modern period, also did not officially endorse mass conversions, but evidence suggests they occurred, particularly in theBalkans,often to evade thejizyatax. Similarly, Christian sources mention requests for mass conversions to Islam, such as inCyprus,where Ottoman authorities refused, fearing economic repercussions.

As of 2016, there were 1.7 billion Muslims,with one out of four people in the world being Muslim,making Islam thesecond-largest religion.Out of children born from 2010 to 2015, 31% were born to Muslimsand currently Islam is the world'sfastest-growing major religion.

Terminology

Alongside the terminology of the "spread of Islam", scholarship of the subject has also given rise to the terms "Islamization","Islamicization",and "Islamification" (Arabic:أسلمة,romanized:aslamah). These terms are used concurrently with the terminology of the "spread of Islam" to refer to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion ofIslamand becomes largelyMuslim.Societal Islamization has historically occurred over the course of many centuries since the spread of Islam outside of theArabian Peninsulathrough theearly Muslim conquests,with notable shifts occurring in theLevant,Iran,North Africa,theHorn of Africa,West Africa,Central Asia,South Asia(inAfghanistan,Maldives,Pakistan,andBangladesh),Southeast Asia(inMalaysia,Brunei,andIndonesia),Southeastern Europe(inAlbania,Bosnia and Herzegovina,andKosovo,among others),Eastern Europe(inthe Caucasus,Crimea,andthe Volga), andSouthern Europe(inSpain,Portugal,andSicilyprior tore-Christianizations).In contemporary usage, "Islamization" and its variants too can also be used with implied negative connotations to refer to the perceived imposition of anIslamistsocial and political system on a society with an indigenously different social and political background.

TheEnglishsynonym of "Muslimization", in use since before 1940 (e.g.,Waverly Illustrated Dictionary), conveys a similar meaning as "Islamization". 'Muslimization' has more recently also been used as a term coined to describe the overtly Muslim practices of newconverts to the religionwho wish to reinforce their newly acquired religious identity.

History

Main articles:Early Muslim conquestsandHistory of Islam

Further information:Arab–Byzantine wars,Ilkhanate,andIslamization of Iran

Muslim Arab expansion in the first centuries afterMuhammad's deathsoon established dynasties inNorth Africa,West Africa,to theMiddle East,and south toSomaliaby theCompanions of the Prophet,most notably theRashidun Caliphateand military advents ofKhalid Bin Walid,Amr ibn al-As,andSa'd ibn Abi Waqqas.The historic process of Islamization was complex and involved merging Islamic practices with local customs. This process took place over several centuries. Some scholars reject the stereotype that this process was initially "spread by the sword" or forced conversions.

Rashidun Caliphs and Umayyads (610–750 CE)

Main articles:Rashidun CaliphateandUmayyad Caliphate

Within the century of the establishment of Islam upon theArabian Peninsulaand the subsequent rapid expansion during theearly Muslim conquests,one of the most significant empires in world history was formed.For the subjects of the empire, formerly of theByzantineand theSasanianEmpires, not much changed in practice. The objective of the conquests was mostly of a practical nature, as fertile land and water were scarce in the Arabian Peninsula. A real Islamization therefore came about only during the subsequent centuries.

Ira M. Lapidusdistinguishes between two separate strands of converts of the time: animists and polytheists of tribal societies of the Arabian Peninsula and theFertile Crescentand the native Christians and Jews existing before the Muslims arrived.

The empire spread from the Atlantic Ocean to theAral Sea,from theAtlas Mountainsto theHindu Kush.It was bounded mostly by "a combination of natural barriers and well-organized states".

For the polytheistic and pagan societies, apart from the religious and spiritual reasons that individuals may have had, conversion to Islam "represented the response of a tribal, pastoral population to the need for a larger framework for political and economic integration, a more stable state, and a more imaginative and encompassing moral vision to cope with the problems of a tumultuous society."In contrast, for tribal, nomadic, monotheistic societies, "Islam was substituted for a Byzantine or Sassanian political identity and for a Christian, Jewish orZoroastrianreligious affiliation. "Conversion initially was neither required nor necessarily wished for: "(The Arab conquerors) did not require the conversion as much as the subordination of non-Muslim peoples. At the outset, they were hostile to conversions because new Muslims diluted the economic and status advantages of the Arabs."

Only in subsequent centuries, with the development of the religious doctrine of Islam and with that the understanding of the Muslimummah,would mass conversion take place. The new understanding by the religious and political leadership in many cases led to a weakening or breakdown of the social and religious structures of parallel religious communities such as Christians and Jews.

The caliphs of the Arab dynasty established the empire's first school, which taught the Arabic language and Islamic studies. The caliphs furthermore began the ambitious project of building mosques across the empire, many of which remain today, such as theUmayyad Mosque,in Damascus. At the end of the Umayyad period, less than 10% of the people in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia and Spain were Muslim. Only the Arabian Peninsula had a higher proportion of Muslims among the population.

Abbasids (750–1258)

Main article:Abbasid Caliphate

TheAbbasidsare known to have founded some of the world's earliest educational institutions, such as theHouse of Wisdom.

