Islam 101

Lesson 2: The Development Of Islam

This lesson focuses on the growth of Islam as a political power, the influence of Islam on science and philosophy, and other religious traditions that grew out of Islam.

There is a common misconception – reinforced by centuries of prejudice – that Islam spread throughout the world using a policy of “conversion by the sword”. This is not entirely accurate. Though there certainly were Muslim rulers who espoused this idea, they were only politicians, and it may be argued that in truth they cared very little for Islam as a spiritual practice, seeing it only as a means for political control. As well, the use of religion as a political tool is hardly unique to this tradition, but rather has been employed around the world, throughout history.

True Muslims would certainly prefer a conversion based on sincere belief. Finally, most of those regions conquered by Muslim armies were delighted to come under the sway of this new regime, knowing they would be treated more fairly and with more dignity.

As well, you will be introduced to the major streams of Islam, and the traditions that have grown out of them. Like most major traditions, there is diversity in Islam – and there are several religions that were influenced by Islam, just as Islam was influenced by other traditions.

At the close of this lesson there will be two discussion questions and several multiple choice questions. Just like in the previous lesson, I hope you will find the discussion questions a useful help for understanding the lesson content, and the multiple choice questions for the retention of factual information.

The Spread of Islam

  Islam, in the time of the prophet, grew dramatically – though after his death the growth was even more explosive. Muhammad's role in uniting the Bedouin tribes under the banner of Islam was important, in that it created a large, common-minded group that had great potential in both physical and spiritual strength. It is important to note that this creation of a unified Bedouin (and eventually Arab) group occurred around the same time as the drastic weakening of its two large neighbors, the Byzantine and Persian empires. Following Muhammad the tribes were more fully unified under his successor, Abu Bakr.

Abu Bakr's reign was short – he died soon after Muhammad – and was followed by `Umar. Under this caliph (leader) the region Syria – at the time held by the Byzantines – was invaded. The high ranking aristocracy was defeated and removed, much to their dismay, but the common peoples – mostly Christians and Jews – were overjoyed. The Byzantine empire, which was Christian in religion, was oppressive to the people in Syria, as many of the occupying forces in the past had been. However, under Muslim rule they enjoyed much more freedom, as the Qur'an had specified. The were required only to pay a tax to their new leaders – much less than they had been asked to pay to their prior rules – and were allowed to practice their own religions in peace.

The conquest of Syria presented a pattern that would continue for years after the death of the prophet – the conquest of neighboring regions in a manner that was most beneficial to the local residents, driving out only those who had occupied the regions prior. In these early centuries Islam spread across northern Africa, and up into Spain. It continued to progress towards France, but was abruptly halted – however, Islam was the dominant religion on the Iberian peninsula for centuries. It also spread north from Arabia, where it pressed against the borders of the Byzantine empire.

In time, Islam would also spread to India, and for centuries much of India would be controlled by Muslim leaders. It was the Muslim leader Shah Jahan would build the famous Taj Mahal for his deceased wife – this architectural wonder was built in India. Also, many great religious syncreticisms occurred in this subcontinent, which will be discussed in a later lesson. Today Islam remains the second most practiced religion in India.

Islam also spread throughout Asia. The number of Muslims in China varies, dependent on the information that appears most trustworthy. Chinese Muslims report their own numbers to be one hundred million, while the Chinese government reports one tenth that number. Most agree that the number is somewhere between those figures, leaning towards the higher statistic. As well, it is interesting to note that in the modern day the majority of the world's Muslims do not reside in the Middle East, but rather in Indonesia. In recent decades there has been a great increase in the number of Muslims in that region, especially in Jakarta.

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