DBQ Spread of Islam
Reed Warnke
5/5/15
World History
DBQ #3
Why Did Islam Spread So Quickly? A new religion spreads across North Africa and The Middle East like wildfire in only 128 years. This sounds impossible, yet from 622750 C.E. Islamic territories expanded about 4fold.
How could such a religion become the second highest ranking religion in the world in only 1,393 years? Three main reasons that Islam so quickly are that Islam’s many writing, the Qur’an, have defined laws, military conquests by Muslim armies, and the Muslim holy city, Mecca, was at a crossroad for trade routes.
The Qur’an, Islam’s holy book has many teachings that have defined laws. It teaches about gender equality, the right of selfdefense, and property protection (Doc B). This led to many people favoring Islam over pagan religions, that they formerly worshipped. These laws let women have more rights during the expansion of Islamic territories.
Military conquests also helped Muslims spread their religion across Africa and the
Middle East. The Muslim armies nearly quadrupled their territory through conquests against the
Persians and Byzantines (Doc C). The Muslims easily conquered the two warring nations, as they had grown wary from war. The Muslims were also heavily liked by the civilians of the area, and soon adopted their religion (Doc F).
The third major reason for Islam’s spread was due to the fact that Mecca, the origin of
Islam and the hometown of Muhammad, was located at a crossroad of trade routes going to Asia,
Africa, and some of Europe (Doc C). This helped accelerate Islam spread by having travelers
pick up on the customs and religion established by Muhammad. The trade routes also let
Muslims travel easier from city to city, spreading their faith along the way.
After 1,393 years of expanding, you would think it would begin to shrink, but Islam is still growing in followers every day. Through humble begins and countless setbacks, Islam has stayed strong throughout the
5/5/15
World History
DBQ #3
Why Did Islam Spread So Quickly? A new religion spreads across North Africa and The Middle East like wildfire in only 128 years. This sounds impossible, yet from 622750 C.E. Islamic territories expanded about 4fold.
How could such a religion become the second highest ranking religion in the world in only 1,393 years? Three main reasons that Islam so quickly are that Islam’s many writing, the Qur’an, have defined laws, military conquests by Muslim armies, and the Muslim holy city, Mecca, was at a crossroad for trade routes.
The Qur’an, Islam’s holy book has many teachings that have defined laws. It teaches about gender equality, the right of selfdefense, and property protection (Doc B). This led to many people favoring Islam over pagan religions, that they formerly worshipped. These laws let women have more rights during the expansion of Islamic territories.
Military conquests also helped Muslims spread their religion across Africa and the
Middle East. The Muslim armies nearly quadrupled their territory through conquests against the
Persians and Byzantines (Doc C). The Muslims easily conquered the two warring nations, as they had grown wary from war. The Muslims were also heavily liked by the civilians of the area, and soon adopted their religion (Doc F).
The third major reason for Islam’s spread was due to the fact that Mecca, the origin of
Islam and the hometown of Muhammad, was located at a crossroad of trade routes going to Asia,
Africa, and some of Europe (Doc C). This helped accelerate Islam spread by having travelers
pick up on the customs and religion established by Muhammad. The trade routes also let
Muslims travel easier from city to city, spreading their faith along the way.
After 1,393 years of expanding, you would think it would begin to shrink, but Islam is still growing in followers every day. Through humble begins and countless setbacks, Islam has stayed strong throughout the