What factors account for the rapid spread of Islam in the seventh and eighth centuries?
What will be an ideal response?
The relative ease of conversion, the diffusion through trade caravans, connection to other monotheistic religions, and dissatisfaction of populations under Byzantine rule all allowed for a rapid expansion of Islam in the time period. To become a Muslim, one had only to recite the creed three times in front of qualified witnesses and adhere to the Five Pillars of Islam. The religion started in Mecca and Medina and was transmitted through trade caravans as part of Muhammad's family connections, which enabled the religion to spread throughout the Arabian peninsula, and subsequently across North Africa quickly and easily. By proclaiming themselves as related to "people of the book" (dhimmi), Muhammad clarified that Islam was the last chapter of the monotheistic covenant started by Abraham, and that he was only one of many prophets previously identified within Judaism and Christianity. Finally, the dissatisfaction within the Byzantine empire of higher taxation led many Christians and Jews more willing to convert.
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The election of 1840 is best described as __________
A) a landslide victory for the Whigs B) a landslide victory for the Democrats C) a narrow victory for the Whigs D) a narrow victory for the Democrats
In the early nineteenth century, regional identities reflected __________.
a) common economic interests b) a shared ethnic heritage c) church membership d) linguistic differences
What explains the continuing barriers to equal education in the 1970s?
a. Inner-city schools, with a concentration of minority populations, lacked the resources of their suburban counterparts. b. California voters approved a constitutional amendment that banned mandatory busing programs unless intentional segregation could be proved. c. White parents placed their children in private schools with better resources. d. All of the above.
Philip II of Macedonia conquered Greece and then formed a coalition called the ______________.
A. League of Sparta B. Delian League C. League of Corinth D. Peloponnesian League E. Julian League