Islam as a World
Religion
There are no exact figures for the
number of Muslims in the world today. It seems clear, however, that in
terms of numbers Islam at least matches those of Christianity, the other
most widespread religion today.
From its heartlands in the Middle East
and North Africa the religion spread before the modern period to many
parts of sub-Saharan Africa, to central Asia, to the Indian
subcontinent, and to East and South East Asia. In Europe, Sicily and
most of Spain were part of the Islamic world during the Middle Ages, and
most of the Balkans came to be ruled by the Muslim Ottoman Empire, with
its capital at Istanbul, at various times between about 1300 and the end
of World War I. In modern times Islam has spread as a result of
emigration so that there are now large Muslim communities in parts of
western Europe, North America, South Africa, and Australia.
The Sunni form of the religion is
dominant in most countries apart from Iran, but there are large Shiite
populations in Iraq and Lebanon, in Bahrain and eastern Saudi Arabia,
and, to a lesser extent, in Central and South Asia.
It is a mistake to think that Islam has
always been spread by warfare. Although, as has been noted above, its
birth was associated with the Arab conquest of the Middle East and North
Africa in the 7th century, and although it entered the Balkans as a
result of the Ottoman expansion from 1300 onwards and spread in west
Africa following a jihad in the 18th century, the religion of Islam has
not generally been forced upon people by the sword. Periods of military
conquest have usually been aimed at expanding the territories under
Muslim rule rather than at forcing the conversion of non-Muslims to
Islam.
Conversion to Islam has usually
followed quite slowly, sometimes against the wishes of the Muslim
rulers, after a territory has come under Muslim rule. The adoption of
Islam as their religion has usually resulted from the wishes and actions
of people wanting to become Muslim, not because it was forced upon them
against their will. Why some people have been attracted to Islam and
others not is a complex question involving many different religious,
social, political,and economic factors. In some parts of the world,
trade and the cultural attraction of Islamic civilization have been as
important as preaching in the spread of the religion. Sufi brotherhoods
have also done much to spread the religion in particular areas.
Like Christianity (and like Buddhism)
Islam is a universal religion open to all irrespective of nationality,
gender or social status. Of course, normal ethnic and social divisions
exist among Muslims, but one of the attractions of Islam is its
insistence on the fundamental equality of all Muslims before God. One of
its greatest strengths has been the way in which various peoples have
been able to find a sense of their own identity in Islam.
"Islam," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 99
Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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