Origins of Islam

 Muhammad taught that Abraham, Moses, and Jesus were each prophets, but that Jews and Christians had misunderstood their teachings.  Many of the poor who heard Muhammad’s message accepted it because he called for social justice and equality.  A great number of powerful leaders and rich merchants, however, rejected Muhammad's message.  They saw him has a threat to their economic security.

 Within a century, Islam spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa.  Muslims even conquered parts of Spain.  Their military campaigns were inspired by a desire to spread Islam, and for some, a desire for wealth and power.  Due to divisions in Christianity, many former Christians in North Africa actually welcomed the new religion.

IIslam allowed a certain degree of religious tolerance (letting people practice the religion of their choice). JJews and Christians continued practicing their faith under Islamic rule. AAlthough Islam taught that these religious were misguided, Muslims believed that they directed people towards the one, true God. UUnlike much of the Christian world, the Muslims empire experienced a time of enlightenment during the middle ages.

 Muslim scholars embraced the ideas of the ancient Greeks and Romans.  They translated many works and collected knowledge from all over the world.  Rather than rejecting ancient teachings as a threat to their faith, they studied and tested them.  While Europe struggled through the dark ages, Muslims advanced greatly in medicine, science, mathematics, literature, and philosophy.  Many of the ideas taught by Muslims later inspired the Italian Renaissance in Europe.

 An Islamic Golden Age lasted from 750 to  Advances in Islamic learning inspired the European Renaissance.  The city of Mecca became a major economic center, helping Islam expand.  Literacy was, for the first time, widespread among the populations of the Middle East.  In 1258, the Islamic city of Baghdad was attacked, conquered, and destroyed by the Mongols, a dynasty from central Asia.  The Islamic Golden Age began to draw to a close.