Islam Religion
by: Ryan Kopiasz
The Founder
Diffusion: Research and write about the diffusion of Islam. How did the relgion spread? Write about how the religion spread and the geographic areas that it spread through.
The Islamic religion was spread by trade routes from Mecca and Medina during and after Muhammad’s death. Islam spread into the Fertile Crescent, Iran, and Central Asia. This was made possible by weak Byzantine and Persian Empires that could not stop Islam from spreading into their areas.The Muslims were only unified for a short period of time. Within a few centuries, there were disputes over power and who should rule the Islamic Empire. Islam was spread more quickly through the use of Arabic, the common language for Muslims. Since the Quran was written in Arabic, all Muslims had to learn the same language, allowing for a
more rapid spread of the new religion. Slavery throughout the Islamic Empire was NOT based on race.All Editors will work together on a section comparing and contrasting Islam to Christianity, Islam to Judaism, Islam to Hinduism, Islam to Confucianism, and Islam to Taoism.
Islam to Christianity - Both inherited from Judaism a belief in one God who created the world and cares about the behavior and beliefs of human beings. Muhammad knew Christians in his lifetime and respected them along with Jews as "People of the Book." In the approximately 1,300 years of history since the life of the Prophet, the relationship between Christianity and Islam has rarely been harmonious. As it spread, the Muslim Empire quickly conquered much of the Judeo-Christian Holy Land and the Christian Byzantine Empire. The Christian Crusades of the 11th through 13th centuries, waged in large part against Muslims, served only to widen the divide between the two faiths.Constantinople, the "New Rome" and the center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, fell to the Turks in 1453 and has lived under Islamic rule ever since.
Islam to Judaism - Judaism, Islam and Christianity are collectively known as "Abrahamic religions" because they trace their history to the covenant God made with Abraham in the Hebrew Bible. People of the Islamic religion are called Muslims and the people of the Judaism religion are called Jewish.
Islam to Hinduism - They differ in many respects - including idol worship, monotheism and their history. Islam is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion, founded by Prophet Muhammad in the Middle East in the 7th century CE. Hinduism on the other hand is religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent in the pre-classical era (1500–500 BCE) and does not have a specific founder.
Islam to Confucianism - Muhammad was a monotheistic prophet and Confucius was a social philosopher. Confucius was a philosopher not a religious leader.
Islam to Taoism - Islam is monotheistic and believes in a transcendent God who is not of this world. Taoism is not monotheistic and it believes in a variety of deities and spirits which may or may not originate from this world, and particular ones may be more or less important to individuals.