Compare And Contrast The Spread Of Christianity And Islam

Around the year 610 CE in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, people were on the constant search for money and wealth. A merchant at the time, Muhammad ibn Abdallah (PBUH), made his way to a cave on Mount Hira as he usually did to pray. There, he was visited by the angel Gabriel who provided him with words that Allah was the only God. He continuously received words from Allah for two years when he finally shared with everyone. At first, everyone rejected his beliefs but after his death, the religion Islam spread rapidly. On the other hand, Christianity developed from Judaism and focuses on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Monks set out to teach people about this religion. Overall, these two religions were different in terms of who spread the beliefs and how the beliefs were accepted, but both religions spread through trade and conquest.

When Muhammad introduced the beliefs of the newly-found religion at the time, people refused to accept them. It was after his death that Islam began to spread at a fast rate. The first four Caliphs from the year 632 to 661 and the Umayyid Caliphs from 661 to 750 gained more territory to add to the Islamic empire. Muhammad's followers continued to embrace the religion, even after his death. Also, since Islam forbids attacking other Muslims, they decided to attack non-Muslims and seize their land. This event enabled the religion to spread to places in Europe, such as Persia and Byzantium. In contrast, monks and missionaries were sent to teach people about Christianity. It became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire. After the fall and the division of the empire, the religion split into Orthodox Christians and Roman