Apologetics Courses

Soon after Muhammad died, Islam began spreading northward, eastward, and westward throughout the Levant. Over the fourteen centuries since, Islam has become the dominant religion in North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of Southeast Asia. Today, Muslims claim one-fifth of the world’s population. That means that over 1 billion people are Muslim. The four nations with the largest Muslim population are Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh; all of which are located in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Islam is dominant in the northern parts of countries like Nigeria. Its strong influence reaches Tanzania in East Africa. Islam has a significant presence in South Africa due greatly to the presence of an Indian population. It is growing in Europe due to migration.

Arabs introduced Islam to northern Africa and the Middle East as they pushed out of Arabia in conquest. At first, Islam was represented only by the newcomers. Gradually, others were brought into the fold. Eventually, Islam virtually replaced Christianity throughout the southern and eastern Mediterranean region. Islam penetrated India, China, Southeast Asia, and sub-Sahara Africa mainly through traders and merchants, who shared their beliefs with the native population. Over time, Islam grew until in some countries it became the religious faith of the majority.
Unlike the heartland of Islam, the ethnic composition of the Muslim population outside the Middle East is not Arabic. Religious practices tend to conform to the native culture within the country in which Islam exists. Because of its relationship with Traditional Religion in Indonesia and the sub-Sahara, Islamic practices have easily become mixed with animistic concepts and ancestor veneration. What would be considered unorthodox by centralist Muslims is freely practiced elsewhere. In those countries where Buddhism and Hinduism have been practiced over the centuries, they too have influenced Islam, especially the Sufis.

The center of Islamic thought is Egypt. Egypt’s centralist positions offer an indicator of the future of Islam throughout the Middle East. Some of the other North African countries appear to be more radical and unstable. Consequently, they do not wield the influence as does Egypt.

Islam offers a stark contrast to the indigenous religions of the East. The proclamation of one, and only one, God makes it stand out against the background of Eastern thought which starts with the human being in his quest for God. The Muslim worldview in general contrasts sharply with the other religions of the region. It is essentially a religion believed to be dictated by Allah; the religion is to be followed blindly.

Where Muslims are a minority, they co-exist with other faiths. When this became difficult in India, they achieved independence in the separation of Pakistan and Bangladesh from India. In those countries where Islam is the majority religion, the state may itself reflect the domineering spirit of Islam, as in Malaysia. Yet, in Indonesia, a novel form of government permits Islam to be the dominant religion but allowances are made for other forms of worship.

The advance of Islam in Asia and Oceania has become a permanent fixture. Islamic ideals have influenced culture, society, and politics. Its greater influence appears where the Islamic faith is strongest numerically. In some areas, as in China, India, and the Philippines, the influence is more regional than national.

Islam spread north and east into Central Asia during its first century. The movement of Muslim merchants over the Silk Road took the new religion ever farther into western and central Asian locations. As Islam spread, it was destined to challenge both government and culture. The potential conflict between Islam and the secular West is well illustrated in the recent history of Iran. Afghanistan demonstrates the struggle for Islamic interpretation. As Muslims increased to form a majority in Pakistan about 1500, they struggled over whether to impose Islamic rule and reformist ideas. During much of the 20th century, the struggle in Soviet Central Asia and China was between a minority Muslim population and the rule of the Communists. In India, Islam and Hinduism sometimes maintain a peaceful co-existence; sometime they are in violence conflict. Malaysia is a multiracial, multi-religious country in which Islam is dominant politically and culturally.