521 Islam Essay Topics & Examples

On this page, see Islamic essay topics for a variety of tasks. Anything from challenging titles to simple issues to talk about – find something that suits your assignment!

114 Islam Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Islam is one of the world's major religions, with over 1.8 billion followers worldwide. As a religion that has been around for centuries, Islam has a rich history and a wide range of beliefs and practices that can be explored through essays. Whether you are a student studying religion, a researcher looking to delve deeper into Islamic studies, or simply someone interested in learning more about Islam, here are 114 essay topic ideas and examples to help you get started.

  • The Five Pillars of Islam: An Overview
  • The Life of Prophet Muhammad: A Biography
  • The Quran: Understanding Islam's Holy Book
  • Islamic Art and Architecture: A Reflection of Faith
  • The Role of Women in Islam: A Historical Perspective
  • Jihad in Islam: A Controversial Concept
  • Sufism: Mystical Traditions in Islam
  • Islamic Law: Shari'a and Its Applications
  • The Sunni-Shia Divide: A Historical Analysis
  • Islamic Festivals and Celebrations: A Cultural Exploration
  • Islamophobia: Understanding and Combating Prejudice
  • The Spread of Islam: A Global Perspective
  • Islamic Ethics: Moral Values in Islam
  • Islamic Economics: Principles and Practices
  • Islamic Science and Medicine: Contributions to Human Knowledge
  • Islam and Modernity: Challenges and Opportunities
  • The Concept of Tawhid in Islam: Oneness of God
  • Islamic Environmentalism: The Ethical Dimension
  • Islamic Education: Traditional vs. Modern Approaches
  • The Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca
  • Islamic Calligraphy: Artistic Expressions of Faith
  • Islamic Music: Traditions and Influences
  • Islam in America: History and Controversies
  • Islamic Revivalism: Movements and Ideologies
  • The Role of Imams in Islam: Spiritual Leaders and Scholars
  • Islamic Feminism: Reinterpreting Gender Roles
  • Islam and Human Rights: A Critical Analysis
  • Islamic Philosophy: The Search for Wisdom
  • Islamic Cosmology: Understanding the Universe
  • Islam and Interfaith Dialogue: Building Bridges of Understanding
  • Islamic Mysticism: The Quest for Spiritual Enlightenment
  • Islamic Bioethics: Ethical Issues in Medicine and Science
  • Islam and Democracy: Compatibility or Conflict?
  • Islamic Revolutions: Political Movements in the Muslim World
  • Islam and Social Justice: Fighting Inequality and Oppression
  • Islamic Dress Codes: Modesty and Identity
  • Islamic Family Law: Marriage, Divorce, and Inheritance
  • Islam and Globalization: Impacts on Muslim Societies
  • Islamic Resurgence: Challenges to Secularism
  • The Concept of Ummah in Islam: Community and Solidarity
  • Islamic Humanism: Values and Principles for Humanity
  • Islam and Technology: Embracing Innovation
  • Islamic Charity: Zakat and Sadaqah
  • Islamic Education for Women: Empowering Muslim Girls
  • Islam and Science: Exploring the Intersection
  • Islamic Revivalism in Southeast Asia: Movements and Influences
  • The Role of Islamic Banking in the Global Economy
  • Islam and the Environment: Promoting Sustainability
  • Islamic Leadership: Qualities and Responsibilities
  • Islam in Africa: History and Diversity
  • Islamic Artifacts: Treasures of Islamic Civilization
  • Islamic Law in the Modern World: Challenges and Reforms
  • Islam and Mental Health: Addressing Stigma and Support
  • Islamic Calligraphy in Contemporary Art: Exploring New Aesthetics
  • Islam and Politics: The Role of Religion in Governance
  • Islamic Pilgrimage Sites: Sacred Spaces for Muslims
  • Islam and Social Media: Navigating Online Spaces
  • Islamic Poetry: Expressions of Faith and Love
  • Islam and Environmental Activism: Grassroots Movements
  • The Role of Women in Islamic History: Forgotten Voices
  • Islamic Education in the Digital Age: Challenges and Opportunities
  • Islam and the Arts: Exploring Creativity and Expression
  • Islamic Cosmopolitanism: Interactions and Exchanges
  • Islamic Humanitarianism: Responding to Global Crises
  • Islam and LGBTQ Rights: Navigating Controversies
  • Islamic Spirituality: Practices and Rituals
  • Islamic Fashion: Modesty and Style
  • Islam and Mental Health: Coping with Stress and Anxiety
  • Islamic Feminist Movements: Empowering Muslim Women
  • Islam and Disability Rights: Inclusivity and Accessibility
  • Islamic Bioethics in the 21st Century: Challenges and Solutions
  • Islam and Migration: Community Building and Identity
  • Islam and Social Justice Movements: Fighting for Equality
  • Islamic Environmental Ethics: Preserving the Planet
  • Islam and Animal Rights: Compassion and Care
  • Islamic Architecture in the Modern World: Building for the Future
  • Islam and Indigenous Rights: Respecting Traditional Knowledge
  • Islamic Philanthropy: Giving Back to the Community
  • Islam and Mental Health Stigma: Breaking the Silence
  • Islamic Feminist Theology: Reclaiming Women's Voices
  • Islam and Disability Inclusion: Creating Accessible Spaces
  • Islamic Bioethics and Reproductive Rights: Navigating Ethical Dilemmas
  • Islam and Environmental Activism: Protecting the Planet
  • Islamic Art and Identity: Exploring Cultural Expressions
  • Islam and LGBTQ Rights: Challenging Discrimination
  • Islamic Spirituality in the Digital Age: Embracing Technology
  • Islam and Mental Health Support: Resources and Services
  • Islamic Feminism and Social Justice: Intersectional Approaches
  • Islam and Disability Rights: Advocating for Inclusivity
  • Islamic Bioethics and Genetic Engineering: Ethical Considerations
  • Islam and Environmental Justice: Fighting for a Sustainable Future
  • Islamic Art and Globalization: Cultural Exchanges and Influences
  • Islam and LGBTQ Inclusion: Promoting Acceptance and Understanding
  • Islamic Spirituality and Mindfulness: Practices for Inner Peace
  • Islam and Mental Health Awareness: Breaking the Stigma
  • Islamic Feminism and Intersectionality: Empowering Marginalized Voices
  • Islam and Disability Rights Advocacy: Promoting Accessibility and Inclusion
  • Islamic Bioethics and End-of-Life Care: Ethical Considerations
  • Islam and Climate Justice: Addressing Environmental Challenges
  • Islamic Art and Urban Spaces: Exploring Creativity in the City
  • Islam and LGBTQ Rights Advocacy: Promoting Equality and Respect
  • Islamic Spirituality and Wellness: Holistic Approaches to Health
  • Islam and Mental Health Education: Raising Awareness and Support
  • Islamic Feminism and Anti-Racism: Challenging Oppression
  • Islam and Disability Rights Activism: Advocating for Change
  • Islamic Bioethics and Organ Transplantation: Ethical Issues
  • Islam and Environmental Sustainability: Promoting Green Practices
  • Islamic Art and Social Justice: Engaging Communities through Creativity
  • Islam and LGBTQ Inclusivity: Creating Safe Spaces for All
  • Islamic Spirituality and Self-Care: Practices for Well-Being
  • Islam and Mental Health Advocacy: Promoting Healing and Support
  • Islamic Feminism and Environmental Justice: Intersectional Approaches
  • Islam and Disability Rights Legislation: Promoting Equality and Access
  • Islamic Bioethics and Stem Cell Research: Ethical Considerations

These essay topic ideas and examples cover a wide range of aspects of Islam, from history and theology to contemporary issues and social justice. Whether you are looking to explore the foundations of the religion or delve into current debates and challenges facing Muslim communities, there is a wealth of topics to choose from. By delving into these essay topics, you can gain a deeper understanding of Islam and its impact on the world today.

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World history

Course: world history   >   unit 3.

  • The spread of Islam
  • The rise of Islamic empires and states
  • Spread of Islamic Culture

The development and spread of Islamic cultures

  • Key concepts: the spread of Islam
  • Focus on continuity and change: the spread of Islam
  • Towards the end of the Abbasid caliphate, the formerly vast and united Islamic empire became fragmented and decentralized.
  • Many different groups ruled areas previously held by the Abbasids.
  • Religious institutions became more defined during this period as state power waned.
  • Trade contributed to the spread of Islamic culture and led to a growing feeling of internationalism.

Political decentralization and fragmentation

The formation of diverse religious and state institutions, want to join the conversation.

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Good Answer

How Islam Spread Throughout the World

Published: December 14, 2018 • Updated: October 19, 2020

Author : Hassam Munir

How Islam Spread Throughout the World

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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1  Richard M. Eaton, “Islamic history as global history,” in Michael Adas, ed.,  Islamic and European Expansion: The Forging of a Global Order  (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1993), 12.

2  Michael Lipka, “Muslims and Islam: Key findings in the U.S. and around the world,”  Pew Research Center , 9 August 2017,  http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/09/muslims-and-islam-key-findings-in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world/ .

3  All quotations from the Qur ʾ ān in this article are taken from Mustafa Khattab,  The Clear Quran: A Thematic English Translation of the Message of the Final Revelation  (Lombard, IL: Book of Signs Foundation, 2016).

4   Abd al Wahid Dhanun Taha , “The Historical Process of the Spread of Islam,” in  The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture, Volume Three: The Spread of Islam throughout the World , eds. Idris El Hareir and El Hadji Ravane M’Baye (Paris: UNESCO, 2011), 134.

5  Abū Muhammad  ʿ Abd al-Malik ibn Hishām,  As-Sīra an-Nabawiyya , Vol. II, ed. Mustafa as-Saqqa et al. (Cairo: Matba ʿ at Mustafā al-Bāb ī  al- Halabī, 1936),  590.