The Abbasids replaced the expanding empire and "tribal politics" of "the tight-knit Arabian elitewith cosmopolitan culture and disciplines of Islamicscience,philosophy,theology,lawandmysticismbecame more widespread, and the gradual conversions of the empire's populations occurred. Significant conversions also occurred beyond the extent of the empire such as that of theTurkic tribesinCentral Asiaand peoples living in regions south of theSaharaand north of theSahelin Africa through contact with Muslim traders active in the area andSufi orders.In Africa, Islam spread along three routes, across the Sahara and Sahel via trading towns such asTimbuktu,up theNile Valleythroughthe Sudanup toUgandaand across theRed Seaand downEast Africathrough settlements such asMombasaandZanzibar.The initial conversions were of a flexible nature. they moved there capital fromDamascus to Baghdad'and ruled for more than500 hundred years ''' The reasons that by the end of the 10th century, a large part of the population had converted to Islam are diverse. According to the British-Lebanese historianAlbert Hourani,one of the reasons may be that

"Islam had become more clearly defined, and the line between Muslims and non-Muslims more sharply drawn. Muslims now lived within an elaborated system of ritual, doctrine and law clearly different from those of non-Muslims. (...) The status of Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians was more precisely defined, and in some ways it was inferior. They were regarded as the 'People of the Book', those who possessed a revealed scripture, or 'People of the Covenant', with whom compacts of protection had been made. In general, they were notforced to convert,but they suffered from restrictions. They paida special tax;they were not supposed to wear certain colors; theycould not marry Muslim women;. "

Most of those laws were elaborations of basic laws concerning non-Muslims (dhimmis) in theQuran,which does not give much detail about the right conduct with non-Muslims, but it in principle recognises the religion of "People of the Book" (Jews, Christians and sometimes others as well) and securing a separate tax from them that replaces thezakat,which is imposed upon Muslim subjects.

Ira Lapiduspoints towards "interwoven terms of political and economic benefits and of a sophisticated culture and religion" as appealing to the masses.He noted:

"The question of why people convert to Islam has always generated the intense feeling. Earlier generations of European scholars believed that conversions to Islam were made at the point of the sword, and that conquered peoples were given the choice of conversion or death. It is now apparent that conversion by force, while not unknown in Muslim countries, was, in fact, rare. Muslim conquerors ordinarily wished to dominate rather than convert, and most conversions to Islam were voluntary. (...) In most cases, worldly and spiritual motives for conversion blended together. Moreover, conversion to Islam did not necessarily imply a complete turning from an old to a totally new life. While it entailed the acceptance of new religious beliefs and membership in a new religious community, most converts retained a deep attachment to the cultures and communities from which they came."

The result, he points out, can be seen in the diversity of Muslim societies today, with varying manifestations and practices of Islam.

Conversion to Islam also came about as a result of the breakdown of historically-religiously organized societies: with the weakening of many churches, for example, and the favouring of Islam and the migration of substantial Muslim Turkish populations into the areas of Anatolia and the Balkans, the "social and cultural relevance of Islam" were enhanced and a large number of peoples were converted. This worked better in some areas (Anatolia) and less in others (such as the Balkans in which "the spread of Islam was limited by the vitality of the Christian churches".)

During the Abbasid period, economic hardships, social disorder, and pressure from Muslim attackers, led to the mass conversion ofSamaritansto Islam.

Along with the religion of Islam, the Arabic language, Arabic numerals and Arab customs spread throughout the empire. A sense of unity grew among many though not all provinces and gradually formed the consciousness of a broadly Arab-Islamic population. What was recognizably an Islamic world had emerged by the end of the 10th century.Throughout the period, as well as in the following centuries, divisions occurred between Persians and Arabs, and Sunnis and Shias, and unrest in provinces empowered local rulers at times.

Conversion within the empire: Umayyad vs. Abbasid period

There are a number of historians who see the rule of the Umayyads as responsible for setting up the "dhimmah" to increase taxes from thedhimmisto benefit the Arab Muslim community financially and to discourage conversion.Islam was initially associated with the Arabs' ethnic identity and required formal association with anArab tribeand the adoption of the client status ofmawali.Governors lodged complaints with the caliph when he enacted laws that made conversion easier since that deprived the provinces of revenues from the tax on non-Muslims.

During the followingAbbasidperiod, an enfranchisement was experienced by themawaliand a shift was made in the political conception from that of a primarily-Arab empire to one of a Muslim empire.Around 930 a law was enacted that required all bureaucrats of the empire to be Muslims.Both periods were also marked by significant migrations of Arab tribes outwards from theArabian Peninsulainto the new territories.

Conversion within the empire: "Conversion curve"

Richard Bulliet's "conversion curve" shows a relatively low rate of conversion of non-Arab subjects during the Arab centricUmayyadperiod of 10%, in contrast with estimates for the more politically-multiculturalAbbasidperiod, which saw the Muslim population grow from around 40% in the mid-9th century to close to 100% by the end of the 11th century.That theory does not explain the continuing existence of large minorities of Christians during the Abbasids. Other estimates suggest that Muslims were not a majority in Egypt until the mid-10th century and in the Fertile Crescent until 1100. What is now Syria may have had a Christian majority until the Mongol invasions of the 13th century.

Emergence of the Seljuks and Ottomans (950–1450)

See also:History of Islam in southern Italy

The expansion of Islam continued in the wake ofTurkicconquests ofAsia Minor,theBalkansand theIndian subcontinent.The earlier period also saw the acceleration in the rate of conversions in the Muslim heartland, and in the wake of the conquests, the newly-conquered regions retained significant non-Muslim populations. That was contrast to the regions in which the boundaries of the Muslim world contracted, such as theEmirate of Sicily(Italy) andAl Andalus(Spain and Portugal), where Muslim populations were expelled or forced toChristianizein short order.The latter period of that phase was marked by theMongol invasion(particularly theSiege of Baghdadin 1258) and, after an initial period of persecution, the conversion of those conquerors to Islam.

Ottoman Empire (1299–1924)

Main article:History of the Ottoman Empire

Territories in Central Europe under theOttoman Empire,1683

TheOttoman Empiredefended its frontiers initially against threats from several sides: theSafavidsin the east, theByzantine Empirein the north until it vanished with theConquest of Constantinoplein 1453, and the greatCatholicpowers from theMediterranean Sea:Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and Venice with its eastern Mediterranean colonies.

Later, the Ottoman Empire set on to conquer territories from these rivals:Cyprusand otherGreek islands(exceptCrete) were lost byVeniceto the Ottomans, and the latter conquered territory up to theDanubebasin as far asHungary.Crete was conquered during the 17th century, but the Ottomans lost Hungary to theHoly Roman Empire,and other parts of Eastern Europe, which ended with theTreaty of Carlowitzin 1699.

