Ch. 6-7-8: The Rise and Spread of Islam

Spread of Islam:

• Most of the first expansion in the Mediterranean region and the Middle East was by Arabian tribesmen (bedouin tribes).

• The government under the Umayyads kept the concept of rule by a small Arab elite; full citizenship for Mawali was denied.

• The Abbasids gave full citizenship to non-Arabs.

• The second stage of Islamic expansion was led by non-Arabs. Sufi missionaries made for a more peaceful expansion and a less restrictive forms of Islam.

• Converts, like in the Delhi sultanate, retained many of their previous Hindu beliefs and social systems.