Year 10 Islamic History

Analytical Essay - 829 Words

The Rise of Islam
Kate Olsen, 10F
Mr Buttigeig
 The Rise of Islam

Over the years Islam has grown dramatically. Starting from the birth of the prophet Muhammad in 570, to
Muslim extremists attacking the united states in 2001. The purpose of this essay is to make it clear that
the rise of Islam was made necessary through discontent with Christianity. I have produced three focus
questions to clearly demonstrate and support my thesis, which is underlined above. The Three questions
are as follows:

Focus Question 1
What is Islam and what is Christianity?

Focus Question 2
What is meant by ‘The Rise of Islam’, and to what extent has Islam risen?

Focus Question 3
Who have been the significant leaders involved in the historic fight between Christianity and Islam?

Firstly What is Islam and what is Christianity?

Islam is a major world religion that originated in the middle east after Judaism and Christianity. It was
founded by the prophet Muhammad in Arabia in the 7 th century. The believer (Muslim) accepts and
surrenders to the will of Allah, Allah being god. Muslims believe that Muhammad was the final messenger
of Allah. They believer that nothing can be compared with god, but that there are other spiritual beings.
They follow the saying “ All Praise is due to Allah; and blessings and peace be upon his messenger
Muhammad; until the day of resurrection”, as says the Qur’an; (pronounced Koran) also known as the
sacred book of Islam. Muslims must believe in the five articles of faith, these are belief in Allah, his
angels, his books, his messengers and life after death.

Christianity is the religion that traces its origins to Jesus of Nazareth whom is the son of god, god having
become man and the savior of humanity. Christians often refer to Jesus as ‘Christ’ or ‘Messiah’.
Christianity is the religion of one third of the people of the world, with more than 2,100,000,000 people
being identified with the Christian movements. Christianity began with Jesus Christ. The effects of his life,
the response to his teachings and the experience of his death and resurrection were the beginning of
Christianity.

This probably leaves you wondering What is meant by ‘The Rise of Islam’ and to what extent has it risen?
The rise of Islam means the spread of Islamic religion through holy war against non-believers. After the
death of Muhammad in 632, Abu Bakr was chosen as Caliph. Abu and the other Caliphs were determined
to spread their religion to the world. Soon after becoming Caliph, Abu Bakr and the others proclaimed a
holy war on un-believers. The effects of this war can still be seen in today’s society and there are places
where the fight for holy land still continues. Syria was among the first of many countries to fall victim to the
newly formed religion’s rage in 638. The Persian empire was soon to follow, falling in a short 7 years. The
armies of Islam had reached Constantinople (now Istanbul) and besieged the land. They were soon
pushed out by the Byzantines, until they were no longer in Asia. Islam has continued to rise, even after
this battle in 732, spreading around the world, and becoming one of the most popular religions in the
world.

This only leaves one real question left; Who have been the significant leaders involved in the historic fight
between Christianity and Islam? Muhammad was clearly the main leader for the duration in which he was
alive. After that Abu Bakr was selected as caliphate in 632 after Muhammad’s death, until his own demise
in 634. After the tragic death of Abu Bakr, Umar was chosen as successor by Abu. Uthman was chosen
after Umar’s death in 644, which caused a sort of discontent with Ali’s followers ( Shi’ite Muslims). 656- Ali
declared himself the fourth Caliphate soon after which caused a lot of trouble with Mu'awiya. They both
agreed to submit to the decision of a council, which would use the Qur'an as a guide in deciding who
should be caliph. The council concluded that both should step down, causing even more disturbance. In
660 Mu'awiya declared himself caliphate and by the end after Ali being assassinated, Mu'awiya found it
easier to rule and so began the Umayyad Dynasty.

The significant leaders in the fight for Christianity would have to be Jesus of Nazareth. Other leaders
include St.paul, St. Francis of Assisi and of course the Pope Benedict XVI Joseph Ratzinger.

This concludes My essay on The Rise of Islam. It can clearly be shown that The rise of islam was made
necessary through discontent with Christianity, and all of the questions have been answered. It can
clearly be seen that Islam has risen throughout the years, and still continues to grow.