The Ottoman sultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922 and thecaliphatewas abolished on 3 March 1924.

Modern

Further information:Islamization § Modern day (1970s to present)

See also:International propagation of Salafism and Wahhabism,Islamism,andPetro-Islam

Islam has continued to spread through commerce and migrations, especially in Southeast Asia, America and Europe.

Modern day Islamization appears to be a return of the individual to Muslim values, communities, and dress codes, and a strengthened community.

Another development is that of transnational Islam, elaborated upon by the French Islam researchersGilles KepelandOlivier Roy.It includes a feeling of a "growing universalistic Islamic identity" as often shared by Muslim immigrants and their children who live in non-Muslim countries:

The increased integration of world societies as a result of enhanced communications, media, travel, and migration makes meaningful the concept of a single Islam practiced everywhere in similar ways, and an Islam which transcends national and ethnic customs.

This does not necessarily imply political or social organizations:

Global Muslim identity does not necessarily or even usually imply organized group action. Even though Muslims recognize a global affiliation, the real heart of Muslim religious life remains outside politics—in local associations for worship, discussion, mutual aid, education, charity, and other communal activities.

A third development is the growth and elaboration of transnational military organizations. The 1980s and 90s, with several major conflicts in theMiddle East,including theArab–Israeli conflict,Afghanistanin the 1980s and 2001, and the three Gulf Wars (1980–88,1990–91,2003–2011) were catalysts of a growing internationalization of local conflicts.Figures such asOsama bin LadenandAbdallah Azzamhave been crucial in these developments, as much as domestic and world politics.

By region

Age of theCaliphs

Expansion underMuhammad,622–632/A.H. 1–11

Expansion during theRashidun Caliphate,632–661/A.H. 11–40

Expansion during theUmayyadCaliphate,661–750/A.H. 40–129

Arabia

Further information:Early social changes under Islam

AtMecca,Muhammadis said to have received repeated embassies from Christian tribes.

Greater Syria

Main article:Muslim conquest of the Levant

Like their Byzantine and late Sasanian predecessors, theMarwanidcaliphs nominally ruled the various religious communities but allowed the communities' own appointed or elected officials to administer most internal affairs. Yet the Marwanids also depended heavily on the help of non-Arab administrative personnel and on administrative practices (e.g., a set of government bureaus). As the conquests slowed and the isolation of the fighters (muqatilah) became less necessary, it became more and more difficult to keep Arabs garrisoned. As the tribal links that had so dominated Umayyad politics began to break down, the meaningfulness of tying non-Arab converts to Arab tribes as clients was diluted; moreover, the number of non-Muslims who wished to join the ummah was already becoming too large for this process to work effectively.

Palestine

Further information:Islamization of Jerusalem

TheDome of the Rockatop theTemple Mountin theOld City of Jerusalem.

TheSiege of Jerusalem (636–637)by the forces of the Rashid CaliphUmaragainst the Byzantines began in November 636. For four months, the siege continued. Ultimately, theGreek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem,Sophronius,an ethnic Arab,agreed to surrender Jerusalem to Umar in person. The caliph, then inMedina,agreed to these terms and travelled to Jerusalem to sign the capitulation in the spring of 637.

Sophronius also negotiated a pact with Umar known asUmar's Assurance,allowing for the religious freedom for Christians in exchange forjizya,a tax to be paid by conquered non-Muslims, calleddhimmis.Under Muslim rule, the Jewish and Christian population of Jerusalem in this period enjoyed theusual tolerancegiven to non-Muslim theists.

Having accepted the surrender, Omar then entered Jerusalem with Sophronius "and courteously discoursed with the patriarch concerning its religious antiquities".When the hour for his prayer came, Omar was in the Anastasis church, but refused to pray there, lest in the future Muslims should use that as an excuse to break the treaty and confiscate the church. TheMosque of Umar,opposite the doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, with the tall minaret, is known as the place to which he retired for his prayer.

BishopArculf,whose account of his pilgrimage to theHoly Landin the seventh century,De locis sanctis,written down by the monk Adamnan, described reasonably pleasant living conditions of Christians in Palestine in the first period of Muslim rule. The caliphs of Damascus (661-750) were tolerant princes who were on generally good terms with their Christian subjects. Many Christians, such asJohn of Damascus,held important offices at their court. The Abbasid caliphs at Baghdad (753-1242), as long as they ruled Syria, were also tolerant to Christians. Harun Abu Jaʻfar (786-809), sent the keys of theChurch of the Holy SepulchretoCharlemagne,who built ahospicefor Latin pilgrims near the shrine.

Rival dynasties and revolutions led to the eventual disunion of the Muslim world. In the ninth century, Palestine was conquered by theFatimid Caliphate,whose capital wasCairo.Palestine once again became a battleground as the various enemies of the Fatimids counterattacked. At the same time, the Byzantines continued to attempt to regain their lost territories, including Jerusalem. Christians in Jerusalem who sided with the Byzantines were put to death for high treason by the ruling Shiʻi Muslims. In 969, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, John VII, was put to death for treasonous correspondence with the Byzantines.

As Jerusalem grew in importance to Muslims and pilgrimages increased, tolerance for other religions declined. Christians were persecuted and churches destroyed. The Sixth Fatimid caliph,al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah,996–1021, who was believed to be "God made manifest" by his most zealous Shiʻi followers, now known as theDruze,destroyed the Holy Sepulchre in 1009. This powerful provocation helped ignite the flame of fury that led to theFirst Crusade.The dynasty was later overtaken bySaladinof theAyyubid dynasty.

