Spread of Islam

The above image is just a representation to the spread of Islam during the 6th-8th century.

According to Ayoub’s reading, I find it very interesting how Islam was able to spread so quickly across the Middle East and Asia, while the major religions: Buddhism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity coexisted. Today, Islam is one of the major religions in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, that were under colonialism . It is fascinating to see how Islam was able to survive and spread even under colonial rule. Furthermore, it would be intriguing to see how Islam was at that time able to fit into other cultures and how people from other cultures accepted them. What makes Islam so special? Why did people back then accept this new religion? Yet, we are having so many issues with Muslims today. I guess the answer to these issues is , according to Ernest, is the fact that today we judge Muslims by what we see outside of them and not taking the time to understand what it really means to be a Muslim.