Impact Of Islam Research Paper

Chang 1

Maya Chang
World History AP
Period 2
11 December 2014
Essay Reflection
The impact of Islam had many similarities and differences economically, socially, and culturally in the Middle East and in sub­Saharan West Africa. Islam improved the economy by trade and expanded education in both regions. However, the religion itself, it was practiced differently in the two regions.
Due to the impact of Islam, Islam played a big role in increasing the economy in both West Africa and the Middle East. The increase of trade was able to thrive because each region had reliable trade networks. The conversion to Islam in Africa was beneficial because it helped improve the relations between the Muslim merchants and the African merchants. This was also beneficial because goods, knowledge, as well as
religion was traded in the trade routes of Sub­Saharan West Africa and the Middle East.
However, both the Middle East and West Africa had different opinions of what they wanted to do with their thriving economies. The Middle East was experiencing urbanization, which was when people had started to move from rural areas to more urban areas.
(i.e Cities.) In Africa, they wanted to transform their towns into cities to expand. Because of the boost in trade, these two regions were able to be become more knowledgeable about new goods as well as religion. They were also able to expand their trade routes by creating cities/towns.
Islam was practiced differently in West Africa than it was in the Middle East.
Although both believed in Allah, the West Africans incorporated their beliefs and traditions into Islam. Even though there were Muslim kings in West Africa, they did not force their kingdom to convert to Islam. In the Middle East, if they weren’t Muslims, they were called Dhimmi. The rulers also did not force Islam onto dhimmi, however, a tax called the jizya, was created for these people to pay because they were not Muslim.
This also helped the spread of Islam because since people did not want to pay this tax, they converted to Islam. However, even though they converted, they did not fully accept the religion. Even though Islam was practiced differently in Africa, it still remained the most popular religion in the region. Islam was not forced upon people, although the tax and encouragement was what made non­muslims convert, even if some did not
fully commit to the religion.
Lastly, education in the two regions were both able to be expanded due to trade, as stated above. Since goods and knowledge were able to be traded, many new technologies, literature, math, and art were introduced. Technologies such as the compass, painting, printing, writing systems, tools, math, medicine, etc. were all advancements that were introduced to West Africa and the Middle East. However, even

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though sub­Saharan West Africa did have advancements in technology and knowledge, theirs was not as big as compared to the Middle East. Cities such as dar­al­Islam’s capital city, Baghdad, became very advanced in technology and knowledge, attracting scholars from all over the world, eager to find new and more advancements in mathematics and science. Cities like Baghdad were examples of expansion in knowledge, which played a big role in the impact of Islam.
In conclusion, the impact that Islam had in the Middle East and sub­Saharan
Africa had many advantages in the economy, the expansion of knowledge, and the growth of the religion itself. Islam’s impact also helped these two regions expand as well as becoming more advanced.