Spread of Christianity

Christianity existed several centuries prior to the birth of Islam, and by the time Muhhamad founded Islam in the Middle East, Christianity had moved its center to Europe, where it had firmly established itself as the official religion. But Christianity originally sprouted in the Middle East after Christ's resurrection in A.D. 30. The church began in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, and it initially preached the Gospel only to the Jews. It grew quite rapidly for a time-in fact, the book of Acts records the conversion of 3000 Jews in a single, extraordinary day. During this early period, however, Christianity did not expand far beyond Jerusalem and its vicinity. That would soon change. After the first few years of relative peace for the church, a terrible persecution broke out following the stoning of Stephen. Jewish leaders hunted down the followers of Jesus and threw them into prison. At this time many in the church scattered to the surrounding countryside of Judea and Samaria. Christianity's worldwide expansion was beginning.

When Islam was founded about 550 years later, around the beginning of the seventh century, its initial experience was strikingly similar to the early experience of the persecuted Christian church as persecution spread Islam from Mecca to Medina. In 610 A.D. Muhammad-a native of the Quraysh tribe in Mecca, Saudi Arabia-claimed that he received revelations from God that called him to preach a new religion called Islam. At first he began to do so secretly, but after three years he found the courage to proclaim his new faith publicly and gained a growing number of followers. However, his monotheistic message was not well received by many in his polytheistic city, where people were used to profiting from pagan pilgrims to the Kaaba. As a result, the early Muslim converts faced persecution, just as the early Christians had. Islam's growth was limited during this time, and it did not spread far beyond Mecca. Eventually the harassment forced Muhammad to leave Mecca, so he fled to Medina in what is known as the hejira of 622 AD. Here the Medinan and Meccan Surahs of the Koran reveal a changed Muhammad. He gathered many converts who became his militant followers. Persecution against Muslims had essentially ended by the time Muhammad died.

The histories of Christian and Muslim expansion diverged from the similarity of initial dispersions caused by persecution. Although Christians continued to be persecuted until the "Edict of Toleration" of 311 AD, they were able to hide in house churches within the cities, intending that the gospel would diffuse into the countryside from there. But this made the spread of Christianity during the first two centuries an essentially urban phenomenon, and it became an urban religion. In contrast, Arabia had very few cities, so militant Islam spread mostly through unprotected villages and rural areas. That the Christian church continued to grow in the face of persecution throughout its first two centuries, served as a testimony to the power and truth of the Gosple of Christ for Christians. That Islam was able to so easily win battles across northern Africa, and eastward into India, served as testimony to Muslims as their having the favor of Allah. These distinctions made the spread of Christianity and the spread of Islam extremely different.

Perhaps the most significant difference between the first two centuries of the expansion of Christianity and Islam was between the methods used to spread their messages. These methods stemmed from the beliefs of each religion. Christians were taught to "turn the other cheek" and "love your enemies". The Apostle Paul wrote, "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). While Christians taught that God loves all people and wants them to have a personal relationship with Him, Muhammad taught that "Allah loveth not those who reject Faith." These contrasting attitudes caused Christians and Muslims to go about conversion in different manners. During their first two centuries, Christians did not force their religion on others but relied on missionaries, preaching, and leading godly lives as ambassadors of God. Muslims, on the other hand, did not rely solely on preaching to spread their faith-they turned also to the sword to conquer vast areas of land in the Middle East and Northern Africa during the seventh and eighth centuries. When they attacked or occupied new territory, they gave its inhabitants three options: convert to Islam, pay a special tax, or die. Under these circumstances many chose to pay the tax, and many others chose to convert to Islam. Clearly, the Islamic method of expansion did not match the loving approach of Christianity. However, as Christianity fell under the control of Roman Catholicism, instances of conversion by the sword were used as had been the norm in Islam. Emporers from Constantine to Charlemagne had forced baptism into Christianity by conquered peoples. The Spanish Inquisition also used violence to enhance the position of the Church. This serves to demonstate the danger of state sponsored religious persecution. This is at the heart of Islam as the Caliph embodies the head of the military and religion as patterned after Mohammad. The combimed authority has the unchecked power to engage in violent Islamic Jihad.

A strange historical significance seems to surround the Middle East. It has served as the birth place for many cultures and religions. Its Fertile Crescent contained one of the earliest culture hearths where civilization developed. In this area great kingdoms of the ancient world, such as Babylon and Persia, arose to shape history. Judaism had its roots in the Middle East, and Israel-the country of God's chosen people-was formed here. Later two of the largest and most historically important religions on earth-Christianity and Islam-also emerged and spread from the Middle East. As they expanded from this region, both of these religions had substantial impact on the course of history. Both of them also made considerable progress during their first 200 years of expansion. However, during the first two centuries of the existence of each religion there were fundamental differences between the expansion of Christianity and that of Islam, despite early similarities in the way they spread.