Islam started with the creation of the Earth. It did not start to gain a large following however until the prophet Mohammed was born in 570 A.D. He began preaching about the God and reading the scriptures of the Quran. He brought together the many tribes in the Middle East and began to preach what Islam truly means, “submission to God”. The Muslims, this is what followers of Islam are called, also started to conquer land to spread their faith. They conquered large parts of northeast Africa and the Middle East. This is the only area where the spread of Islam was done by the sword in this time. When the faith spread to other parts it was done by the draw of the faith. Here is a religion with one God, and he showed mercy on his subjects. This expansion was done after the death of Mohammed. He died in 632, and through his followers Islam saw this great expansion. Islam spread to the Southern tip of France, India, China, more of Africa, and numerous other parts of the world. Today, Islam is still the fastest growing religion, and it stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. It gets a bad rap because of the terrorist attacks, but at its heart it is a religion founded on love and equality to all. A select few have distorted the image of an entire religion.
If you would like to find out more about Islam check out these sites:
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion/islam/history.html
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion/islam/history.html