Africa

North Africa

See also:Umayyad conquest of North Africa,Islamization of Egypt,andIslamization of Sudan

TheGreat Mosque of Kairouan,founded in 670 AD (The year 50 according to the Islamic calendar) by the Arab general and conqueror Uqba Ibn Nafi, is the oldest mosque in western Islamic landsand represents an architectural symbol of the spread of Islam in North Africa, situated inKairouan,Tunisia.

InEgyptconversion to Islam was initially considerably slower than in other areas such as Mesopotamia or Khurasan, with Muslims not thought to have become the majority until around the fourteenth century. In the initial invasion, the victorious Muslims granted religious freedom to the Christian community inAlexandria,and the Alexandrians quickly recalled their exiledMonophysitepatriarch to rule over them, subject only to the ultimate political authority of the conquerors. In such a fashion the city persisted as a religious community under an Arab Muslim domination more welcome and more tolerant than that of Byzantium.(Other sources question how much the native population welcomed the conquering Muslims.)

Byzantine rule was ended by the Arabs, who invadedTunisiafrom 647 to 648andMoroccoin 682 in the course of their drive to expand the power of Islam. In 670, the Arab general and conqueror Uqba Ibn Nafi established the city ofKairouan(in Tunisia) and itsGreat Mosquealso known as the Mosque of Uqba;theGreat Mosque of Kairouanis the ancestor of all the mosques in the western Islamic world.Berbertroops were used extensively by the Arabs in their conquest of Spain, which began in 711.

No previous conqueror had tried to assimilate the Berbers, but the Arabs quickly converted them and enlisted their aid in further conquests. Without their help, for example, Andalusia could never have been incorporated into the Islamic state. At first only Berbers nearer the coast were involved, but by the 11th century Muslim affiliation had begun to spread far into theSaharaandSahel.

The conventional historical view is that the conquest of North Africa by the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate between CE 647–709 effectively ended Catholicism in Africa for several centuries.However, new scholarship has appeared that provides more nuance and details of the conversion of the Christian inhabitants to Islam. A Christian community is recorded in 1114 in Qal'a in central Algeria. There is also evidence of religious pilgrimages after 850 CE to tombs of Catholic saints outside of the city of Carthage, and evidence of religious contacts with Christians of Arab Spain. In addition, calendar reforms adopted in Europe at this time were disseminated amongst the indigenous Christians of Tunis, which would have not been possible had there been an absence of contact with Rome.

During the reign ofUmar II,the then governor of Africa, Ismail ibn Abdullah, was said to have won theBerbersto Islam by his just administration, and other early notable missionaries includeAbdallah ibn Yasinwho started a movement which caused thousands ofBerbersto accept Islam.

Horn of Africa

See also:Islam in SomaliaandIslam in Ethiopia

The port and waterfront ofZeila.

The history of commercial and intellectual contact between the inhabitants of theSomaliaand theArabian Peninsulamay help explain theSomali people's connection withMuhammad.The early Muslims fled to the port city ofZeilain modern-daySomalilandto seek protection from the Quraysh at the court of theAksumite Emperorin present-dayEthiopia.Some of the Muslims that were granted protection are said to have then settled in several parts of the Horn region to promote the religion. The victory of the Muslims over the Quraysh in the 7th century had a significant impact on local merchants and sailors, as their trading partners in Arabia had then all adoptedIslam,and the major trading routes in theMediterraneanand theRed Seacame under the sway of theMuslim Caliphs.Through commerce, Islam spread amongst the Somali population in the coastal cities. Instability in the Arabian peninsula saw further migrations of early Muslim families to the Somali seaboard. These clans came to serve as catalysts, forwarding the faith to large parts of the Horn region.

East Africa

See also:Shirazi people

Principal cities of East Africa, c. 1500. TheKilwa Sultanateheld sway fromCape Correntesin the south toMalindiin the north.

The Great Mosque ofKilwa Kisiwani,made ofcoral stonesis the largest Mosque of its kind.

On the east coast of Africa, where Arab mariners had for many years journeyed to trade, mainly in slaves, Arabs founded permanent colonies on the offshore islands, especially onZanzibar,in the 9th and 10th century. From there Arab trade routes into the interior of Africa helped the slow acceptance of Islam.

By the 10th century, theKilwa Sultanatewas founded byAli ibn al-Hassan Shirazi(was one of seven sons of a ruler ofShiraz,Persia, his mother anAbyssinianslave girl. Upon his father's death, Ali was driven out of his inheritance by his brothers). His successors would rule the most powerful ofSultanatesin theSwahili coast,during the peak of its expansion theKilwa Sultanatestretched fromInhambanein the south toMalindiin the north. The 13th-centuryMuslimtravellerIbn Battutanoted that the great mosque ofKilwa Kisiwaniwas made ofcoral stone(the only one of its kind in the world).

In the 20th century, Islam grew in Africa both by birth and by conversion. The number of Muslims in Africa grew from 34.5 million in 1900 to 315 million in 2000, going from roughly 20% to 40% of the total population of Africa.However, in the same time period, the number of Christians also grew in Africa, from 8.7 million in 1900 to 346 million in 2000, surpassing both the total population as well as the growth rate of Islam on the continent.

Western Africa

Further information:Islamization of the Sudan region

The Great Mosque ofDjenné.

The spread of Islam in Africa began in the 7th to 9th century, brought to North Africa initially under theUmayyad Dynasty.Extensive trade networks throughout North and West Africa created a medium through which Islam spread peacefully, initially through the merchant class. By sharing a common religion and a common transliteralization (Arabic), traders showed greater willingness to trust, and therefore invest, in one another.Moreover, toward the 19th century, the NorthernNigeriabasedSokoto Caliphateled byUsman dan Fodioexerted considerable effort in spreading Islam.

Persia and the Caucasus

Main articles:Islamization of Iran,Muslim conquest of Armenia,andMuslim conquest of Azerbaijan

See also:Muslim conquest of Persia,Islam in Azerbaijan,Arab rule in Georgia,andArab–Turkic Khazar Wars

Courtiers of thePersianprinceBaysunghurplaying chess inFerdowsi's epic work known as theShahnameh.

