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Muhammad, the leader of the Muslims, dies, but the faith did not stop spreading. The Caliphs, known as the Rashidun, who were Muhammad’s closest companions, started to lead the Muslims. They had a mission to continue spreading the beliefs and continue the territorial expansion. They worked to spread his word. Abu Bakr was the first caliph picked, and was basically the successor of Muhammad, but lives no more than two years after his death. .
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There were different divisions of Muslims, the Sunnis and the Shiites, who had different views on should be the leader of the Muslims community. Ali was made the fourth caliph, but was not liked by everybody. He was struggling with leadership and was assassinated. But still, while the split was going on, after the death of Ali, the Umayyad family set up a dynasty to help rule the Islamic world, continuing the spread.
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The Muslims enter Spain. Their forces crossed the Strait of the Gibraltar into Spain, and pushed the North into France. The spread of Islam was moving very quickly. The process of moving it into Western Europe was going smoothly.
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The Muslims were defeated in the battle of Tours, one of the most decisive battles in history. This puts a stop to the spread of Islam in Western Europe. This creates a decline in the spread of Islam because of the fact that the loss of this battle will help ensure Western Europe stays Christian.
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Abu al-Abba captured Damascus. Abu al-Abba was a leader founded by dissatisfied Muslims. After Damascus was captured, one of this man’s generals invited members of the Umayyad family to a banquet, killing them all. The Abbassid dynasty was found, helping to improve and spread Islam. It helped to end Arab dominance, make Islam truly universal, and the empire of caliphs reached its greatest wealth and power.
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The Caliphate began to decline. Abbassid control over the Arab empire fragmented, and in places such as Spain and Egypt, independent dynasties ruled separate Muslim states. Since the caliph’s power was declining, problems began to arise. Civil wars were erupting, and Shiite rulers were taking over parts of the empire. This created a decline in Islam, because when the Caliphate began to decline this created a big change in the Islam community and there was lots of conflict.
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The Seljuk Turks migrated from the Middle East, and into Central Asia. They adopted Islam, and then built a large empire across the Fertile Crescent. This addition and creation of a new empire helped contribute to the spread of Islam.
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A Seljuk Sultan controlled Baghdad, but left the Abbassid caliph as a figurehead. This still contributed to Islam due to the fact that they gained control of the center of Iraq and spread their beliefs there.
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As the Seljuks pushed into Asia, they threatened the Byzantine empire, and reports of this interference with the Christian pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem led to Pope Urban II calling the First Crusade. This caused a decline in Islam because of the fact that Catholics were fighting to regain the land taken in Muslim conquests.
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Christian crusaders captured Jerusalem, and for 150 years the city was passed back between Christians and Muslims. This continues to create a decline in Islam because the Christians are interfering with the spread and trying to take back land.
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The Muslim general Salah-ah forced the Christians from Jerusalem, helping the spread of Islam because of the fact that Muslims were able to regain the land.
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Genghiz Khan led the Mongols out of Central Asia across the Persia and Mesopotamia, and the Mongol armies continued to return. This helps contribute more to the spread of Islam because it helped to remove the Mongols as a problem.
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The grandson of Genghiz, Hulagu, burned and robbed Baghdad, and killed the last Abbassid caliph. This is when the Mongols adopted Islam. This spreads Islam, because the Mongols who were once against them have joined them, helping to spread the beliefs.
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During the late 1300’s, a Mongol leader known as Timur the Lame conquered both muslim and non-muslim territories with his armies in the Middle East. This very much helped spread the Muslim belief around the middle east because of him and his armies taking over so many territories.
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Christian forces seized the last Muslim stronghold, whereas Spain flourish as a Muslim civilization. This was a decrease in the spread of Islam, because the Christians took back the land where Islam was most prominent.
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A man known as Suleiman became the ruler of the Ottoman Empire. The empire grew while he was in power, and this is when they went through another golden age. This helped with the spread of Islam because under Ottoman’s ruling, Islam thrived.
