was islam spread by the sword ?

[CONVERTED TO ISLAM]

It is a common misconception with some non-Muslims that Islam would not have millions of adherents all over the world, if it had not been spread by the use of force.

The following points will make it clear, that far from being spread by the sword, it was the inherent force of truth, reason and logic that was responsible for the rapid spread of Islam.

Islam has always given respect and freedom of religion to all faiths. Freedom of religion is ordained in the Quran itself:

“There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong.” (Quran 2:256)

The noted historian De Lacy O’Leary wrote:[1] “History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated.”

The famous historian, Thomas Carlyle, in his book Heroes and Hero worship, refers to this misconception about the spread of Islam: “The sword indeed, but where will you get your sword? Every new opinion, at its starting is precisely in a minority of one; in one man’s head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it, there is one man against all men. That he takes a sword and tries to propagate with that will do little for him. You must get your sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself as it can.”

If Islam was spread by the sword, it was the sword of intellect and convincing arguments. It is this sword that conquers the hearts and minds of people. The Quran says in this connection:

“Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best.” (Quran 16:125)

The facts speak for themselves
· Indonesia is the country that has the largest number of Muslims in the world, and the majority of people in Malaysia are Muslims. But, no Muslim army ever went to Indonesia or Malaysia. It is an established historical fact that Indonesia entered Islam not due to war, but because of its moral message. Despite the disappearance of Islamic government from many regions once ruled by it, their original inhabitants have remained Muslims. Moreover, they carried the message of truth, inviting others to it as well, and in so doing endured harm, affliction and oppression. The same can be said for those in the regions of Syria and Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, North Africa, Asia, the Balkans and in Spain. This shows that the effect of Islam on the population was one of moral conviction, in contrast to occupation by western colonialists, finally compelled to leave lands whose peoples held only memories of affliction, sorrow, subjugation and oppression.

· Muslims ruled Spain (Andalusia) for about 800 years. During this period the Christians and Jews enjoyed freedom to practice their respective religions, and this is a documented historical fact.

· Christian and Jewish minorities have survived in the Muslim lands of the Middle East for centuries. Countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan all have significant Christian and Jewish populations.

· Muslims ruled India for about a thousand years, and therefore had the power to force each and every non-Muslim of India to convert to Islam, but they did not, and thus more than 80% of the Indian population remains non-Muslim.

· Similarly, Islam spread rapidly on the East Coast of Africa. And likewise no Muslim army was ever dispatched to the East Coast of Africa.

· An article in Reader’s Digest ‘Almanac’, yearbook 1986, gives the statistics of the increase of the percentage of the major religions of the world in half a century from 1934 to 1984. This article also appeared in The Plain Truth magazine. At the top was Islam, which increased by 235%, while Christianity had increased by 47%. During this fifty-year period, there was no “Islamic conquest” yet Islam spread at an extraordinary rate.

· Today the fastest growing religion in America and Europe is Islam. The Muslims in these lands are a minority. The only sword they have in their possession is the sword of truth. It is this sword that is converting thousands to Islam.

· Islamic law protects the privileged status of minorities, and that is why non-Muslim places of worship have flourished all over the Islamic world. Islamic law also allows non-Muslim minorities to set up their own courts, which implement family laws drawn up by the minorities themselves. The life and property of all citizens in an Islamic state are considered sacred whether they are Muslims or not.

Conclusion
It is clear, therefore, that Islam did not spread by the sword. The “sword of Islam” did not convert all the non-Muslim minorities in Muslim countries. In India, where Muslims ruled for 800 years, they are still a minority. In the U.S.A., Islam is the fastest growing religion and has over six million followers.

In his book The World’s Religions, Huston Smith discusses how the prophet Muhammad granted freedom of religion to the Jews and Christians under Muslim rule:

The Prophet had a document drawn up in which he stipulated that Jews and Christians “shall be protected from all insults and harm; they shall have an equal right with our own people to our assistance and good offices,” and further, “they shall practice their religion as freely as the Muslims.”[2]

Smith points out that Muslims regard that document as the first charter of freedom of conscience in human history and the authoritative model for those of every subsequent Muslim state.

[McCulloch]

Here is an image of the flag of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Flag: Green Banner of Islam, bearing the inscription: "There is no God but God; and Muhammad is his Messenger". The sword was added in 1906, symbolizing the military successes of Islam and of Ibn Saud, founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.




Please notice the prominent symbol of peace on the flag.

[CONVERTED TO ISLAM]

do you know why is that sword there in the picture?

because they are in saudi arabia do the right way
the put that sword in the picture to tell all of the world that they will kill the human who kill his brother in islam or non-muslims too
when some body killed you your family have to decide
they can say to the goverment kill him
or they can say okay we forgive him

so that is so great
islamic religion care a bout people
no body can kill you and when he kill you he must die just like you because you are a human just like him
and your family can forgive him too
so that is the reason of that sword

[McCulloch]

do you know why is that sword there in the picture?

You're wrong. According to the official site of the Saudi Kingdom, "The sword was added in 1906, symbolizing the military successes of Islam and of Ibn Saud, founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "

[CONVERTED TO ISLAM]

like i said before sword is for the people who kills their brothers in islam or non-muslims too
because islam want to protect you and protect me

do you know in america (i said america because i am american) when somebody kill you he will be in jail maybe 4 or 5 or 6 years then he will get out
O damn .. you are in grave and he alive that is wrongfully way
he must die just like you
you are ahuman just like him

and i do not care about ibn saud

i do not know why are they saying llike that !

but i told you allah and mohammed orders

iam not gonna talk about islam about what muslims did
because they sometimes do wrong things

[carolineislands]

This is not even a debate. Anyone who tries to deny that Islam was spread by the sword just needs to do a little homework -- maybe 10 minutes with google or Wiki and the discussion is over.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquests

[Pazuzu bin Hanbi]

I’ve got work in the morning, so I think I’ll have some toast when I get up. Butter doesn’t do your health much good so I think I’ll have a nice helping of Islâmargarine with it… spread by the sword!

[Catharsis]

Conversion of non-Muslim places of worship into mosques
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion ... to_mosques
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:C ... to_mosques

Islamic law provides for confiscation of non-Muslim houses of worship in places taken by conquest was expressed by al-Nawawi:[2]

Infidels who are subjects of our Sovereign by virtue of surrender, must be forbidden to build churches or synagogues in a town we have founded, or whose inhabitants have embraced Islam of their own accord. As for places taken by attack, the infidels must refrain not only from building new churches and synagogues there, but also from using for their purposes such buildings as exist there. When, however, the country submitted by capitulation, the following cases must be distinguished:

1. If the capitulation treaty states that the land will be ours, but that the infidels will remain there by virtue of hereditary possession, and that they retain their churches or synagogues there, they will then be able to continue to use them; but if nothing has been decided on the subject of these buildings, they are forbidden to use them for their purpose.
2. If the capitulation treaty states that the infidels will remain owners of the land, they can not only continue to use their churches and synagogues, but also build new ones.[3]

It is related of the Arab commander Amr ibn al-As that he performed the salat (prayer) in a church and Zayd ibn Ali says regarding churches and synagogues, "Perform thy salat in them; it will not harm thee", meaning that captured churches and synagogues can safely be used as mosques. [1]