It used to be argued thatZoroastrianismquickly collapsed in the wake of theIslamic conquest of Persiadue to its intimate ties to theSassanidstate structure.Now however, more complex processes are considered, in light of the more protracted time frame attributed to the progression of the ancient Persian religion to a minority; a progression that is more contiguous with the trends of thelate antiquityperiod.These trends are the conversions from the state religion that had already plagued the Zoroastrian authorities that continued after the Arab conquest, coupled with the migration of Arab tribes into the region during an extended period of time that stretched well into the Abbasid reign.

A Persian miniature of Shah Abu'l Ma‘ali, a scholar.

While there were cases such as the Sassanid army division at Hamra, that converteden massebefore pivotal battles such as theBattle of al-Qādisiyyah,conversion was fastestin theurban areaswhere Arab forces weregarrisonedslowly leading to Zoroastrianism becoming associated withruralareas.Still at the end of the Umayyad period, the Muslim community was only a minority in the region.

Through theMuslim conquest of Persia,in the 7th century, Islam spread as far as theNorth Caucasus,which parts of it (notablyDagestan) were part of theSasaniddomains.In the coming centuries, relatively large parts of theCaucasusbecame Muslim, while the larger swaths of it would still remainpagan(paganism branches such as theCircassianHabze) as well as Christian (notably Armenia and Georgia), for centuries. By the 16th century, most of the people of what are nowadays Iran andAzerbaijanhad adopted the Shia branch of Islam through theconversion policies of the Safavids.

Islam was readily accepted by Zoroastrians who were employed in industrial and artisan positions because, according to Zoroastrian dogma, such occupations that involved defiling fire made them impure.Moreover, Muslim missionaries did not encounter difficulty in explaining Islamic tenets to Zoroastrians, as there were many similarities between the faiths. According toThomas Walker Arnold,for the Persian, he would meetAhura MazdaandAhrimanunder the names ofAllahandIblis.At times,Muslimleaders in their effort to win converts encouraged attendance at Muslim prayer with promises of money and allowed theQuranto be recited inPersianinstead of Arabic so that it would be intelligible to all.

Robert Hoyland argues that the missionary efforts of the relatively small number of Arab conquerors in Persian lands led to "much interaction and assimilation" between rulers and ruled, and to descendants of the conquerors adapting the Persian language and Persian festivals and culture,(Persian being the language of modern-day Iran, while Arabic is spoken by its neighbors to the west.)

Central Asia

See also:Islamic conquest of AfghanistanandMuslim conquest of Transoxiana

Ghurid Empireruled byMuhammad of GhorandGhiyath al-Din Muhammad.

A number of the inhabitants ofAfghanistanaccepted Islam throughUmayyadmissionary efforts, particularly under the reign ofHisham ibn Abd al-MalikandUmar ibn Abdul Aziz.Later, starting from the 9th century, theSamanids,whose roots stemmed from Zoroastrian theocratic nobility, propagatedSunni Islamand Islamo-Persian culture deep into the heart of Central Asia. The population within its areas began firmly accepting Islam in significant numbers, notably inTaraz,now in modern-dayKazakhstan.The first complete translation of theQur'anintoPersianoccurred during the reign of Samanids in the 9th century. According to historians, through the zealous missionary work of Samanid rulers, as many as 30,000 tents ofTurkscame to profess Islam and later under theGhaznavidshigher than 55,000 under theHanafischool of thought.After theSaffaridsand Samanids, theGhaznavidsre-conquered Transoxania, and invaded theIndian subcontinentin the 11th century. This was followed by the powerfulGhuridsandTimuridswho further expanded the culture of Islam and theTimurid Renaissance,reaching untilBengal.

Turkey

Main articles:Arab-Byzantine Wars,Byzantine-Seljuq wars,Byzantine-Ottoman Wars.

Indian subcontinent

See also:Islam in South AsiaandMuslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent

A panorama in 12 folds showing a fabulous Eid ul-Fitr procession byMuslimsin theMughal Empire.

TheAge of the Islamic Gunpowdersdominating the western, central and South Asia.

Islamic influence first came to be felt in theIndian subcontinentduring the early 7th century with the advent of Arab traders. Arab traders used to visit theMalabar region,which was a link between them and the ports ofSouth East Asiato trade even before Islam had been established in Arabia. According to Historians Elliot and Dowson in their bookThe History of India as told by its own Historians,the first ship bearing Muslim travelers was seen on the Indian coast as early as 630 CE. The first Indian mosque is thought to have been built in 629 CE, purportedly at the behest of an unknown Chera dynasty ruler, during the lifetime ofMuhammad(c. 571–632) inKodungallur,in district ofThrissur, KeralabyMalik Bin Deenar.In Malabar, Muslims are calledMappila.

InBengal,Arab merchants helped found thePort of Chittagong.EarlySufimissionaries settled in the region as early as the 8th century.

H. G. Rawlinson, in his bookAncient and Medieval History of India(ISBN978-81-86050-79-8), claims the first Arab Muslims settled on the Indian coast in the last part of the 7th century. This fact is corroborated, by J. Sturrock in hisSouth Kanara and Madras Districts Manuals,and also by Haridas Bhattacharya inCultural Heritage of India Vol. IV.

The Arab merchants and traders became the carriers of the new religion and they propagated it wherever they went.It was, however, the subsequent expansion of theMuslim conquest in the Indian subcontinentover the next millennia that established Islam in the region.

Mir Sayyid Ali, portrait of a young Indian Muslim scholar, writing a commentary on theQuran,during the reign of theMughal EmperorShah Jahan.