6   They narrate that Abu Burda reported: “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, sent Mu’adh and himself to Yemen and he said, ‘Make things easy and do not make things difficult. Give glad tidings and do not repel people. Cooperate with each other and do not become divided.’” ( Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī  2873,  Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim  1733; see Abu Amina Elias, “ Hadith on Da’wah: Give glad tidings, make it easy, and remain united ,” ).

7  Taha, “The Historical Process of the Spread of Islam,” 134.

8  S. von Sicard, “Malagasy Islam: Tracing the History and Cultural Influences of Islam in Madagascar,”  Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs  31, no. 1 (2011): 102; Vincent J.H. Houben, “Southeast Asia and Islam,”  The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science   588 (2003): 153.

9  Ulrike Freitag, “Reflections on the Longevity of the Hadhrami Diaspora in the Indian Ocean,” in  The Hadhrami Diaspora in Southeast Asia: Identity Maintainance or Assimilation? , eds. Ahmed Ibrahim Abushouk and Hassan Ahmed Ibrahim  (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 22.

10  Rakhym Beknazarov, “Analysing the Spread of Islam in Western Kazakhstan through Architectural Monuments,”  Anthropology of the Middle East  3, no. 1 (Spring 2008): 35.

11  D.G. Tor, “The Islamization of Central Asia during the Sāmānid era and the reshaping of the Muslim world,”  Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies   72, no. 2 (2009): 288-9.

12  Rekha Chowdhary,  Jammu and Kashmir: Politics of Identity and Separatism  (New York: Routledge, 2014), 162; Muslims are reported to make up 97.16% of Indian-held Kashmir’s population, according to this source; Pakistan-held Kashmir is estimated to be 99% Muslim.

13  Sayyed M. F. Bukhari,  Kashmir Main Islam: Manzar Aur Pasmanzar  [Islam in Kashmir: Historical Context], (Srinagar: Maktaba  ʿ Ilm-o-Adab, 1998), 18.

14  Yoginder Sikand, “Hazrat Bulbul Shah: The First Known Muslim Missionary in Kashmir,”  Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs  20, no. 4 (2000): 363.

15   Baharistān-i-Shahī   [The Royal Garden] (Calcutta: Firma KLM), 22; this is a Persian chronicle written by an anonymous author, published c. 1614, and translated into English in Kashinath Pundit,  Baharistan-i-Shahi: A Chronicle of Mediaeval Kashmi r  (Srinagar: Gulshan Books, 2013).

16  Mohibbul Hasan,  Kashmir under the Sultans  (Srinagar: Ali Mohammad and Sons, 1974), 39.

17  Sikand, “Hazrat Bulbul Shah,” 366.

18  Ibid., 367.

19  Jamal J. Elias, “A second ʿAlī: the making of Sayyid ʿAlī Hamadānī in popular imagination,”  Muslim World  90, no. 3-4 (Fall 2000): 397.

20  Frode Jacobsen,  Hadrami Arabs in Present-day Indonesia  (New York: Routledge, 2009), 11.

21  Freitag, “Reflections on the Longevity of the Hadhrami Diaspora in the Indian Ocean,” 24.

22  Syed Farid Alatas, “The Tariqat Al-‘Alawiyya and the Emergence of the Shi‘i School in Indonesia and Malaysia,” paper presented at the conference ‘The Northwestern Indian Ocean as Cultural Corridor,’ Department of Social Anthropology, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, 17–19 January 1997, p. 8.

23  Samory Rashid, “The Islamic Origins of Spanish Florida’s Ft. Musa,”  Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs  21, no. 2 (2001): 211.

24  Sylviane A. Diouf,  Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas (15 th  Anniversary Edition)  (New York: New York University Press, 2013), 212.

25  Ibid., 213.

26  Ibid . , 212.

27  Mehrdad Shokoohy, “Architecture of the Sultanate of Ma’bar in Madura, and Other Muslim Monuments in South India,”  Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society  1, no. 1 (1991): 36.

28  A. D. W. Forbes, “Malabar,” in  Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition , Edited by P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W. P. Heinrichs.

29  Abū’l-Hasan al-Mas‘ūdī,  Murūj al-Dhahab   [Meadows of Gold], 2 Vols.   (Cairo, 1948), Vol. I, 170.

30  Stephen F. Dale, “Trade, Conversion and the Growth of the Islamic Community of Kerala, South India,”  Studia Islamica , no. 71 (1990): 162.

31  Zvi Ben Dor Benite, “Follow the white camel: Islam in China to 1800,” in David Morgan and Anthony Reid (eds.),  The New Cambridge History of Islam, Volume 3: The Eastern Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries  (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 413.

32  Hyunhee Park,  Mapping the Chinese and Islamic Worlds: Cross-Cultural Exchange in Pre-Modern Asia  (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 32.

33  Ibid., 70.

34  Ibid., 62.

35  Geoff Wade, “An Early Age of Commerce in Southeast Asia, 900-1300 CE,”  Journal of Southeast Asian Studies  40, no. 2 (2009): 231.

36  Michael Flecker, “A ninth century AD Arab or Indian shipwreck in Indonesia: First evidence for direct trade with China,”  World Archaeology  32, no. 3 (2001): 335-54.

37  S. Setudeh-Nejad, “The Cham Muslims of Southeast Asia: A Historical Note,”   Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs  22, no. 2 (2002): 452.

38  Geoff Wade, “Early Muslim expansion in South-East Asia, eighth to fifteenth centuries,” in  The New Cambridge History of Islam, Volume 3: The Eastern Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries , eds. David Morgan and Anthony Reid (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 402.

39  Engseng Ho,  The Graves of Tarim: Genealogy and Mobility across the Indian Ocean  (Los Angeles: University of California Press),  48.

40  Freitag, “Reflections on the Longevity of the Hadhrami Diaspora in the Indian Ocean,” 24.

41  Ibid.

42  Armando Cortesão,  The Suma Oriental of Tomé Pires , 1512-1515  (Laurier Books Ltd., 1990),  lxxv .

43  M. Hadzijahic and N. Šukric,  Islam I Muslimani u Bosni I Hercegovini   [Islam and Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina] (Sarajevo: Starješinstvo Islamske Zajednice, 1977), 21.

44   Smail Balic , “Islam in Eastern and South-East Europe,” in Idris El Hareir and El Hadji Ravane M’Baye (eds.),  The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture, Volume Three: The Spread of Islam Throughout the World  (Paris: UNESCO, 2011), 788.

45  Katarína Štulrajterová, “Convivenza, Convenienza and Conversion: Islam in Medieval Hungary (1000-1400 CE),”  Journal of Islamic Studies  24, no. 2 (2013): 182-3.

46  Nora Berend, “A Note on the End of Islam in Medieval Hungary: Old Mistakes and Some New Results,”  Journal of Islamic Studies  25, no. 2 (2014): 206.

47  Waines,  The Odyssey of Ibn Battuta , 85-90.

48  H. Neville Chittick, “The East Coast, Madagascar and the Indian Ocean,” in Roland Oliver (ed.),  The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3: From c. 1050 to c. 1600   (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977), 201-4.

49  Hamad S. Ndee, “Islam and Islamic Culture: Earliest Foreign Influences on Physical Activity in Pre-Colonial East Africa,”  The International Journal of the History of Sport  27, no. 5 (2010): 804.

50  Martin Meredith,  The Fortunes of Africa: A 5,000-Year History of Wealth, Greed, and Endeavor  (London, UK: Simon & Schuster, 2014), 70-79.

51  Michael Brett, “Egypt”, in Chase F. Robinson (ed.),  The New Cambridge History of Islam, Volume 1: The Formation of the Islamic World, Sixth to Eleventh Centuries  (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 557.

52  Ibid.

53  Eric Ross, “A Historical Geography of the Trans-Saharan Trade,” in Graziano Krätli and Ghislaine Lydon (eds.),  The Trans-Saharan Book Trade: Manuscript Culture, Arabic Literacy and Intellectual History in Muslim Africa  (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 15.

54  Ibid., 16.

55  For an account of Barth’s travels, see Steve Kemper,  A Labyrinth of Kingdoms: 10,000 Miles through Islamic Africa  (W.W. Norton & Company, 2012).

56  Lings,  Muhammad , 81.

57  Diouf,  Servants of Allah , 70.

58  Ibid.

59  Samory Rashid, “The Islamic Origins of Spanish Florida’s Ft. Musa,”   Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs  21, no. 2 (2001): 209.

60  Dalia Mogahed and Youssef Chouhoud,  American Muslim Poll 2017: Muslims at The Crossroads   (Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, 2017); retrieved from  https://www.ispu.org/american-muslim-poll-2017-key-findings/ .

61  Ira M. Lapidus,  A History of Islamic Societies   (2nd   ed.)  (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 760.

62  Markus Vink, ““The World’s Oldest Trade”: Dutch Slavery and Slave Trade in the Indian Ocean in the Seventeenth Century,”  Journal of World History  14, no. 2 (2003): 139.

63  Ibid., 148.

64  Gerrie Lubbe, “Tuan Guru: Prince, Prisoner, Pioneer,”  Religion in South Africa  7, no. 1 (1986): 25.

65  Roman Loimeier, “Africa south of the Sahara to the First World War,” in Francis Robinson (ed.),  The New Cambridge History of Islam, Volume 5: The Islamic World in the Age of Western Dominance  (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 293.

66  Ibid.

67  Jan Ali, “Islam and Muslims in Fiji,”  Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs  24, no. 1 (2004): 141.

68  Anwarul Q. Rathur, “Muslim Encounter Down Under: Islam in Western Australia,”  Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs Journal   1, no. 1 (1979): 103.

69  Hassam Munir, “Meet Ali Abouchadi, the trailblazing Canadian Muslim,”  iHistory , retrieved from  http://www.ihistory.co/ali-ahmed-abouchadi/ ; see also, Peter Baker,  Memoirs of an Arctic Arab: A Free Trader in the Canadian North, The Years 1907-1927   (Yellowknife Publishing Company, 1976).

