Karen Armstrong The Spread Of Islam Summary

In order to make an argument contrary to the beliefs of many Americans, Karen Armstrong uses her biography Muhammad to portray Islam as a religion that was created simply to seek social change in a problematic time period. One central theme of the book is that at the time when Islam was created, it was helpful, almost necessary to the people of 7th century Arabia, as their lives were undergoing a period of rapid change. In fact, one could even take away from Muhammad that the message of Islam could be appropriate in today’s society as well. In the early centuries of the Common Era, Trade was revolutionized in the Middle east. The invention of a new type of saddle allowed a camel, an extremely hardy and desert friendly animal, to carry much more weight than was previously possible. Around the start of the 6th century CE, the persian and byzantine
The Qur’an taught people that their possessions and their egos did not matter in the end, the way that people lived their lives would be judged before God. Muhammad also taught that peace was always preferable to war. It also introduced the idea of the Ummah, or a unified community, so that no matter where someone lived or what tribe you belonged to, you would be one with all other Muslims under the will of God. this unity allowed millions of Muslims thousands of miles apart to build a civilization that made huge advances in science and technology. Before settling into permanent cities, the tribes of Arabia fought with each other constantly, because resources were very limited. Muhammad decided that this way of violence would not be helpful. Even though Muhammad eventually does decide to wage war on Mecca, when he defeats the city, instead of simply slaughtering everyone, in accordance the custom of the time, Muhammad spared the lives of everyone, and allowed them to remain in the