THe Spread Of Islam

Although there were manny reasons for the rapid travel of Islam through the area around it, I think that the main one was the fact that Mecca, a major Muslim city, was a huge center of trade. This meant that traders could easily travel known paths to far away cities and spread their ideas. On some historical documents, it is shown that traders reached other lands and regions from 60 to up to 120 years before the Muslim army did. In some places like China and India, traders often met with people on the Silk Road, but the military force of the Islamic Empire never made it that far. Traders also afforded a benign, or even friendly reputation. Since it is human nature to distrust new ideas that challenge old ones, foreign citizens were much more likely to believe traders that brought them their daily necessities, than soldiers who had killed their friends. Without the traders who spread Islam in their path, it is likely that Islam wouldn't have become the world spread thing it is today.