Embedded within these lies the concept of Islam as a foreign imposition andHinduismbeing natural condition of the natives who resisted, resulting in the failure of the project to Islamicize the Indian subcontinent is highly embroiled with the politics of thepartitionandcommunalismin India. Considerable controversy exists as to how conversion to Islam came about in the Indian subcontinent.These are typically represented by the following schools of thought:

1. Conversion was a combination, initially by violence, threat or other pressure against the person.
2. As a socio-cultural process of diffusion and integration over an extended period of time into the sphere of the dominantMuslim civilization and global polityat large.
3. A related view is that conversions occurred for non-religious reasons of pragmatism and patronage such as social mobility among the Muslim ruling elite or for relief from taxes
4. Was a combination, initially made under duress followed by a genuine change of heart
5. That the bulk of Muslims are descendants of migrants from theIranian plateauor Arabs.

EmperorAurangzeb,who memorised theQuran,with the help of several Arab and Iraqi scholars compiled theFatawa-e-Alamgiri

A map of theBruneian Empirein 1500.

Muslim missionaries played a key role in the spread of Islam in India with some missionaries even assuming roles as merchants or traders. For example, in the 9th century, theIsmailissent missionaries across Asia in all directions under various guises, often as traders, Sufis and merchants. Ismailis were instructed to speak to potential converts in their own language. Some Ismaili missionaries traveled to India and employed effort to make their religion acceptable to the Hindus. For instance, they representedAlias the tenth avatar ofVishnuand wrote hymns as well as amahdipuranain their effort to win converts.At other times, converts were won in conjunction with the propagation efforts of rulers. According toIbn Batuta,theKhaljisencouraged conversion toIslamby making it a custom to have the convert presented to the Sultan who would place a robe on the convert and award him with bracelets of gold.DuringDelhi Sultanate'sIkhtiyar Uddin Bakhtiyar Khilji'scontrol of theBengal,Muslim missionaries in India achieved their greatest success, in terms of number of converts to Islam.

TheMughal Empire,founded byBabur,a direct descendant ofTimurandGenghis Khan,was able to conquer almost the entirety ofSouth Asia.Although religious tolerance was seen during the rule of emperorAkbar's, the reign under emperorAurangzebwitnessed the full establishment of Islamicshariaand the re-introduction ofJizya(a special tax imposed upon non-Muslims) through the compilation of theFatawa-e-Alamgiri.The Mughals, already suffering a gradual decline in the early 18th century, wasinvadedby theAfsharidrulerNader Shah.The Mughal decline provided opportunities for theMaratha Empire,Sikh Empire,Mysore Kingdom,Nawabs of Bengal and MurshidabadandNizams of Hyderabadto exercise control over large regions of the Indian subcontinent.Eventually, after numerous wars sapped its strength, the Mughal Empire was broken into smaller powers like ShiaNawab of Bengal,theNawab of Awadh,theNizam of Hyderabad,and theKingdom of Mysore,which became the major Asian economic and military power on theIndian subcontinent.

Southeast Asia

Main articles:Spread of Islam in Southeast AsiaandSpread of Islam in Indonesia

Minaret of theMenara Kudus Mosque,influenced by bothIslamicand mainlyHindu-Buddhisttemple-likeJavanesestructure.

Even before Islam was established amongst Indonesian communities, Muslim sailors and traders had often visited the shores of modern Indonesia, most of these early sailors and merchants arrived from theAbbasid Caliphate's newly established ports ofBasraandDebal,many of the earliest Muslim accounts of the region note the presence of animals such asorang-utans,rhinosand valuablespice tradecommodities such ascloves,nutmeg,galangalandcoconut.

A Muslim "Food jar" from thePhilippines,also known asgadur,well known for itsbrasswithsilverinlay.

Islam came to theSoutheast Asia,first by the way of Muslim traders along the main trade-route between Asia and theFar East,then was further spread bySufi ordersand finally consolidated by the expansion of the territories of converted rulers and their communities.The first communities arose in NorthernSumatra(Aceh) and theMalacca's remained a stronghold of Islam from where it was propagated along the trade routes in the region.There is no clear indication of when Islam first came to the region, the first Muslim gravestone markings year 1082.

WhenMarco Polovisited the area in 1292 he noted that the urban port state ofPerlakwas Muslim,Chinese sources record the presence of a Muslim delegation to the emperor from theKingdom of Samudra (Pasai)in 1282,other accounts provide instances of Muslim communities present in theMelayu Kingdomfor the same time period while others record the presence of Muslim Chinese traders from provinces such asFu gian.The spread of Islam generally followed the trade routes east through the primarilyBuddhistregion and a half century later in theMalacca's we see the first dynasty arise in the form of theSultanate of Malaccaat the far end of the Archipelago form by the conversion of oneParameswara Dewa Shahinto a Muslim and the adoption of the name Muhammad Iskandar Shahafter his marriage to a daughter of the ruler of Pasai.

In 1380, Sufi orders carried Islam from here on toMindanao.Javawas the seat of the primary kingdom of the region, theMajapahit Empire,which was ruled by aHindudynasty. As commerce grew in the region with the rest of the Muslim world, Islamic influence extended to the court even as the empires political power waned and so by the timeRajaKertawijaya converted in 1475 at the hands of SufiSheikhRahmat, the Sultanate was already of a Muslim character. InVietnam,theCham peopleproselytized due to contact with traders and missionaries fromKelantan.

Another driving force for the change of the ruling class in the region was the concept among the increasing Muslim communities of the region when ruling dynasties to attempt to forge such ties of kinship by marriage.By the time thecolonialpowers and theirmissionariesarrived in the 17th century the region up toNew Guineawas overwhelmingly Muslim withanimistminorities.

Flags of the Sultanates in the East Indies

• 
  Sultanate of Banten
• 
  Cirebon Sultanate
• 
  Yogyakarta Sultanate
• 
  Sultanate of Mataram
• 
  Sulu
• 
  Minangkabau
• 
  Deli

Inner Asia and Eastern Europe

Ilkhanate Empireruler,Ghazan,studying theQuran(Azerbaijani culture).