70  Maya Shatzmiller, “Marriage, Family, and the Faith: Women’s Conversion to Islam,”  Journal of Family History  21, no. 3 (July 1996): 235. 

71  Eduardo Manzano Moreno, “The Iberian Peninsula and North Africa,” in Chase F. Robinson (ed.),  The New Cambridge History of Islam, Volume 1: The Formation of the Islamic World, Sixth to Eleventh Centuries   (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 587.

72  See, for details, Simon Barton, “Marriage across frontiers: sexual mixing, power and identity in medieval Iberia,”  Journal of Medieval Iberian Studies  3, no. 1 (2011): 1-25.

73  David James,  Early Islamic Spain: The  History  of Ibn al-Qu ṭ iya  (New York: Routledge, 2009), 50-51.

74  Moreno, “The Iberian Peninsula and North Africa,” 586-7.

75  Eric Dursteler, “Fatima Hatun n é e Beatrice Michiel: Renegade Women in the Early Modern Mediterranean,”  The Medieval History Journal   12, no. 2 (2009): 375.

76  Ibid., 372.

77  Gabriella Erdélyi, “Turning Turk as a Rational Decision in the Hungarian-Ottoman Frontier Zone,”  The Hungarian Historical Review  4, no. 2 (2015): 333.

78  Ibid., 323.

79  Charu Gupta, “Intimate Desires: Dalit Women and Religious Conversions in Colonial India,”  The Journal for Asian Studies  73, no. 3 (August 2014): 678.

80  Ibid.

81  Lawrence Oschinsky, “Islam in Chicago: Being a Study of the Acculturation of a Muslim Palestinian Community in that City,” MA thesis (University of Chicago, 1947), 35.

82  Jonathan Friedlander, “The Yemenis of Delano: A Profile of a Rural Islamic Community,” in  Muslim Communities in North America , eds. Y.Y. Haddad and J. I. Smith (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994), 441.

83  Patrick D. Bowen, “U.S. Latina/o Muslims Since 1920: From ‘Moors’ to ‘Latino Muslims,’”  Journal of Religious History   37, no. 2 (June 2013): 181.

84  Ibid.

85  Anita M. Weiss, “South Asian Muslims in Hong Kong: creation of ‘local boy’ identity,”   Modern Asian Studies , 25, no. 3 (1991): 432.

86  Sithi Hawwa, “From Cross to Crescent: religious conversion of Filipina domestic workers in Hong Kong,”   Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations  11, no. 3 (2000):  353.

87  Martin Lings,  Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources  (Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 1991), 109-10.

88  Zafar Bangash,  Power Manifestations of the Sīrah: Examining the Letters and Treaties of the Messenger of Allah  (ﷺ)   (Richmond Hill: Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought, 2011), 225-6.

89  Hugh Kennedy,  The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In  (Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, 2007), 93.

90  Thomas A. Carlson, “The Geography of Islamization in Syria, 600-1500,”  Journal of the American Oriental Society  135, no. 4 (2015): 791.

91 David Cook, “The Beginnings of Islam in Syria during the Umayyad Period,” Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 2002, p. 280.

92  Chase F. Robinson,  ʿ Abd al-Malik  (London: Oneworld Publications, 2012), ch. 6.  

93  Tan Ta Sen,  Cheng Ho and Islam in Southeast Asia  (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2009), 171.

94  For a detailed discussion about these contributions, see Kong Yuanzhi, “On the Relationship between Cheng Ho and Islam in Southeast Asia,”  Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia  10 (2008),  https://kyotoreview.org/issue-10/on-the-relationship-between-cheng-ho-and-islam-in-southeast-asia/ .

95 This is based on the CIA Factbook’s estimate for 2014.

96  Dawn-Marie Gibson,  A History of the Nation of Islam: Race, Islam and the Quest for Freedom  (Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2012), 77.

97  Kambiz GhaneaBassiri,  A History of Islam in America: From the New World to the New World Order  (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010),   288.

98  Felicitas Becker, “Commoners in the process of Islamization: reassessing their role in the light of evidence from southeastern Tanzania,”  Journal of World History  3 (2008): 236.

99  Ibid., 239.

100  Ibid.

101  Patricia Crone,  Slaves on Horses: The Evolution of the Islamic Polity  (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980), 237 n. 358.

102  John Nawas, “A Client’s Client: The Process of Islamization in Early and Classical Islam,”  Journal of Abbasid Studies  1 (2014): 144.

103  Alwyn Harrison, “Behind the Curve: Bulliet and Conversion to Islam in al-Andalus Revisited,”  Al-Masāq  24, no. 1 (2012): 39.

104  Richard W. Bulliet,   Conversion to Islam In the Medieval Period: An Essay in Quantitative History  ( Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1979),  28.

105   Bahjat Kamil Abd al-Latif , “The Prophet Muhammad and the Universal Message of Islam,” in Idris El Hareir and El Hadji Ravane M’Baye (eds.),  The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture, Volume Three: The Spread of Islam Throughout the World  (Paris: UNESCO, 2011), 39.

106   Richard M. Eaton,  The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier , 1204-1760  (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993),  127.

107  Ahmed Afzaal, “The Origin of Islam as a Social Movement,”   Islamic Studies  42, no. 2 (Summer 2003): 225.

108  See, for example, Fred M. Donner,  Muhammad and the Believers: At the Origins of Islam  (Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2010), 41.

109  Ismā‘īl ibn Kathīr, Trevor Le Gassick (trans.), and Ahmed Fareed (ed.),  The Life of the Prophet Muhammad, Volume I:   Al-S ī ra al-Nabawiyya   (Reading, UK: Garnet Publishing, 1998), 358.

110   Abdallah Salem al-Zelitny , “Islam in Afghanistan,” in Idris El Hareir and El Hadji Ravane M’Baye (eds.),  The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture, Volume Three: The Spread of Islam throughout the World  (Paris: UNESCO, 2011), 595-6.

111  Peter Hardy, “Modern European and Muslim Explanations of Conversion to Islam in South Asia: A Preliminary Survey of the Literature,”   Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland , no. 2 (1977): 188; Niharranjan Ray, “Medieval Bengali Culture,”  Vis v a Bharati Quarterly  11, no. 2 (1945): 49.

112  Guity Nashat, “Women in the Middle East, 8,000 BCE to 1700 CE,” in Teresa A. Meade and Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks (eds.),  A Companion to Gender History  (Oxford: Wiley, 2004), 245-6.

113  Dursteler, “Fatima Hatun,” 363.

114  Ibid.

115  David Motadel,  Islam and Nazi Germany’s War   (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2014), 213.

116  Ibid.

117  Mark S. Hamm, “Prisoner Radicalization and Sacred Terrorism: A Life Course Perspective,” in Richard Rosenfeld, Kenna Quinet, and Crystal Garcia (eds.),  Contemporary Issues in Criminology Theory and Research: The Role of Social Institutions  (Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012), 174.

118  SpearIt,  American Prisons: A Critical Primer on Culture and Conversion to Islam  (Sarasota: First Edition Design Publishing, 2017), 13.

119  SpearIt, “Muslim Radicalization in Prison: Responding with Sound Penal Policy or the Sound of Alarm?”  Gonzaga Law Review  49, no. 1 (2014): 37.

120  Selçuk Esenbel, “Fukushima Yasumasa and Utsunomiya Tarō on the Edge of the Silk Road: Pan-Asian Visions and the Network of Military Intelligence from the Ottoman and Qajar Realms into Central Asia,” in Selçuk Esenbel (ed.),  Japan on the Silk Road: Encounters and Perspectives of Politics and Culture in Eurasia  (Leiden: Brill, 2018), 103.

121  Mikiya Koyagi, “The Hajj by Japanese Muslims in the Interwar Period: Japan’s Pan-Asianism and Economic Interests in the Islamic World,”  Journal of World History  24, no. 4 (2013): 859.

122  Ibid., 850.

123  Ismā ʿ īl Nawwāb, “A Matter of Love: Muhammad Asad and Islam,”  Islamic Studies  39, no. 2 (2000): 230.

124  Ibid., 171.

125  Malcolm X,  The Autobiography of Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley  (New York: Ballantine Books, 1973), 396.

126  One person who was drawn to Mali based on reports he had heard was the famous traveler Ibn Battūtah, who visited in 1352; see David Waines,  The Odyssey of Ibn Battuta: Uncommon Tales of a Medieval Adventurer  (London: I.B. Taurus, 2010), 172.

127  John Hunwick,  Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire:   Al-Sa ʿ dī’s Ta ʾ rīkh al-Sūdān Down to 1613 and Other Contemporary Documents   (Leiden: Brill, 2003),  lvi .

128  Brent Singleton, “That Ye May Know Each Other”: Late Victorian Interactions between British and West African Muslims,”  Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs  29, no. 3 (2009): 374.

129  Ibid., 376.

130  “Sierra Leone Mohammedan in Liverpool,”  Sierra Leone Weekly News , February 3, 1894, p. 5.

131  Umar Faruq Abd-Allah, “Islam and the Cultural Imperative , ” Nawawi Foundation, 2004, p. 1, retrieved via the University of Alberta from  http://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/amcdouga/Hist347/additional%20rdgs/article%20culture%20imperative.pdf .

132  Taqī al-Dīn i bn Taymīyah, in Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Qāsim (ed.),  Majmū’ al-Fatāwà , v. 29  (Madīnah: Majmaʻ al-Malik Fahd li-Ṭibāʻat al-Muṣḥaf al-Sharīf, 1995), 16-17.

133  Richard M. Eaton,  The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204-1760  (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), 315.

134  See, for ex a mple, Gabriele Marranci, “Multiculturalism, Islam and the Clash of Civilizations Theory: Rethinking Islamophobia,”  Culture and Religion  5, no. 1 (2004).

135  For a discussion on the merits and shortcomings of Gramsci’s concept of cultural hegemony, see T. J. Jackson Lears, “The Concept of Cultural Hegemony: Problems and Possibilities,”  The American Historical Review   90, no. 3 (1985): 567-593.

