How did Islam spread so quickly?

Grade 7 Assessed task

Task adapted from worksheet by RJ Tarr: www.activehistory.co.uk

Background: www.wanderingword.com/.../20051017-IMG_0195.JPG

The death of Mohammed

• 632 AD, Mohammed dies• The Caliphs (this simply means

‘successor’) carried on spreading Islam• First 4 Caliphs had known Mohammed

personally!• 1st Caliph = Abu Bakr: completed conquest

of arabia• 2nd Caliph = Umar: leads attacks on

Persian Empire

Growth: from nothing to an empire stretching 1000’s of miles in 100 years!

So how did it do it?

• Military Factors – to do with how they fought and were led

• Religious Factors – to do with the religion of Islam

• Social Factors – to do with how people lived and how they treated others

1. Their enemies were weak

• The Persian and Byzantium Empires had been fighting against each other for 200 years!

2. Nomads

• Some of the Muslims were Nomads.

• They didn’t have a set home – they traveled from place to place

• Used to long travel and fighting in the desert

• Didn’t need a ‘HQ’ – they could simply make a base wherever they were!

3. Holy War

• Jihad means ‘Holy War’• Soldiers strongly believed they were fighting for

their religion• Therefore if they died then they would go to

heaven• This made Muslim soldiers very brave and

determined.• Persian and Byzantium soldiers tended to either

be slaves or hired to fight – these aren’t as determined and prepared to die for their Empire!

4. United armies

• Soldiers were united by a common set of beliefs: Islam

• They prayed together and were fighting for the same purpose

• A united ‘team’ is always more effective!

5. Tolerance

• At the time it was usual for conquering armies to abuse the local population

• In most cases the Muslim forces were remarkably tolerant for the time.

• Islam acknowledges and respects key figures in the Jewish and Christian faiths (e.g. Abraham and Jesus) and people were allowed to keep their own religion

• As a result many areas simply surrendered without a fight as people felt the new Muslim rulers would be better than the ones they had anyway!

Tasks

1. Draw a ‘Venn diagram’ and use it to categorize the reasons for the rapid spread of Islam.

2. Write your short (maximum 200 words) answer to the question: ‘How did Islam spread so rapidly?’

relating to human society and its members, how people live together

to do with weapons and war, fighting, how they fight, leadership in battle

Assessment: Criteria B

• How well do you understand the reasons for CHANGE

• The reasons for the Arab success need to be logically categorized

• Your 200 word maximum answer needs to show you understand the main reasons and show how they are LINKED together