In the mid 7th century AD, following theMuslim conquest of Persia,Islam penetrated into areas that wouldlaterbecome part of European Russia.A centuries later example that can be counted amongst the earliest introductions ofIslamintoEastern Europecame about through the work of an early 11th-century Muslim prisoner whom theByzantinescaptured during one of their wars against Muslims. The Muslim prisoner was broughtinto the territory of thePechenegs,where he taught and converted individuals to Islam.Little is known about the timeline of the Islamization ofInner Asiaand of theTurkic peopleswho lay beyond the bounds of thecaliphate.Around the 7th and 8th centuries some states of Turkic peoples existed - like theTurkic Khazar Khaganate(seeKhazar-Arab Wars) and theTurkic Turgesh Khaganate,which fought against the caliphate in order to stopArabizationand Islamization in Asia. From the 9th century onwards, the Turks (at least individually, if not yet through adoption by their states) began to convert to Islam. Histories merely note the fact of pre-MongolCentral Asia's Islamization.TheBulgars of the Volga(to whom the modernVolga Tatarstrace their Islamic roots) adopted Islam by the 10th century.underAlmış.When theFranciscanfriarWilliam of Rubruckvisited the encampment ofBatu Khanof theGolden Horde,who had recently (in the 1240s) completed theMongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria,he noted "I wonder what devil carried the law of Machomet there".

Another contemporary institution identified as Muslim, theQarakhanid dynastyof theKara-Khanid Khanate,operated much further east,established byKarlukswho became Islamized after converting underSultan Satuq Bughra Khanin the mid-10th century. However, the modern-day history of the Islamization of the region - or rather a conscious affiliation with Islam - dates to the reign of theulusof the son ofGenghis Khan,Jochi,who founded the Golden Horde,which operated from the 1240s to 1502.Kazakhs,Uzbeksand some Muslim populations of theRussian Federationtrace their Islamic roots to the Golden Hordeand whileBerke Khanbecame the first Mongol monarch to officially adopt Islam and even to oppose his kinsmanHulagu Khanin the defense ofJerusalemat theBattle of Ain Jalut(1263), only much later did the change became pivotal when the Mongols converteden massewhen a century laterUzbeg Khan(lived 1282–1341) converted - reportedly at the hands of theSufiSaintBaba Tukles.

Some of the Mongolian tribes became Islamized. Following the brutalMongol invasion of Central AsiaunderHulagu Khanand after theBattle of Baghdad (1258),Mongol rule extended across the breadth of almost all Muslim lands in Asia. The Mongols destroyed the caliphate andpersecuted Islam,replacing it withBuddhismas the official state religion.In 1295 however, the new Khan of theIlkhanate,Ghazan,converted to Islam, and two decades later the Golden Horde under Uzbeg Khan (reigned 1313–1341) followed suit.The Mongols had been religiously and culturally conquered; this absorption ushered in a new age of Mongol-Islamic synthesisthat shaped the further spread of Islam in central Asia and theIndian subcontinent.

In the 1330s, the Mongol ruler of theChagatai Khanate(in Central Asia) converted to Islam, causing the eastern part of his realm (calledMoghulistan) to rebel.However, during the next three centuries theseBuddhist,ShamanisticandChristianTurkic and Mongol nomads of theKazakh SteppeandXin gian gwould also convert at the hands of competingSufi ordersfrom both east and west of thePamirs.TheNaqshbandisare the most prominent of these orders, especially inKashgaria,where the western Chagatai Khan was also a disciple of the order.

Muslims of Central Asian origin played a major role in theMongol conquest of China.Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar,a court official and general of Turkic origin who participated in the Mongol invasion of Southwest China, became Yuan Governor ofYunnanin 1274. A distinct Muslim community, thePanthays,was established in the region by the late 13th century.

Europe

Tariq ibn Ziyadwas aMuslimgeneral who led the Islamic conquest ofVisigothicHispaniain 711-718 A.D. He is considered to be one of the most important military commanders inIberianhistory. The name "Gibraltar"is theSpanishderivation of theArabicnameJabal Tāriq(جبل طارق) (meaning "mountain of Tariq" ), named after him.

There are accounts of thetrade connectionsbetween the Muslims and theRus,apparently Vikings who made their way towards theBlack SeathroughCentral Russia.On his way to Volga Bulgaria,Ibn Fadlanbrought detailed reports of the Rus, claiming that some had converted toIslam.

According to the historianYaqut al-Hamawi,theBöszörmény(IzmaelitaorIsmaili /Nizari) denomination of the Muslims who lived in theKingdom of Hungaryin the 10th to 13th centuries, were employed as mercenaries by the kings of Hungary.

Hispania / Al-Andalus

See also:Umayyad conquest of Hispania

The interior of theCathedral of Cordoba,formerly theGreat Mosque of Córdobawas built in 742. It is one of the finest examples ofIslamic architecturein theUmayyadstyle; inspired the design of other Mosques inAl-Andalus.

The history of Arab and Islamic rule in the Iberian peninsula is probably one of the most studied periods of European history. For centuries after the Arab conquest, European accounts of Arab rule in Iberia were negative. European points of view started changing with theProtestant Reformation,which resulted in new descriptions of the period of Islamic rule in Spain as a "golden age" (mostly as a reaction against Spain's militant Roman Catholicism after 1500).

The tide of Arab expansion after 630 rolled through North Africa up to Ceuta in present-day Morocco. Their arrival coincided with a period of political weakness in the three-centuries-old kingdom established in the Iberian peninsula by the GermanicVisigoths,who had taken over the region after seven centuries of Roman rule. Seizing the opportunity, an Arab-led (but mostly Berber) army invaded in 711, and by 720 had conquered the southern and central regions of the peninsula. The Arab expansion pushed over the mountains into southern France, and for a short period Arabs controlled the old Visigothic province of Septimania (centered on present-day Narbonne). The Arab Caliphate was pushed back byCharles Martel(Frankish Mayor of the Palace) at Poitiers, and Christian armies started pushing southwards over the mountains, untilCharlemagneestablished in 801 the Spanish March (which stretched from Barcelona to present day Navarre).