136  Ronit Ricci, “Translating Conversion in South and Southeast Asia: The Islamic  Book of One Thousand Questions  in Javanese, Tamil and Malay,” PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2006, p. 3.

137  Ronit Ricci, “Conversion to Islam on Java and the  Book of One Thousand Questions ,”  Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde   146, no. 1 (2009): 28-9.

138  Becker, “Commoners in the process of Islamization,” 233.

139  Michael Lambek, “Certain Knowledge, Contestable Authority: Power and Practice on the Islamic Periphery,”  American Ethnologist  17, no. 1 (February 1990): 34.

140  Ishayahu Landa, “New Light on Early Mongol Islamisation: The Case of Arghun Aqa’s Family,”  Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society  28, no. 1 (2018): 77.

141   Yoni Brack, “A Mongol Princess Making Hajj: The Biography of El Qutlugh Daughter of Abagha Ilkhan (r. 1265-82),”  Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society   21, no. 3 (2011): 333.

142  Ibid., 358-9.

143  Ibid., 334.

144  The exact date of Cobbold’s conversation of the Pope is not recorded, though it must have occurred before the publication of her book,  Pilgrimage to Mecca ,  in 1934, since she mentioned it therein.

145  Marcia Hermansen, “Roads to Mecca: Conversion Narratives of European and Euro-American Muslims,”  The Muslim World  89, no. 1 (January 1999): 60.

146  Thomas A. Carlson, “When did the Middle East become Muslim? Trends in the study of Islam's “age of conversions,”  History Compass  16 (2018): 4-5.  

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7.2: Spread of Islam

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Learning Objective

  • Discuss the spread of Islam and identify how the caliphs maintained authority over conquered territories
  • The expansion of the Arab Empire in the years following the Prophet Muhammad’s death led to the creation of caliphates, who occupied a vast geographical area and sought converts to Islamic faith.
  • The people of the Islamic world created numerous sophisticated centers of culture and science with far-reaching mercantile networks, travelers, scientists, hunters, mathematicians, doctors, and philosophers.

Historians distinguish between two separate strands of converts of the time. One is animists and polytheists of tribal societies of the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile crescent; the other is the monotheistic populations of the Middle Eastern agrarian and urbanized societies.

  • The Arab conquerors generally respected the traditional middle-Eastern pattern of religious pluralism with regard to the conquered populations, respecting the practice of other faiths in Arab territory, although widespread conversions to Islam came about as a result of the breakdown of historically religiously organized societies.

An Islamic leadership position, most commonly in the context of a worship leader of a mosque and Sunni Muslim community.

Zoroastrianism

an ancient Iranian religion and religious philosophy that arose in the eastern ancient Persian Empire, when the religious philosopher Zoroaster simplified the pantheon of early Iranian gods into two opposing forces.

The expansion of the Arab Empire in the years following the Prophet Muhammad’s death led to the creation of caliphates occupying a vast geographical area. Conversion to Islam was boosted by missionary activities, particularly those of Imams, who easily intermingled with local populace to propagate religious teachings. These early caliphates, coupled with Muslim economics and trading and the later expansion of the Ottoman Empire, resulted in Islam’s spread outwards from Mecca towards both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the creation of the Muslim world. Trading played an important role in the spread of Islam in several parts of the world, notably southeast Asia.

Muslim dynasties were soon established and subsequent empires such as those of the Abbasids, Fatimids, Almoravids, Seljukids, and Ajurans, Adal and Warsangali in Somalia, Mughals in India, Safavids in Persia, and Ottomans in Anatolia were among the largest and most powerful in the world. The people of the Islamic world created numerous sophisticated centers of culture and science with far-reaching mercantile networks, travelers, scientists, hunters, mathematicians, doctors, and philosophers, all contributing to the Golden Age of Islam. Islamic expansion in South and East Asia fostered cosmopolitan and eclectic Muslim cultures in the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China.

Within the first century of the establishment of Islam upon the Arabian Peninsula and the subsequent rapid expansion of the Arab Empire during the Muslim conquests, one of the most significant empires in world history was formed. For the subjects of this new empire, formerly subjects of the greatly reduced Byzantine and obliterated Sassanid empires, not much changed in practice. The objective of the conquests was of a practical nature more than anything else, as fertile land and water were scarce in the Arabian Peninsula. A real Islamization therefore only came about in the subsequent centuries.

Conversions to Islam

For the polytheistic and pagan societies, apart from the religious and spiritual reasons each individual may have had, conversion to Islam “represented the response of a tribal, pastoral population to the need for a larger framework for political and economic integration, a more stable state, and a more imaginative and encompassing moral vision to cope with the problems of a tumultuous society.” In contrast, for sedentary and often already monotheistic societies, “Islam was substituted for a Byzantine or Sassanian political identity and for a Christian, Jewish or Zoroastrian religious affiliation.” Initially, conversion was neither required nor necessarily wished for: “[The Arab conquerors] did not require the conversion as much as the subordination of non-Muslim peoples. At the outset, they were hostile to conversions because new Muslims diluted the economic and status advantages of the Arabs.”

Only in subsequent centuries, with the development of the religious doctrine of Islam and with that the understanding of the Muslim Ummah, did mass conversion take place. The new understanding by the religious and political leadership led in many cases to a weakening or breakdown of the social and religious structures of parallel religious communities such as Christians and Jews. With the weakening of many churches, for example, and with the favoring of Islam and the migration of substantial Muslim Turkish populations into the areas of Anatolia and the Balkans, the “social and cultural relevance of Islam” were enhanced and a large number of peoples were converted.

During the Abbasid Caliphate, expansion ceased and the central disciplines of Islamic philosophy, theology, law, and mysticism became more widespread, and the gradual conversions of the populations within the empire occurred. Significant conversions also occurred beyond the extents of the empire, such as that of the Turkic tribes in Central Asia and peoples living in regions south of the Sahara in Africa through contact with Muslim traders active in the area and Sufi orders. In Africa it spread along three routes—across the Sahara via trading towns such as Timbuktu, up the Nile Valley through the Sudan up to Uganda, and across the Red Sea and down East Africa through settlements such as Mombasa and Zanzibar. These initial conversions were of a flexible nature.

The Arab-Muslim conquests followed a general pattern of nomadic conquests of settled regions, whereby conquering peoples became the new military elite and reached a compromise with the old elites by allowing them to retain local political, religious, and financial authority. Peasants, workers, and merchants paid taxes, while members of the old and new elites collected them.

image

Policy Toward Non-Muslims

The Arab conquerors did not repeat the mistake made by the Byzantine and Sasanian empires, who had tried and failed to impose an official religion on subject populations, which had caused resentments that made the Muslim conquests more acceptable to them. Instead, the rulers of the new empire generally respected the traditional middle-Eastern pattern of religious pluralism, which was not one of equality but rather of dominance by one group over the others. After the end of military operations, which involved the sacking of some monasteries and confiscation of Zoroastrian fire temples in Syria and Iraq, the early caliphate was characterized by religious tolerance, and people of all ethnicities and religions blended in public life. Before Muslims were ready to build mosques in Syria, they accepted Christian churches as holy places and shared them with local Christians. In Iraq and Egypt, Muslim authorities cooperated with Christian religious leaders. Numerous churches were repaired and new ones built during the Umayyad era.

Some non-Muslim populations did experience persecution, however. After the Muslim conquest of Persia, Zoroastrians were given dhimmi (non-Muslim) status and subjected to persecutions; discrimination and harassment began in the form of sparse violence. Zoroastrians were made to pay an extra tax called Jizya; if they failed, they were killed, enslaved, or imprisoned. Those paying Jizya were subjected to insults and humiliation by the tax collectors. Zoroastrians who were captured as slaves in wars were given their freedom if they converted to Islam.

  • Boundless World History. Authored by : Boundless. Located at : https://www.boundless.com/world-history/textbooks/boundless-world-history-textbook/ . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Essays

  • Trade and the Spread of Islam in Africa

Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas , The Metropolitan Museum of Art

October 2001

Multiple Trajectories of Islam in Africa Islam had already spread into northern Africa by the mid-seventh century A.D., only a few decades after the prophet Muhammad moved with his followers from Mecca to Medina on the neighboring Arabian Peninsula (622 A.D./1 A.H.). The Arab conquest of Spain and the push of Arab armies as far as the Indus River culminated in an empire that stretched over three continents, a mere hundred years after the Prophet’s death. Between the eighth and ninth centuries, Arab traders and travelers, then African clerics, began to spread the religion along the eastern coast of Africa and to the western and central Sudan (literally, “Land of Black people”), stimulating the development of urban communities. Given its negotiated, practical approach to different cultural situations, it is perhaps more appropriate to consider Islam in Africa in terms of its multiple histories rather then as a unified movement.

The first converts were the Sudanese merchants, followed by a few rulers and courtiers (Ghana in the eleventh century and Mali in the thirteenth century). The masses of rural peasants, however, remained little touched. In the eleventh century, the Almoravid intervention , led by a group of Berber nomads who were strict observers of Islamic law, gave the conversion process a new momentum in the Ghana empire and beyond. The spread of Islam throughout the African continent was neither simultaneous nor uniform, but followed a gradual and adaptive path. However, the only written documents at our disposal for the period under consideration derive from Arab sources (see, for instance, accounts by geographers al-Bakri and Ibn Battuta).

