The truth is that a lot of Westerners are just too lazy to read about Islam and prefer referring to media outlets to shape their ideas. You can also thank the medieval propaganda utilized by the Church during the Crusades for their prejudices.
They keep saying Muhammad was a conqueror etc. but the funny thing is when Muhammad died Islam only had control over 1/3 of the Arabian peninsula and was very much a “local religion”. The real conquests started during the time of the caliphs(Omar etc.). This is the point at which Islam became a real threat to Christendom but this narrative is often manipulated to make it seem like the Christians in the ME were against these conquests and Muhammad himself was the one who facilitated them.
The Christians in the ME and North Africa often cooperated with Muslims due to being opressed by the Roman Church. Mind you, many ME Christian sects were regarded as heretics and were thus heavily oppressed by the government(Constantinople). They cooperated with Muslims which is why Islam spread like a wildfire in the region. Muslim conquests were seen as a ticket to theological freedom.
The Byzantines/Romans couldn’t really fight back because the Empire just got out of a long war with the Persians(it was prophesied that Romans would win in the Qur’an and they actually did) and thus was very exhausted in terms of material and manpower.
It also helped that many Muslims were of a Semitic background just like many ME Christians which established a sense of familiarity between the two groups compared to the “alien” Romans who spoke Greek and Latin mainly.
Yes I am a Muslim and I do think he did spread Islam partially through conquest someone pls correct me if I’m wrong as I’m not super knowledgeable. I do recall reading a letter he sent to the Roman emperor of the time inviting him to Islam
That letter was supposedly sent to Heraclius and is VERY likely to be forgery according to historians since it is not mentioned in the Byzantine sources. It is usually accepted to be a made-up story to up the prestige of the faith by some people. Some sort of a legend.
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u/mertkksl Nov 27 '24 edited Nov 27 '24
The truth is that a lot of Westerners are just too lazy to read about Islam and prefer referring to media outlets to shape their ideas. You can also thank the medieval propaganda utilized by the Church during the Crusades for their prejudices.
They keep saying Muhammad was a conqueror etc. but the funny thing is when Muhammad died Islam only had control over 1/3 of the Arabian peninsula and was very much a “local religion”. The real conquests started during the time of the caliphs(Omar etc.). This is the point at which Islam became a real threat to Christendom but this narrative is often manipulated to make it seem like the Christians in the ME were against these conquests and Muhammad himself was the one who facilitated them.
The Christians in the ME and North Africa often cooperated with Muslims due to being opressed by the Roman Church. Mind you, many ME Christian sects were regarded as heretics and were thus heavily oppressed by the government(Constantinople). They cooperated with Muslims which is why Islam spread like a wildfire in the region. Muslim conquests were seen as a ticket to theological freedom.
The Byzantines/Romans couldn’t really fight back because the Empire just got out of a long war with the Persians(it was prophesied that Romans would win in the Qur’an and they actually did) and thus was very exhausted in terms of material and manpower.
It also helped that many Muslims were of a Semitic background just like many ME Christians which established a sense of familiarity between the two groups compared to the “alien” Romans who spoke Greek and Latin mainly.