A major development in the history of Muslim Spain was the dynastic change in 750 in the Arab Caliphate, when an Umayyad Prince escaped the slaughter of his family in Damascus, fled to Cordoba in Spain, and created a new Islamic state in the area. This was the start of a distinctly Spanish Muslim society, where large Christian and Jewish populations coexisted with an increasing percentage of Muslims. There are many stories of descendants of Visigothic chieftains and Roman counts whose families converted to Islam during this period. The at-first small Muslim elite continued to grow with converts, and with a few exceptions, rulers in Islamic Spain allowed Christians and Jews the right specified in the Koran to practice their own religions, though non-Muslims suffered from political and taxation inequities. The net result was, in those areas of Spain where Muslim rule lasted the longest, the creation of a society that was mostly Arabic-speaking because of the assimilation of native inhabitants, a process in some ways similar to the assimilation many years later of millions of immigrants to the United States into English-speaking culture. As the descendants of Visigoths and Hispano-Romans concentrated in the north of the peninsula, in the kingdoms of Asturias/Leon, Navarre and Aragon and started a long campaign known as the 'Reconquista' which started with the victory of the Christian armies inCovadongain 722. Military campaigns continued without pause. In 1085 Alfonso VI of Castille took back Toledo. In 1212 the crucialBattle of Las Navas de Tolosameant the recovery of the bulk of the peninsula for the Christian kingdoms. In 1238 James I of Aragon took Valencia. In 1236 the ancient Roman city ofCordobawas re-conquered by Ferdinand III of Castille and in 1248 the city ofSeville.The famous medieval epic poem 'Cantar de Mio Cid' narrates the life and deeds of this hero during theReconquista.

The Islamic state centered in Cordoba had ended up splintering into many smaller kingdoms (the so-called taifas). While Muslim Spain was fragmenting, the Christian kingdoms grew larger and stronger, and the balance of power shifted against the 'Taifa' kingdoms. The last Muslim kingdom of Granada in the south was finally taken in 1492 by Queen Isabelle of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon. In 1499, the remaining Muslim inhabitants were ordered to convert or leave (at the same time the Jews were expelled). Poorer Muslims (Moriscos) who could not afford to leave ended up converting to Catholic Christianity and hiding their Muslim practices, hiding from the Spanish Inquisition, until their presence was finally extinguished.

Balkans

See also:Rumelia,Balkans,andOttoman Empire

In Balkan history, historical writing on the topic of conversion to Islam was, and still is, a highly charged political issue. It is intrinsically linked to the issues of formation of national identities and rival territorial claims of the Balkan states. The generally accepted nationalist discourse of the current Balkan historiography defines all forms of Islamization as results of the Ottoman government's centrally organized policy of conversion ordawah.The truth is that Islamization in each Balkan country took place in the course of many centuries, and its nature and phase was determined not by the Ottoman government but by the specific conditions of each locality. Ottoman conquests were initially military and economic enterprises, and religious conversions were not their primary objective. True, the statements surrounding victories all celebrated the incorporation of territory into Muslim domains, but the actual Ottoman focus was on taxation and making the realms productive, and a religious campaign would have disrupted that economic objective.

Ottoman Islamic standards of toleration allowed for autonomous "nations" (millets) in the Empire, under their own personal law and under the rule of their own religious leaders. As a result, vast areas of the Balkans remained mostly Christian during the period of Ottoman domination. In fact, the Eastern Orthodox Churches had a higher position in the Ottoman Empire, mainly because the Patriarch resided in Istanbul and was an officer of the Ottoman Empire. In contrast, Roman Catholics, while tolerated, were suspected of loyalty to a foreign power (the Papacy). It is no surprise that the Roman Catholic areas of Bosnia, Kosovo and northern Albania, ended up with more substantial conversions to Islam. The defeat of the Ottomans in 1699 by the Austrians resulted in their loss of Hungary and present-day Croatia. The remaining Muslim converts in both elected to leave "lands of unbelief" and moved to territory still under the Ottomans. Around this point in time, new European ideas of romantic nationalism started to seep into the Empire, and provided the intellectual foundation for new nationalistic ideologies and the reinforcement of the self-image of many Christian groups as subjugated peoples.

As a rule, theOttomansdid not require followers of Greek Orthodoxy to becomeMuslims,although many did so in order to avert the socioeconomic hardships of Ottoman rule.One by one, the Balkan nationalities asserted their independence from the Empire, and frequently the presence of members of the same ethnicity who had converted to Islam presented a problem from the point of view of the now dominant new national ideology, which narrowly defined the nation as members of the local dominant Orthodox Christian denomination.Some Muslims in the Balkans chose to leave, whilemany others were forcefully expelledto what was left of the Ottoman Empire.This demographic transition can be illustrated by the decrease in the number of mosques inBelgrade,from over 70 in 1750 (before Serbian independence in 1815), to only three in 1850.

Immigration

Since the 1960s, many Muslims have migrated to Western Europe. They have arrived as immigrants,guest workers,asylum seekers or as part offamily reunification.As a result, theMuslim population in Europehas steadily risen.

APew Forumstudy, published in January 2011, forecast an increase of the proportion of Muslims in the European population from 6% in 2010 to 8% in 2030.

See also

• Al-Hallaj
• Sinbuya Asvari
• Muslim population growth
• History of Islam
• Converts to Islam
• Conversion to Islam in U.S. prisons
• Religious conversion
• Islamism
• List of converts to Islam
• Muslim conquests
• Islamic missionary activity
• Muslim world
• Islam by country

References

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