Islamic Influence on African Societies Islamic political and aesthetic influences on African societies remain difficult to assess. In some capital cities, such as Ghana and Gao, the presence of Muslim merchants resulted in the establishment of mosques. The Malian king Mansa Musa (r. 1312–37) brought back from a pilgrimage to Mecca the architect al-Sahili, who is often credited with the creation of the Sudano-Sahelian building style. Musa’s brother, Mansa Sulaiman, followed his path and encouraged the building of mosques, as well as the development of Islamic learning. Islam brought to Africa the art of writing and new techniques of weighting. The city of Timbuktu, for instance, flourished as a commercial and intellectual center, seemingly undisturbed by various upheavals. Timbuktu began as a Tuareg settlement, was soon integrated into the Mali empire , then was reclaimed by the Tuareg, and finally incorporated into the Songhai empire . In the sixteenth century, the majority of Muslim scholars in Timbuktu were of Sudanese origin. On the continent’s eastern coast, Arabic vocabulary was absorbed into the Bantu languages to form the Swahili language. On the other hand, in many cases conversion for sub-Saharan Africans was probably a way to protect themselves against being sold into slavery, a flourishing trade between Lake Chad and the Mediterranean. For their rulers, who were not active proselytizers, conversion remained somewhat formal, a gesture perhaps aimed at gaining political support from the Arabs and facilitating commercial relationships. The strongest resistance to Islam seems to have emanated from the Mossi and the Bamana , with the development of the Ségou kingdom. Eventually, sub-Saharan Africans developed their own brand of Islam, often referred to as “African Islam,” with specific brotherhoods and practices.

Local Mixes of Islamic and African Aesthetics Because of its resistance to the representation of people and animals , the nature of Islam’s interaction with the visual arts in Africa was one in which Islamic forms were accommodated and adapted. Muslim clerics’ literacy and esoteric powers drew scores of converts to Islam. Sub-Saharan Muslim clerics known as marabouts began fabricating amulets with Qur’anic verses, which came to displace indigenous talismans and medicinal packets. These amulets are featured in the design of many traditional African artifacts.

Islam also reinforced the African fondness for geometric design and the repetition of patterns in decorating the surface of textiles and crafted objects. Local weaving may have been transformed with the importation of North African weaving techniques.

Islam has also often existed side by side with representational traditions such as masquerading. Such practices have often been viewed as supplemental rather than oppositional to Islam, particularly when they are seen as effective or operating outside of the central concerns of the faith. An early example of this was noted by Ibn Battuta, the Maghribi scholar who visited Mali in 1352–53 and witnessed a masquerade performance at the royal court of its Muslim king. In many areas of Africa, the coexistence of Islam with representational art forms continues today. But although Islam has influenced a wide range of artistic practices in Africa since its introduction, monumental architecture is the best-preserved legacy of its early history on the continent. Mosques are the most important architectural examples of the tremendous aesthetic diversity generated by the interaction between African peoples and Islamic faith.

Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Trade and the Spread of Islam in Africa.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tsis/hd_tsis.htm (October 2001)

Further Reading

Bravmann, René A. Islam and Tribal Art in West Africa . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1974.

Additional Essays by Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

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  • Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Indian Knoll (3000–2000 B.C.) .” (October 2003)
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  • Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ African Rock Art: The Coldstream Stone .” (October 2000)
  • Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Apollo 11 (ca. 25,500–23,500 B.C.) and Wonderwerk (ca. 8000 B.C.) Cave Stones .” (October 2000)
  • Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ The Monumental Stelae of Aksum (3rd–4th Century) .” (October 2000)
  • Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Tikal .” (October 2001)
  • Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Tikal: Sacred Architecture .” (October 2001)
  • Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Tikal: Stone Sculpture .” (October 2001)
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  • Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ The Empires of the Western Sudan: Ghana Empire .” (October 2000)
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  • Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ The Empires of the Western Sudan: Songhai Empire .” (October 2000)
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  • Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Tahiti .” (October 2003)
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  • Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Ancient American Jade .” (October 2001)
  • Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Jade in Costa Rica .” (October 2001)
  • Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Jade in Mesoamerica .” (October 2001)
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  • Prohibitions in Islam and Its Historical Reasons
  • Islam Empire of Faith – The Awakening Documentary
  • Justice in Islamic and Western Societies
  • Islamic Anthropology and Theoretical Frameworks
  • Islamophobia: Racialization and the Case of Poland
  • Islam Through the Prism of Anthropology
  • Gilded Flask: Artwork from Ancient Islamic World
  • Muslim Response to Islamophobia and Negative Stereotypes Associated With the Religion
  • “Speaking in God’s Name: Islamic law, Authority and Women” by Khaled Abou El Fadl”
  • Islam as a Role in the American and Indonesian Politics
  • Shiite and Sunni Teaching of Islam
  • Islam and Its Role in Iran and Turkey
  • Cultural Anthropology. Islam: Origin and Beliefs
  • Islam: Connection of Belief With a Traditional Life
  • History: Islamic and Chinese Civilisation
  • Technology in Ancient and Medieval Islamic Cities
  • Gender Jihad: A Struggle Against the Exploitation of Islamic Women
  • Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group and Homeland Security Policy
  • Islam: The Collapse of the Abbasid Caliphate
  • Church History: Judaism, Islam and Christianity
  • Islam: The Status of Women Analysis
  • Comparison of Jihad in Classic Islam and Theory of Just Conflict in Christianity
  • Three Texts on Islam
  • Sufism and Philosophy in Islam
  • Position of Women in Islam
  • Just Conflict in Islam and Western World
  • Christianity and the Worldview on Islam
  • Islam Religious Tradition Analysis
  • Analysis of Religious Prayer Service: Islam

Most Interesting Islamic Topics to Write about

  • Christianity and Islam: Similarities and Differences
  • Globalization and Traditional Islamic Societies
  • Islam: a Restatement of Israeli Faith
  • India Civilization and Islam Civilization: Comparison
  • Life After Death: Christianity and Islam Perspectives
  • U.S. Media’s Negative Portrayal of Islam
  • Islamic Thought: Women in Islamic Perspective
  • Islamophobia: Bias to Muslims and Conflict After the 9-11 Incident
  • Women’s Role in Islam
  • Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Radical Terrorism
  • Abortion in Islamic View
  • Modernism and Islam, the Connection Between Them
  • Pre Islamic Oral Poetry
  • Human Factor and Anthropometric in Islamic Civilization
  • The Rituals in Islam
  • Islam Origin and Expansion
  • Issue of Abortion in Islam and Christianity
  • The Islamic Hijab and International Marketing
  • Islam: The Origin and Early Expansion
  • Notions of Maudwi and Khomeinis’s Islamic State.
  • Political Islam in the Middle East
  • The Nature and Essence of Islam
  • Islamic Faith and Ritual Practice
  • The Chronicle of Islamic History: The Attack of Mongols on Islam and Muslim People
  • Political Islam in the Arab World
  • Judaism, Christianity and Islam as a Single System
  • Religion: Hajj, an Islamic Pilgrimage to Mecca
  • Islam Expansion With the Intrusion of European Powers Impact on the History of the Indian Ocean
  • “Islamic Political Identity in Turkey” by Hakan Yavuz
  • Significant Achievements of the Islamic Civilization
  • Shirin Ebadi’s Perspective on Women’s Human Rights Activism and Islam
  • Perso-Islamic Theory of Kingship
  • The Islamic Movement in Different Regions
  • Islamic World History: Ottoman Empire & Qajar Iran
  • Religious Studies and Theology. Polygamy in Islam
  • Miracles in Islam and Historical Acts
  • The Politics of Feminism in Islam by Anouar Majid
  • Importance of Fatwa in Islamic Jurisprudence
  • The Islamic World Between 1300 and 1800 A.D
  • Islamic Religion and Attitude of Kuwaitis Towards English Language
  • Islamic Art: Ceramics Involved in Islamic Architecture
  • Free Will and Choice in Islamic Psychology
  • The Rise of Islam: Umayyad and Abbasid Empires
  • Religious Studies and Theology: Al-Hajj in Islam
  • Women and Gender in Islam by Leila Ahmed
  • The Role of Islamic Rhetoric in the Afghanistan-Soviet Conflict of 1979 – 1989
  • Perception of Islam by Americans
  • Mistreatment of Women in Islam Religion
  • Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Militia Movement
  • “Researching Islam in Arabia in “”The Setting in Arabia”””
  • Polygamy in Islam: Marriage Issues
  • “Islam, Modernity, and the West: “”Clash of Civilizations”” by Huntington”
  • Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism in America: A Country of Many Religions
  • Islamic Law Reflection Overview
  • Islamic Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Islamic Art Patterns: Emirati Architecture Identity
  • Soul Concept in Islam and Buddhism
  • First Fitna: Islamic Civil War
  • Lessons Learnt From Islamic Spirituality
  • Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in Islam
  • Representing Islam and Muslims in Islamic Art Exhibitions
  • Religion Impact on Morality in Christianity and Islam
  • “Being Muslim: A Cultural History of Women of Color in American Islam” by Sylvia Chan -Malik
  • The Islamic Religion in the United States
  • Opposing Islam and Modernity From a Sociological Perspective
  • Reaction Report About Islamic Civilization
  • The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Other Extremist Organizations
  • Terrorism Nowadays: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
  • Islam and Islamic Extremism
  • E-Sale Contract From an Islamic Perspective
  • An Analysis of Islamic Law’s Aspects of the E-Sale Contracts
  • Comparative Performance of Islamic Versus Non-Islamic Mutual Funds
  • The Place of Shari’ah in Contemporary Islamic Societies
  • Islamic Law: E-Sale Contracts
  • Information and Communication Technology & Economic Freedom in Islamic Middle Eastern Countries

Essay Questions about Islam

  • How 11 September Changed Americans’ Views on Islam and Muslims?
  • What Is the Relationship Between Islam and Religious Education in Turkey?
  • Does Islam Deter Crime in a Secular Islamic Country?
  • How Christianity and Islam Share Many of the Same Values?
  • What Are the Fundamental Beliefs of Islam?
  • Sufism: How Did Sufism Affect Islam and the World?
  • Can Democracy and Islam Go Together?
  • What Are the Rituals and Beliefs of Islam?
  • What Are the Common Doctrines and Beliefs Between Christianity and Islam?
  • Does Islam Promote Terrorism?
  • What Does Indeed Unity Mean in Islam?
  • What Is the Difference Between Islam and Catholicism?
  • What Is the Historical Relationship Between Spain and Islam?
  • Does Islam Cause Violence in the Middle East?
  • Was Islam the Motivation for Ottoman Empire Expansion?
  • Why Did Islam Spread So Quickly?
  • What Are the Main Similarities and Differences Between Islam and Buddhism?
  • What Are the Similarities and Differences Between Christianity, Islam, and Judaism?
  • Does Violence Stem From Islam?
  • Does the Media Correctly Portray Islam?
  • What Are the Main Misconceptions About Islam?
  • How Islam Survives Within Liberalism?
  • Are Islam and Democratization Compatible?
  • Why Has Islam Become So Popular Among Arabs?
  • Are Islam and Democracy Compatible?
  • Did Islam Spread Throughout Africa With the Use of Force?
  • Has Political Islam Failed In Algeria?
  • What Does Islam Say About Terrorism?
  • Does Islam Need Reformation or Do Islamic Societies Need?
  • How Did Islam Spread Following the Death of Muhammad?

