#lslam_is_not_terrorism14
đŋWAS ISLAM SPREAD BY THE SWORD?part4
đ¸It is clear, therefore, that Islam did not spread by the sword. The âsword of Islamâ did not convert all the non-Muslim minorities in Muslim countries. In India, where Muslims ruled for 800 years, they are still a minority. In the U.S.A., Islam is the fastest growing religion and has over six million followers.
In his book The Worldâs Religions, Huston Smith discusses how the prophet Muhammad granted freedom of religion to the Jews and Christians under Muslim rule:
The Prophet had a document drawn up in which he stipulated that Jews and Christians âshall be protected from all insults and harm; they shall have an equal right with our own people to our assistance and good offices,â and further, âthey shall practice their religion as freely as the Muslims.
Smith points out that Muslims regard that document as the first charter of freedom of conscience in human history and the authoritative model for those of every subsequent Muslim state.