Beginning of Islam Religion

The Islamic religion was begun in the year 610 by Prophet Muhammad.  His teachings gained popularity in the regions of Arabian Peninsula. After the death of Muhammad, Islam as a religion quickly extended to Egypt, West Africa, North Africa and Somalia. This expansion happened successfully due to the help of Military excursions known as “futuhat” or “openings” by the Islamic armies which opened other parts of the world to Islam. Another factor that contributed to this spreading of Islam is the political alliance of the Islamic nation (Fox, 2001). The political leadership imparted principles of morality that favored the people. This factor facilitated the victory of the militant groups as they conquered more countries beyond the Peninsula. Also, because trade and commerce were the main economic activities in that century, it resulted in the easy conversion of the merchants involved. 

The Islamic faith introduced gave people an opportunity to worship differently. They could either decide between the complex rituals and traditions of the pagan beliefs that existed or could opt for the simple faith of Islam which could be easily followed and clearly understood. This faith which was new brought with it a form of social fairness and equality which was readily embraced by the society. These reforms brought about a new structure of family and social security for communities and hence became popular. The pagan way of worship comprised of social disparities that did not favor the people and thus many converted to this new religion. 

The features that made Islam attractive include keeping a low profile and not making demands from anyone. Thus, the Muslims gained respect as they made a good first impression of their faith. Another factor is the fact that people saw Islam as a religion of peace since the Islamic Sharia Law wasn’t applied to anyone outside of the Muslim community. The religion made an effort to condemn any form of radicalism in the nation by Islam followers, and this attracted many people from North Africa, Persia or even the Byzantine territory. Also, the Islamic religion;s practice of helping the poor and disadvantaged in the society won many people over to this new belief system that was unlike any other religious system that they had before (Bloom ; Blair, 2001). If I were a North African, Byzantine or Persian in the year 800, I would find these features appealing and would have converted to Islam since they would give me an opportunity to escape the pagan way of worship.;

Spread of Religion

These features have slightly changed as the religion spread beyond Arabia. Also, Quran was transcribed from Muhammad;s spoken words. This development was undertaken by Abu Bakr and Umar who were the first Caliphs. The other change is the formation of Hadith which are traditions which are followed by Muslims around the globe. These developments differ slightly from that of the current world due to various interpretations of traditions by different leaders over the world.

Islam has spread around the world, and it continues to be popular among the nations. As long as it becomes tolerant to other religions, it will continue to progress and expand like in the period of a large scientific development. If it becomes hostile and intolerant, it will not progress much.

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References

Bloom, J. M., ; Blair, S. (2000). Islam: A thousand years of faith and power. TV Books Incorporated.

Fox, J. (2001). Religion as an overlooked element of international relations. International Studies Review, 3(3), 53-73.; ;