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Home — Essay Samples — Religion — Spread of Christianity — Compare and Contrast the Spread of Islam and Christianity

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Compare and Contrast The Spread of Islam and Christianity

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Historical background, similarities between the spread of islam and christianity, differences between the spread of islam and christianity, impact on world history and contemporary society.

  • Encyclopedia Britannica, "Islam," https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islam
  • Encyclopedia Britannica, "Christianity," https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity
  • History.com, "The Spread of Islam," https://www.history.com/topics/religion/spread-of-islam
  • History.com, "The Spread of Christianity," https://www.history.com/topics/religion/spread-of-christianity

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363 Islamic Topics for Discussion & Presentation

essay topics for the spread of islam

There are almost two billion Muslims worldwide, as Islam is the world’s second most widespread religion after Christianity. Scientists date its emergence back to the 7th century. It all started in Mecca during the life years of Muhammad. Muslims believe he was the last prophet from God who came to reveal Islam to humanity.

This selection of Islamic topics for assignment features the best debatable issues and trending problems related to Islam. You will find something exciting to discuss in class or write in your paper.

  • ❗ Top 15 Islamic Topics for Assignment
  • 🔑 Islam: The Key Issues
  • 🕌 Islamic Topics: History of Islam
  • ➡️ Islamic Topics: Branches of Islam
  • 🖐️ Interesting Islamic Topics
  • ⚡ Controversial Islamic Topics

📌 References

❗ top 15 islamic topics for discussion.

  • What is Islam for you?
  • Which Muslim philosopher do you consider the most influential?
  • Can we consider Islamic studies a social science?
  • Why is the prophet Muhammad the central figure in Islam?
  • Explore the concept of marriage in Islam.
  • How is a Mosque different from a Christian church?
  • What is the symbolism of pilgrimage in Islam?
  • How did Islam spread around the world?
  • Which role does calligraphy play in Islam?
  • Is there any difference between a first and second wife?
  • Is Islam a law or a religion?
  • Compare and contrast Sunnis and Shiites.
  • How do the five pillars of Islam benefit the Islamic community?
  • Why are non-Muslim people afraid of Islam, and are they wrong?
  • Are there any touching points between Judaism and Islam?

🔑 Islam: The Key Issues to Cover in a Paper

Foundations and history.

The fundamental idea of Islam is that the believer surrenders to the will of Allah. People learned about this will from the sacred scriptures of the Koran (or Quran). The book retells Allah’s revelations to Muhammad, his prophet and messenger.

After the death of Muhammad in 632 AD, it took a century to create a new Arab Muslim empire. Religion spread by military invasion, but many people accepted it peacefully. The empire era (8th to 13th centuries AD) is now called the Islamic Golden Age. It was marked with high interest in education and research. Philosophy and humanities prospered. Besides, we can read Aristotle’s works today thanks to Arabic translators.

Islamic Symbols

As Islam is a multinational religion, no single symbol could be universally accepted. The crescent moon and star (the most widespread symbol of Islam) pre-dates Muhammad. Initially, it used to be the symbol of the Ottoman Empire. A red crescent shows that Muslims are respected in the given place. Green is believed to be Muhammad’s favorite color. That’s why it is often associated with Islam and appears on most flags of Muslim countries.

Key Concepts

  • Sharia Law is the legal system of Islamic communities. This code of conduct is based on faith and Koran. In particular, it requires modest dressing for men and women, gives marriage guidelines, and instructs about social order.
  • Muslim prayer is read in the ample open space of a mosque. A mihrab (decoration or niche) indicates the direction to Mecca, i.e., the approach one should face while praying. Muslims should pray five times a day.
  • Ramadan is a holy month of introspection, praying, and fasting. During this month, Muhammad is believed to receive the first revelations of the Koran. Muslims do not eat or drink from dawn to sunset, avoid bad behavior, and suppress impure thoughts.

🕌 Islamic Essay Topics: History of Islam

  • Islam as the Main Abrahamic Monotheistic Religion.
  • The Importance of the Quran in Islamic Religion.
  • Al-Gama’a Al-Islamiyya’s Insurgency in Egypt.
  • The Islamic Following in the World.
  • The Basis of Islamic Teachings.
  • The Role of Prophets in Islam.
  • Dubai Islamic Bank’s Human Resource Strategy.
  • The Role of Revealed Scriptures in Islam.
  • The Role of Natural Signs in Islam.
  • Islamic Teachings and Practices other than Quran.
  • The Representation of Allah in the Quran.
  • Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus as the Prophets of the Primordial Faith.
  • Judaism and Christianity as Spiritual Predecessor Faiths in Islam.
  • The Concept of Final Judgment on Islam.
  • Five Pillars of Islamic Religion.
  • The Importance of Islamic Law Sharia.
  • What Does Sharia Say about the Role of Women?
  • Sharia about the Banking and Finance.
  • What Does Sharia Say about the Environment?
  • Balance of Wisdom in Museum of Islamic Civilization.
  • Three Holiest Sites in Islam.
  • The Significance of Masjid al-Haram as the Holy Place.
  • The Significance of Al-Masjid an-Nabawi as the Holy Place.
  • The Significance of Al-Aqsa Mosque as the Holy Place.
  • The History of Islamic Religion.
  • The Role of Muhammad ibn Abdullah in Islam.
  • The Role of Muhammad ibn Abdullah in the Spread of Islam.
  • The Role of Muhammad as the Main Islamic Prophet.
  • The Spread of Islam in Various States and Caliphates.
  • Islamic Missionary Activities after the 7th century.
  • The Islamic Conquests and Its Results.
  • The Essence of Sunni Islam as an Islamic Denomination.
  • The Essence of Shia Islam as an Islamic Denomination.
  • The Difference between God in Islam and Christianity.
  • The Demography of Islamic Religion.
  • The etymology of the Name of Islamic.
  • The Six Main Articles of Islam.
  • God as the Part of the Islamic Creed.
  • Angels as the Part of the Islamic Creed.
  • The Importance of Books as Islamic Creed.
  • The Role of Prophets in the Islamic Creed.
  • The Day of Resurrection as the Articles of Islam.
  • The Central Concept of Oneness of God in Islam.
  • The Concept of God in Islam.
  • The Names of God in Islam and their Origins.
  • The Purpose of Human Existence in Islam.
  • The Practice of Taqwa in Islamic Faith.
  • The Difference between Allāh and ʾilāh.
  • The Functions of Angels in Islam.
  • The Images of Angels in Islam.
  • The Origin of the Quran Verses.
  • The Main Components of the Quran.
  • The Period of Islamic Golden Age.
  • The Influence of Quran on Arabic Literature.
  • The Influence of the Quran on the Arabic Language.
  • Hadith as the Record of Muhammad’s Words and Actions.
  • Methodologies to Classify the Authenticity of Hadiths.
  • The Reports of Sunni Islam in the Kutub al-Sittah.
  • The Four Books as the Source of Hadiths.
  • Quran as the Primary Book of Islam.
  • The Day of Resurrection in Islamic Faith.
  • The Concepts of Paradise (Jannah) and Hell (Jahannam) in Islam.
  • The Five Obligatory Actions of Worship.
  • The Rules of Fasting during Ramadan.
  • The Place and Importance of Prayers in Islam.
  • Charity as an Essential Part of Islamic Religion.
  • Obligatory Pilgrimage as the Vital Ritual of Muslims Life.
  • The History of Muhammad in the Creation of Islam.
  • The Classical Era of Islamic Faith.
  • The Impact of Pre-Modern Era in Islam.
  • The Contribution of Modern Era of Islamic Religion.
  • The Features of the Contemporary Era of Islam.
  • Differences between Islam and Christianity.

