Religion Power Point By Catherine M And Diana M, A-block

The Spread of Christianity and Islam By Catherine Medlock and Diana Mojahed Fall 2009 AP World History A-block class

The Basics World religions do not only flourish in the land of their origin, but also are transported to faraway places by trade, missionaries, and conquests.  Islam was initially spread by Muhammad. After his death, the four caliphs spread Islam beyond Arabia and into North Africa, Spain, and south Asia.  Christianity began spreading with the efforts of Jesus. Paul became an important missionary after Jesus’ death. Also, as the Roman Empire expanded, Christianity spread with it. 

Brief History of Islam  Islam

was founded by Muhammad, a merchant from Mecca.  The angel Gabriel spoke to Muhammad when he was a trader. Muhammad spread his new belief and taught that Allah was the one and only God and that all other gods must be abandoned.  He preached in Mecca and later went on the Hijrah to Medina to continue to popularize his faith. He destroyed the Ka’abah, which was where Arabs traditionally worshipped hundreds of gods.

Spread of Islam by Muhammad

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Muhammad began to preach in Mecca

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Meccans, at the time, believed in hundreds of gods whom they worshipped in the Ka’abah

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Since his ideals were not accepted at first, Muhammad took any followers to Medina (the Hijrah) where his impressive leadership skills were seen and where he acquired more followers, before returning to Mecca with an army.

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Upon re-entering Mecca, Muhammad took over the Ka’aba and instated his beliefs, which did gain support at this point because the religion was better established.

Spread of Islam by the Four Caliphs 

After the death of Muhammad, Islam was governed by a succession of four caliphs

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Muhammad did not name any successors to take control after his death or establish a system for selecting one, so the four most respected Muslims of their times became the new caliphs, or successors.

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Abu Bakr, a close friend to Muhammad and active Islamic scholar, was the first caliph.

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Umar followed as the second caliph. Upon encountering the Jews and Christians in Jerusalem, he decided to treat with respect and allow them to retain their beliefs, for they were people of the book. The Muslims at this point took over Jerusalem.

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After Umar was Uthman who standardized the Koran. The final caliph was Ali who ruled the Abbasid caliphate from its capital in Baghdad.

Spread of Islam

Brief History of Christianity 

Christianity was founded by Jesus of Nazareth.

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Jesus was born in Nazareth in or around 4 B.C. E., which was a time when Judaea was unstable. Having visions of changing social traditions, Jesus set out at age thirty to start his own ministry.

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He claimed that there was a kingdom greater than Rome and that the poor would find relief and hope. His revolutionary ideas threatened to undermine social traditions that had existed for many years.

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When Jesus went to Jerusalem in 33 AD, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea, ordered his crucifixion after an outburst made by Jesus against the actions of the government.

Spread of Christianity by Missionaries 

Once he had founded his new ministry, Jesus traveled throughout Judaea preaching in the homes and synagogues of the poor.

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Circa 3 AD, Saul was determined to eliminate all followers of Jesus.

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While he was traveling from Jerusalem to Damascus, he claimed to have seen a bright light and then to have heard Jesus telling him to stop prosecuting Christians and become one himself.

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Saul changed his name to Paul and started to spread Chrisitianity. He traveled throughout the Roman Empire for the next 30 years preaching to the poor.

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The poor people of the empire were the perfect audience because they wanted to hear messages of hope and everlasting life.

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Unlike Jesus, Paul preached to both Jews and non-Jews. This was a major factor in the transformation of Christianity from a small sect of Judaism to a major world religion.

Rome Expanded the Boundaries of Christianity 

The Roman Empire facilitated the spread of Christianity by many means.  It conquered many lands and therefore included diverse cultures. Citizenship provided unity.  During the Pax Romana there was significant economic and cultural growth as people traveled and their ideas were spread.  An extensive network of roads encouraged travel.  The Roman army, which eventually came to include many Christians, spread the culture of Rome throughout the empire itself and beyond as it fought.  Christianity gave the great number of conquered peoples a sense of belonging, a mechanism for purification from sin, a daily practice of liturgy, and a path to immortality.  Specific emperors such as Constantine spread Christianity as individuals.

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Similarities Between Expansions  The

prophets of both Islam and Christianity (Muhammad and Jesus, respectively) believed that their word was the Word of God.

 The

spread of both religions helped to solve major conflicts.  Islam provided unity in the empires of the Middle East. This uniformity did not allow for racism.  Christianity gave those of the Roman Empire and beyond a sense of hope, for Jesus taught that if one followed the words of the Bible, contributed to charity, and acted kindly towards others, he would be rewarded.

Similarities Between Expansions (con’t)  Both

Christianity and Islam had a specific missionary who individually contributed a great deal to the spread of these new faiths.  These were Khalid ibn al-Walid and Paul.

 Trade

was a major factor in the expansion of both religions.  The trade of North Africa and the Middle East spread Islam.  The trade of the Roman Empire with the rest of the Mediterranean world spread Christianity.

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Conclusion  Islam

and Christianity are two major religions in the world.

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were each transformed from doctrines that had few adherents to the widely practiced belief systems they are now.

Bibliography Adams, Paul V, et al. Experiencing World History. New York: New York University Press, 2000. Print. Beck, Roger B, Linda Black, and Larry S Krieger. World History: Patterns of Interaction. Boston, Massachusetts: McDougal Littell, 1999. Print. "Early Christians." The Roman Empire In the First Century. PBS, 2006. Web. 17 http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/ christians.html>. Gordon, Matthew S. Islam: World Religions: Revised Edition. New York: Facts on "In the Fullness of Time: Christianity in the Roman Empire." History of Western Civilization. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2009. . "Islam: From The Beginning To 1300." International World History Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2009. . Stewart, Desmond. Early Islam. New York: Time Incoroporated, 1967.Print.

Oct. 2009. < File, Inc., 2001. Print.