Question

Identify and explain one way the rise of Islam can be seen as an economic turning point

Answer 1

Islam spread through military conquest, trade, pilgrimage, and missionaries.

Arab Muslim forces conquered vast territories and built imperial structures over time.

Most of the significant expansion occurred during the reign of the Rashidun from 632 to 661 CE, which was the reign of the first four successors of Muhammad.

The caliphate—a new Islamic political structure—evolved and became more sophisticated during the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates.

Answer 2

Dr. Gershon Lewental can trace the rise of radical Islam through history. Radical is deemed as such because the violence Westerners associate with extremist Islam today is a change to the very root of traditional Islam.

Lewental spoke on “What makes radical Islam so radical? Understanding radical Islam and Salafism in the Middle East,” Friday at the Democrats Cornbread and Beans luncheon.

“Mohammed was much more than just a prophet,” Lewental said.

He was a political and military leader and a judge, and when he died, he left “huge shoes to fill.”

“The debates on who should be the leader were quite fierce and actually resulted in some assassinations,” Lewental said.