➡️ Islam Essay Topics: Branches of Islam

  • The Schools of Islamic Jurisprudence.
  • The Schools of Islamic Theology.
  • The Islamic Sections of Denomination.
  • The Tariqa or Orders within Sufism.
  • The Tariqa or Orders within Sunni Islam.
  • Political and Religious Violence in Islam.
  • The Informal Movements in Islam.
  • Organized Groups in Islamic Religion.
  • Sects as a Vital Part of the Religion.
  • The Appearance of Sects in Islam.
  • Neo-Traditionalism Movement of Islam.
  • Concepts of Liberal Movement of Islam.
  • Ideas of Progressivism Movement of Islam.
  • Islamic Modernism as an Islamic Sect.
  • Differences between Salafism and Wahhabism.
  • Overview of the Branches of Islam.
  • The Historical Formation of Islamic Branches.
  • The Differences between Sunnī and Shīʿa Islam.
  • Sunnī ‘s Main Schools of Jurisprudence.
  • The Primary Sects of Shīʿa Islam.
  • The Zaydī School of Thought.
  • The Concepts of Kharijites Sect.
  • The New Schools of Islam.
  • Main Branches of Islamic Denomination.
  • Sunnī Islam as the largest Denomination of Islam.
  • The Main Beliefs of Sunnī Islam.
  • The Differences between Classical and Liberalist Sunnī Schools.
  • Shīʿa Islam as the Second-Largest Denomination of Islam.
  • The Demography of the Islamic Branches.
  • The Main Beliefs of Shīʿa Islam.
  • The Twelvers as the Sub-Denomination of Islam.
  • Ismāʿīlīsm as the Sub-Denomination of Islam.
  • The Zaydīs as the Sub-Denomination of Islam.
  • The Alawites as the Sub-Denomination of Islam.
  • The Druze as the Sub-Denomination of Islam.
  • The Baháʼí Faith as the Sub-Denomination of Islam.
  • The Essence of Ghulat Movements.
  • The Extinct Islamic Sect Kharijite.
  • The Place of Sufris in Kharijite.
  • Ibadism as a sub-sect of Kharijite.
  • The Political Ideologies of Islamism.
  • The Overview of Schools of Islamic Jurisprudence.
  • Quran, Hadīth Literature and Sunnah-Sources for Islamic Methodology.
  • Sunnism Schools of Thought.
  • Sunnism Schools of Theology.
  • The Concepts of the Salafi Movement.
  • Jaʿfari or Imāmī School of Jurisprudence.
  • The Overview of Islamic Schools Theology.
  • Major Themes of Islamic Theological Controversies.
  • The role of dialectical reasoning in Islam.
  • The Three Main Schools of Sunni.
  • The Traditionalist Islamic Theology.
  • The Peculiarities of Islamic Sufism.
  • The Most Notable Sufi Orders.
  • The History of African American Islamic Movement.
  • The History of the Black Muslim Movement.
  • The Impact of the Black Muslim Movement.
  • The History of Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam.
  • Beliefs and Teachings of Ahmadis.
  • Groups of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam.
  • The Impact of September 11, 2001, Catastrophe.
  • Overview of the Islamist Organizations.
  • The Postulates of the Muslim Brotherhood.
  • Quranism as the Protestant Branch of Islam.
  • The History of the Muslim Brotherhood.
  • The Concepts of Liberal and Progressive Islam.
  • Non-Denomination Islam and Its place in the Religion.
  • The Basis of Salafiyya Movement.
  • The History and Concepts of the Wahhabi Movement.
  • The Population of the Islamic Branches.

🖐️ Interesting Islamic Topics for Presentation

Prophets in islam.

  • Prophets not mentioned in Quran: role in modern Islam culture.
  • The transition of Jewish and Christian prophets to Islam.
  • How did Judaism and Christianity influence the Islamic depiction of prophets?
  • Linguistic analysis of the names of the prophets: what factors cause the change of the original names to Arabic?
  • Modern western perception of the prophet of Islam.
  • Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy through the lens of Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations.
  • Tensions between the depiction of prophets in Islam and western values of free speech.
  • Core values and beliefs of Islamic prophets.
  • Trace of Islamic prophets in the New and Old Testament.
  • The role of prophets in Islamic Rituals.
  • Prophets in Islam as exemplars of ordinary humans.
  • Differences in perception of prophets in Shia and Sunni Islam.
  • The phenomenon of age in the representation of Islamic prophets in the Quran.
  • Debates among Muslim theologians on Mary’s prophethood.
  • Why is the gender of prophets a sensitive issue for Islamic theologians?
  • What are the grounds on which theologists decide whether someone is a prophet?
  • The Monotheism of Abraham in different Islamic interpretations.
  • Miracles and miraculous events in prophets’ actions.
  • Representations of the Prophet Muhammad in Islamic painting.
  • Typology of Islamic prophets.
  • Prophet Muhammad’s Thoughts on Death.
  • The nature of revelation in Islam.
  • The importance of obedience to prophets.
  • Representation of Prophet Muhammad: Identical conflicts between the French Muslim community and European journalism.
  • How does the Quran explain the prophets’ protection from sin and failure?
  • Perception of prophets in Wahhabism.
  • The role of prophets in the punishment of non-believers.
  • Is there a hierarchy between different prophets in Islamic culture?
  • Alternative perception of prophethood in Ahmadiyya and Baháism.
  • Pre-Muhammad prophets in Muslim tradition.

Islamic Holy Books

  • How is the Quran related to the sacred texts of other religions?
  • Why do Muslims believe that the Torah has suffered corruption?
  • Relevance of the Book of Psalms (Zabur) for modern Islam.
  • Do Islamic holy books allow for a transition to Western political values?
  • Renewal of Ijtihad (free-thinking in religious matters) in the Modern Era.
  • Does the over-reliance on Islamic holy books lead to chronic economic backwardness?
  • Satan in the Holy Quran.
  • Adam and Eve in Quran and Bible .
  • Other holy books of Islam besides the Quran.
  • How do Muslim fundamentalists interpret critical passages of the Quran?
  • Qur’an in Wahhabism.
  • What is the structure of the Quran text?
  • What happened to the Quran after the death of Muhammad?
  • Variant readings of the Quran except for Uthmanic codex.
  • Medina in Quran.
  • The difference in the narrative of world history in the Quran and academic historical science.
  • Is it possible to make Islamic holy texts compatible with Western democracy?
  • Why do many believers often rely on the commentaries of theologians to the Quran than on the original text?
  • The role of science in the text of the Quran.
  • Interpretation of the Quran between Shiites and Sunnis.
  • How do theologians of other religions criticize the text of the Quran?
  • Translation of the Quran into English.
  • Bible vs. Quran.
  • What skills and knowledge should Quran teachers have?
  • What is the connection between Zabur and Psalms?
  • Noah in Islam and Christianity.
  • How is the text of the Quran used to create Islamic law?
  • What role did the prophet’s companions play in disseminating the Quran?
  • Why was the Quran written in the Arabic language?
  • Women in Quran: implications for the modern understanding of Muslin culture.

Family Life in Islam

  • The role of rituals in the daily life of Muslim families.
  • Daily eating practices in Islam: the notions of Haram and Halal.
  • Why does the Islamic faith require so many restrictions in everyday family life?
  • What specifics and requirements exist in the personal hygiene of men and women?
  • Culture: Women With Hijab in Western Countries.
  • Islamic marriage as an essential component of Muslim culture.
  • The practice of polygyny in the Muslim world: a cross-country analysis.
  • The hijab ban in France in public places: the differences between the Muslim and European views on lifestyle.
  • Understanding death and the afterlife in the Islamic faith.
  • “Family Ties and Access to Finance in an Islamic Environment” by Mertzanis.
  • How does the Islamic faith require raising children? The role of a mother and father in every step of childhood.
  • How is the penetration of the state into family life perceived in the Muslim community?
  • Traditional family life in Islam as a cornerstone of Muslim living.
  • A critical glance at gender segregation in Islam: May the West improve women’s lives?
  • Female Empowerment in the Islamic States.
  • Perception of sex education among the Muslim community.
  • Is it possible to combine the secular lifestyle of women and Religion?
  • The history of attitudes toward abortion in Islam in the 21st century.
  • Can a Muslim family obey Muslim customs and rules in cosmopolitan countries like the USA or Canada?
  • Women’s Roles in Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism.
  • Why do some European citizens have a negative attitude towards the Muslim lifestyle of families?
  • How much are women involved in decision-making in Islamic families?
  • Ceremonies of sacrifice in Islamic families.
  • What are the differences in family life between Shiite and Sunni branches?
  • Funerals and funeral prayers in Islam.
  • What do the Quran and other holy texts of Islam say about divorce?
  • The basic principles of family life in Islam.
  • How does the traditional Islamic family feel about progress and new technologies?
  • Joint and Separate Family System: similarities and differences.
  • Three stages of life in Islamic tradition.
  • Rights of parents according to the Quran: How does the Holy text influence daily life?
  • Islamic family in an Islamic state (Iran) and democratic country (Canada).
  • The notion of responsibility of men and women in Islam.
  • Building a house according to Islamic traditions.

Concept of God in Islam

  • The value and central belief of monotheism in Islam.
  • Differences between God in Islam and other major religions.
  • Roles and messages of Allah in Islam, as interpreted to be directly from Allah.
  • Concept of Allah according to messengers of faith in the Quran.
  • The role and expectations of the believer in Islam about Allah.
  • Allah’s guidelines and rules inform the Islamic faith and followers’ behavior.
  • Modern interpretations and traditions concerning Allah.
  • Allah’s role as a creator, sustainer, and nourisher.
  • Allah as a concept not associated with other beings or deities.
  • Importance of Allah’s unique and transcendent qualities.
  • Concepts of ‘Tawhid’ and ‘Tanzih’ concerning Allah.
  • The importance of ‘oneness’ about Allah in Islam.
  • The rejection of the Christian Trinity (i.e., God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit) in Islam.
  • How does the ‘proof from hypothetical mutual prevention’ support the argument against two or more gods in Islam?
  • How does Islam explain the dependence between Allah and his creations?
  • According to the Quran, how do believers depend on Allah? Are there variations among different followers?
  • The mercy of Allah as the sole reason for creation and circumstances that allow for life.
  • The importance of Allah as an omniscient God.
  • Allah’s role in creation and perception by followers of his role.
  • The Islamic faith’s primary motivator is the purpose of Allah and the importance of followers’ worship of God.
  • Variations of Allah’s image and perception among different Islamic schools of thought.
  • Differences regarding Allah among Sunni followers: Atharis, Sufis, Ash’aris, and Maturidi.
  • Five Pillars as elements of Muslim worship practice.
  • The importance of Shahada, the testimony of Allah.
  • Charity in Islam to Allah.
  • Fasting, Pilgrimages, and other Islamic traditions concerning Allah.
  • History of introducing Islam to polytheistic populations.
  • The importance of interpreting the descendants of Muhammad by Shia Muslims.
  • Sharia and religious law as elements of Allah.
  • Religion and the state in modern Islam.

