The Spread of Christianity and Islam

The spread of Christianity and Islam

Two of the most noteworthy religions are Christianity and Islam. The spread of each religion in itself, has touched the lives of many people around the globe. Both these religions have had significant effects throughout the course of history. Between 600 CE to 1250 CE, Christianity and Islam were spreading rapidly. The two religions have many similarities, both developed socially and economically. However, they were very different politically. Although both Christianity and Islam were widespread, Christianity has a larger number of governments in control than Islam.

Christianity existed a few centuries preceding the introduction of Islam. When Prophet Muhammad established Islam in the Middle East, Christianity had already made its way to Europe. However, after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christianity grew and flourished in the Middle East as well. The first Catholic Church was established in Jerusalem. In the beginning, the gospel was only being preached to the Jews. However, the word of God spread very quickly. During this early period, Christianity did not extend a long way past Jerusalem and its regions. However, that changed very soon. After the initial couple of years of peace for the Church, a period of unrest arose, a repulsive abuse occurred after the stoning of Stephen. Stephen was amongst the seven men chosen by the Disciples to handle the distribution of the daily food. He went amongst the people and preached instead of having them come to him. Jewish leaders chased down followers of Jesus and put them in jail. During this time, followers of Jesus made their way to Samaria and Judea. Because of this flight, the expansion of Christianity started growing at a rapid pace.

Islam was established around the start of the seventh century, roughly 500 years after Christianity. At first, its practices were very similar to Christianity. Around 610 A.D Prophet Muhammad, a native of Mecca insisted that God wanted him to spread a new religion called Islam. In the beginning, Prophet Muhammad preached in secret. However, after some time he gained the courage to preach publicly. Because of this, he gained many new followers. However, his preaching did not go over well with many people in his polytheistic city. Therefore, early converts were faced with persecution, similar to the early Christians. During this time, the growth of Islam was limited, and because of this the religion did not expand beyond Mecca. Towards the end, Prophet Muhammad relocated to Medina, because of the persecution he was dealing with in Mecca. While in Medina, he assembled many followers. Similar to the spread of Christianity, persecution was the root cause of the spread of Islam.

Christianity and Islam differed significantly by location. Christians, established places of worship