Ask a Historian: Bennett Sherry

One of my students would like to know the answer to this question:

“In unit one, a large topic covered by your texts is the spread of the Islamic religion. I’ve always thought that during this time period, the population was very separated, and while there was interaction between countries and travelers, there was not much exchange of ideals or religions. Your writings for the second unit of this class corrected this thought, by showing the interconnectedness of Afro-Eurasia during this time through trade. While I now know about how connected the people of this time were, I don't think I have a good understanding on what allowed the Islamic religion to spread so quickly, and what made people accept it into their lives so suddenly?”

Another student is curious about this: “What would happen if the information they (historians) have on a topic in history was vague what would they do or use to support their claim?”

 Mehreen Jamal 

To add my 2 cents to what Hayden George  wrote: I agree, and I’d say that in my mind, the early and rapid expansion of Islam is a result of three factors. First: it expanded quickly for reasons similar to expansion of Christianity and Buddhism. Islam is a universal and missionary religion. Its adherents believe that it can apply to anyone, no matter where they live, and it is the duty of believers to spread the faith to new peoples and places. The universal/missionary faiths were truly revolutionary social technologies that transformed the trajectory of the world.

The second big reason, of course, was conquest. The Arab conquests under Muhammad and his successors in the 7^th and 8^th centuries spread Islamic governance from Portugal to India very quickly. Conquered peoples were sometimes treated tolerantly (especially “people of the book”), but there were big advantages to conversion, especially for local rulers and merchants. Which brings me to the third big reason for rapid expansion: trade.

Muslim merchant diasporas rapidly spread from China to West Africa, and they brought their new religious ideas along with them as they revitalized the routes of the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean trade. By the 8th century, Muslim merchants were active in China. Some sources claim the first mosque in China was built during the Tang Dynasty in the 7^th century (this is disputed and it was probably the 8^th or 9^th century). Around the 9^th century, Muslim merchants also arrived in West Africa along the Trans Saharan routes. For West African rulers and elites, like those in the Mali Empire, conversion to Islam held many benefits, including advantageous trade connections, prestigious diplomatic ties with the large Islamic empires to the north and east, and access to foreign scholars.

 Bennett Sherry and Hayden GeorgeThank you for your detailed comments, which provide valuable explanations about the diffusion of Islam. I will cover this topic in Big History and very soon in AP Human Geography.

In March, I will be traveling with students to Southern Spain and Morocco to explore, among other things, the diffusion of Islam in both countries, so your explanation will be especially valuable during the pre-departure sessions with my students.

Bennett Sherry 

Bennett Sherry