Morality & Ethics in Islam

  • Role and place of the biblical prophets in Islamic Religion.
  • Vision and understanding of God in Islam: Differences from other religions.
  • The ethical significance of the Quran: Personal moral norms and goals prescribed by the Quran.
  • The history of the emergence, compilation, and preservation of the Quran.
  • The Quran as an inspiration for Islamic art: Principles and traditions that influenced visual arts.
  • Muhammad’s teachings and practice as a constitutional model for followers of Islam.
  • People of the Book: Islam’s vision of Judaism and Christianity.
  • The Five Pillars of Islam as a fundamental religious practice: Differences in individual participation in religious traditions and rituals among Muslims.
  • Sharia as religious law: Its sources, influence, and regulation of various spheres of Muslim people’s lives.
  • Shia Islam and Sunni Islam: Differences between two key Islamic branches.
  • The role of five-time prayer in the life of a Muslim: Unity with God, support for discipline, and spiritual dimensionality.
  • Different interpretations of the concept of jihad: Understanding greater and lesser jihad.
  • The goals and significance of tafsir as the sciences of the Quran interpretation.
  • Importance of the Sunnah in the interpretation of the Quran.
  • The concepts of death and the afterlife in the Islamic Religion.
  • The idea of the soul and its salvation developed in Islam.
  • Differences in views on sinfulness, paradise, and hell in Islam and Christianity.
  • Correlation between free will and divine decree in Islam: Reconciliation between predetermined destiny and personal responsibility.
  • Salah: Features and challenges of prayer for Muslims in the modern world in various settings.
  • Fasting in Islam as a way of developing God-consciousness.
  • Path, rituals, and goals of Muslim people’s pilgrimage.
  • The struggle of Muhammad and his companions for the formation of the Islamic Religion.
  • The succession problem to Muhammad and its consequences: Division of Muslim community.
  • Muslim women’s perception of the traditional gender division of roles in the Islamic Religion.
  • Ulama and traditions of transmitting religious knowledge and teachings in Islam.
  • The interweaving of Religion and jurisprudence in Islam: Faith as a way of moral and responsible existence.
  • Islamic cooking traditions and related teachings: Possibilities of compliance with regulations in various regions.
  • The concept of Haya in Islam and its impact on the daily lives of Muslim people.
  • Religious traditions related to marriage and family creation in the Islamic Religion.
  • Zakat, sadaqah, and waqf: Influence of traditions of compulsory and voluntary charity on the welfare of the Muslim people.

⚡ Controversial Islamic Topics for Discussion

  • Quran perspective on women’s position.
  • Apostasy as a political phenomenon for the citizens’ control.
  • Apostasy and fundamental human rights.
  • Inconsistency of the Quran with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  • Iran’s Vision of the World in Henry Kissinger’s View.
  • The controversy between Western and Islamic views on human rights.
  • Sexual minority rights in Islam.
  • Nikāḥ al-Mut’ah: Short-term marriages to cover up prostitution.
  • The morality of contractual marriages – Nikah Misyar.
  • The problem of the lack of protection for women in the case of domestic violence in Islam.
  • The welfare of children born from contractual and short-term marriages in Islam.
  • Does Islam encourage violence against women?
  • Gender discrimination in sharia.
  • Prevalence of child marriages in Muslim countries.
  • Discriminatory practices in Islam.
  • The attitude of Muslim women to traditional clothes.
  • Mothers’ rights in Islam.
  • The position of women of other religions who married Muslims.
  • Islam’s response to criticism about the oppression of women.

Cruelty and Terrorism

  • Are Islamic scriptures the source of the ideology of terrorism?
  • Views of non-believers in Islam as a source of cruelty.
  • The Quran’s literal interpretation and the manifestation of extremism.
  • A vision of war and peace in Islam.
  • Understanding jihad as a call to war.
  • Quran scriptures about striking terror.
  • Execution problem in the Islamic Religion.
  • Prerequisites for the development of Islamophobia.
  • The problem of Islam imposition as a prerequisite for intolerance.
  • Islam’s intolerance of other religions.
  • The immigration crisis of 2015 and its impact on public opinion about Muslims.
  • The reluctance of Muslim immigrants to assimilate into new communities.
  • The problem of combining multiculturalism’s values and adopting Islamic norms in society.
  • Muslim perception of Western values.
  • History of hostility towards Islamic Religion.
  • Influence of Islamic Religion on scientific and technical development.
  • Criticism of Islam and freedom of speech.
  • Islam as the basis of Arab imperialism in world history.
  • Is it possible to change the sharia law?
  • Causes and prerequisites of terrorism.
  • Concept of blasphemy in Islam.

Criticism of Fundamental Beliefs

  • Contradictions and doubts about the morality of the prophet Muhammad’s life.
  • The problem of the authenticity of the Quran.
  • Understanding slavery in the Islamic Religion
  • Islam’s influence on slavery in world history.
  • Is Islam the original Religion or unites earlier Christianity, Judaism, and paganism?
  • Proof of human rather than the divine origin of the Quran.
  • Hadith’s controversial position in Islam.
  • The potential pagan origin of the sacred site of Kaaba.
  • The problem of faith sincerity in the Islamic Religion, where apostasy is severely punished.
  • Refutation of the Quran’s impeccability.
  • Contradictions in Quran’s verses.
  • The Birth of Islam – The Met
  • Introduction to Islam – Khan Academy
  • Islam – Five Pillars, Nation of Islam & Definition – HISTORY
  • The Major Branches Of Islam – WorldAtlas
  • The Prophet Muhammad and the Origins of Islam – The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Islamic humanism or humanistic Islam? – University of Oslo
  • The Origins of Islamic Morality and Ethics – Springer Link
  • Islam’s adaptation of virtue ethics: Bringing light to the challenges of a post-pandemic world – ABC Religion

The Roots of Buddhism: Historical Foundations and Spiritual Emergence

This essay about the historical foundations and spiritual emergence of Buddhism explores its profound impact from ancient India to the modern world. It details Siddhartha Gautama’s life, the development of Buddhist doctrines like the Four Noble Truths, and the spread of Buddhism across Asia and into the West. Highlighting the religion’s adaptability and enduring relevance, the essay reflects on Buddhism’s role in fostering compassion and understanding in a divided world.

How it works

Buddhism, a timeless and profound spiritual journey, has woven its intricate roots through the tapestry of human history, blending threads of philosophy, compassion, and enlightenment. To embark on a voyage through the historical foundations and spiritual emergence of Buddhism is to traverse the epochs, exploring the genesis of a faith that has shaped minds and hearts for over two millennia.

In the mists of ancient India, amidst the verdant landscapes of the northeastern subcontinent, a prince named Siddhartha Gautama took his first breaths.

Born into opulence and comfort, he embarked on a quest that would alter the course of human spirituality forever. Renouncing his royal privileges, Siddhartha set forth on a pilgrimage of self-discovery, seeking answers to the perennial questions that plagued his soul. Beneath the sheltering branches of the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, enlightenment dawned upon him, illuminating the path to liberation from suffering.

From this sacred moment, the teachings of Buddhism rippled outward, carried by the gentle breeze of compassion and wisdom. The Four Noble Truths, unveiled by the Buddha, became the cornerstone of his doctrine, offering solace to all who sought refuge from the vicissitudes of existence. Across the dusty plains and bustling cities of ancient India, monastic communities flourished, providing sanctuary for seekers of truth and guardians of the Dharma. The oral tradition thrived, passing down the Buddha’s discourses from generation to generation, preserving the flame of enlightenment in an ever-changing world.

As centuries unfolded, Buddhism blossomed into a vibrant tapestry of schools and sects, each reflecting the diverse landscapes and cultures that embraced its teachings. From the bustling bazaars of Magadha to the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas, the footprint of Buddhism left an indelible mark on the hearts of millions. Under the patronage of emperors and kings, monastic universities flourished, attracting scholars and pilgrims from distant lands. The Pali Canon, etched upon palm leaves and stone tablets, served as a beacon of truth in a world shrouded in ignorance and delusion.

Yet, the wheel of time spins relentlessly, carrying with it the winds of change and transformation. In the twilight of antiquity, as empires rose and fell, Buddhism faced trials and tribulations that tested the resilience of its followers. The rise of Hindu revivalism and the spread of Islamic conquests cast a shadow over the land of its birth, leading to the decline of Buddhist influence in India. Monasteries lay in ruins, and the Sangha scattered to the far corners of the earth, seeking refuge in lands where the Dharma still found fertile ground.

But from the ashes of adversity, new shoots of enlightenment emerged, flourishing in the fertile soil of distant lands. In the mountain fastnesses of Tibet, Buddhism took root, intertwining with ancient Bon traditions to create a tapestry of spiritual practices and rituals unmatched in its depth and complexity. The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, became a beacon of hope and compassion, inspiring millions with his teachings of peace and tolerance.

In the teeming cities of China and Japan, Buddhism found new expression, blending with indigenous philosophies and traditions to create schools of thought that resonated with the hearts of the people. Zen Buddhism, with its emphasis on direct experience and intuitive insight, captivated the minds of seekers, offering a path to enlightenment that transcended words and concepts. In the tranquil forests of Southeast Asia, Theravada Buddhism remained a bastion of purity and simplicity, preserving the teachings of the Buddha in their pristine form.

As the tides of time swept across the globe, Buddhism embarked on a new chapter in its journey, spreading its wings to embrace the world beyond the shores of Asia. In the bustling metropolises of the West, meditation centers sprang up like lotus flowers, offering solace to weary souls seeking refuge from the chaos of modern life. Mindfulness, once the province of monks and ascetics, found a home in the hearts of millions, transforming lives and reshaping the landscape of contemporary psychology and medicine.

Today, as we stand on the threshold of a new era, the teachings of Buddhism remain as relevant and vital as ever. In a world torn asunder by conflict and division, the message of compassion and understanding shines forth like a beacon in the darkness, guiding us towards a future of peace and harmony. As we reflect on the journey of Buddhism, let us honor the wisdom of the ancients and draw inspiration from the timeless truths that continue to illuminate the path to enlightenment.

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