Spread Of Islam Essay

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a Christian. I was raised in a Christian family, with Christian values, and Christian ways. So, I didn’t actually realize that there were other religions until I became old enough to have an understanding. And even still, I truly did not realize the enormity of other belief systems, like Judaism and Islam; until learning Global Studies last year. The nation of Islam contains 1.61 billion followers (known as Muslims). This makes Islam the second largest religion Europe and in the world, following Christianity. However, as with anything else, this did not all just suddenly occur. The spread of Islam began in 652 A.D., and the religion still is growing and growing.
The religion of Islam began in the seventh-century A.D., by the prophet Muhammad. The Muslims call this time period before Islam ‘Jahiliyya’, or ‘The Age of Ignorance[1].’ This was because the people living in Arabia at the time were mostly polytheistic and seen as immoral[2]. Muhammad’s birth town of Mecca was an important place in the world at this time, as it was at the crossroads of the caravan
But, what would happen when the prophet Muhammad died? When the Prophet died in 632, Abu Bakr, who knew Muhammad personally; became Islam’s first caliph, leader of an Islamic group and successor of Muhammad. Then, Bakr was succeeded by Umar ibn al-Khattab two years. Umar ibn al-Khattab was the man who really started the spread of Islam into other regions. The first event that made Europeans aware of Islam's coming important place in their lives was al-Khattab’s capture of Jerusalem . In 637, Jerusalem was a part of the Byzantine Empire, so this was a surprising blow to the very-much Christian empire of Byzantium. And almost 400 years later, this becomes a cause of the First