Islam

Islam is based on the life and teachings of the prophet Muhammad, who lived in Arabia during the early A.D.600's. Before Muhammad's time, the people in the region worshiped Allah (God) as well as other deities. But Muhammad said Allah was the only God.

According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad had the first of several visions about 610. The vision occurred while Muhammad was meditating in a cave on Mount Hira, a hill near his birthplace of Mecca. The vision commanded Muhammad to preach the message of Allah to the people of his country. He began preaching in Mecca. A tribe called the Quraysh controlled Mecca and opposed Muhammad. To avoid persecution by the Quraysh, Muhammad fled to the city of Medina. Muhammad's journey from Mecca to Medina is called the Hijra, also spelled Hegira, and is one of the central events in the founding of Islam.

In 630, Muhammad led an army to Mecca. He offered the people of the city generous peace terms. As a result, his forces were able to take the city with little resistance. He made Mecca the sacred city and center of Islam.

After Muhammad's death in 632, his friend and disciple Abu Bakr became the first caliph (leader) of Islam. Abu Bakr defeated a rebellion against his rule by Arabian tribes and began a campaign of religious conquest outside Arabia. Succeeding caliphs continued Abu Bakr's conquests. Within 100 years of Muhammad's death, Islam had spread throughout the Middle East, across northern Africa, and into Spain. In 732, Muslim and Christian armies fought a major battle near Tours, France. The Muslims were defeated, and western Europe remained Christian.

Muslim missionaries and traders carried Islam to India and other parts of Asia. From the 1000's to the 1200's, Islam spread into western Africa. Today, Islam is the major religion of nearly all countries in northern Africa and the Middle East. It is also the chief religion in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan.

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