Why Did Certain Areas Experience a More Thorough Process of Islamization

Question

Examlex · Accepted Answer

The Answer is •Anatolia should be identified as an example of thorough Islamization.
•India,West Africa,and/or Spain should be identified as areas where Islamization was less thorough.
•A discussion of Islam in Anatolia should identify the following to explain the more thorough process of Islamization:
oThe population was 90 percent Muslim.
oThere was a comparatively small population in Anatolia,with the Turkic-speaking peoples comprising a larger proportion of the population than in India.
oThe destruction of the Byzantine state and church left a void easily filled by the new Muslim rulers.
oThe promise of material rewards and high office made conversion to Islam an attractive option.
oThe monotheism of Islam resonated with Christian subjects.
•A discussion of Islam in India should highlight the differences between Islam and Hinduism as a way to explain the less thorough process of Islamization in India:
oThe population was 20 to 25 percent Muslim.
oReligious exclusivity and radical monotheism of Islam versus inclusiveness and polytheism of Hinduism.
oMuslim notion of equality of all believers versus hierarchal basis of caste system.
oSexual modesty of Muslims versus open eroticism of Hindu art.
•A discussion of Islam in West Africa should note that Islam mostly affected rulers and the urban elite,with people in the countryside continuing to practice local traditions:
oRulers did not enforce strict adherence to Islamic law.
oAfrican religions persisted in the countryside.
•A discussion of Islam in Spain should note the brevity of Muslim rule in Spain and the strength of Christianity in the rest of Europe:
oThe Christian reconquest of Spain beginning in 1200 led to the forced emigration of Muslims.
oChristian Europe only sought the secular aspects of the Muslim legacy in Spain.

Why Did Certain Areas Experience a More Thorough Process of Islamization

Definitions: