Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
2. The Emergence and Legacy of the Prophet Muhammad
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from Iran and Iraq to Bukhara in the east, while in
the west, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and then the whole
of North Africa also fell to Islam. And the torrent
did not halt there. In A.D. 711 Islam surged forward
across the Straits of Gibraltar into the Iberian
Peninsula. In 732 a Frankish prince, Charles Martel,
arrested the advance of Islam at Tours. Then
followed the Crusades, stretching over two
centuries, and after the Crusades the horrific
onslaughts of the Tartar tribes. But despite these
attacks from outside, the Islamic Empire held its
own until the 15th century, when, due to infighting
among the Muslims themselves, Spain was lost.
It was then the turn of the Turks and the Mughals
to be aroused by the spirit of Islam. In 1453 the
Turks conquered Constantinople and advanced into
Eastern Europe as far as Yugoslavia. A Turkish
army remained encamped outside Vienna until
1683. In the 16th century the Mughals established
Islamic rule in India and Afghanistan. Over the last
thirteen centuries Muslims have spread to every
corner of the globe. Close on four-dozen countries
of Asia and Africa have come to constitute a
Muslim world. According to the
World Muslim
