# If Islam was not forced on people, why did so many convert? *The Silk Road, Arabic as lingua franca, and who would have policed forced conversion* - URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/_dsmpiar0bm/s/3/ - Date: 2019-12-16 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi: "Islam was spread by the sword" | Mufti Abu Layth (8:15–12:29) - Status: general teaching - Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dSMPIAR0BM&t=495s - Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/_dsmpiar0bm/ **Topics:** Orthodoxy and how Islam spread; Exchanges with Yasir Qadhi **Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Forced conversion was never the norm: Islam's power, trade and prestige drew people, and nobody could have policed the faith of a rural population. Some were surely forced, but not most. **Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says he is sure that, over the whole of history, many people were converted by force, but that this was never the norm or the majority of how Islam spread. **Evidence, his words at 11:31:** “I'm sure there were many oh if you know if you're gonna look over entire history of human civilizations but they would never that was never the norm of how it was happening that was never the majority” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dSMPIAR0BM&t=691s) ## Longer summary Mufti Abu Layth says the Muslims' control of the Middle East, at the centre of the Silk Road trade, gave them great power, and that Arabic was then the lingua franca, prestigious in the way English is today, which he calls documented fact. A powerful, wealthy nation with a new God was attractive to people intrigued by new gods and good omens. He calls the idea that everyone was forced to become Muslim and stay Muslim nonsense, asking who monitored their Islam in a largely rural world, why they raised their children Muslim, and why they stayed Muslim when dynasties collapsed; he says the claim is propaganda, bigotry, or, if genuine, an inability to fathom how people in the past thought. He compares it, as a loose parallel, to people adopting a lifestyle such as veganism today. He says he is sure some people were converted by force over the course of history, but that it was never the norm or the majority of how Islam spread. ## Sources and names cited - the Silk Road ## Transcript (machine tier, 8:15–12:29) [7:36] you know Brahm worshipping whatever you some people even worship our oven you know the devil I mean if I can call him that in in the the anti-hero from there a Mayan now how did this happen because people felt it worked for them another feature that you have to throw in is that because of where the Middle East was placed it was bang in the middle of the Silk Road of the Silk Roads now all trade throughout the world whether you want to bring it down from China into Africa down from China into [8:15] Europe from Europe into China from Europe into Africa you had to go through the Middle East and because the Muslims generally controlled that it gave Muslims a huge power play hence Arabic was the lingua franca that Arabic was the lingua franca of the world a during I mean people saw Arabic in a great sense of prestige they didn't see it like you see Arabic the way we see English today so people today will pride themselves to say one or two words in English in some countries even if they can't speak English well because it's a language it's the [8:54] language of currency it's the language of power in a similar way Arabic was the lingua franca back then and I'm not saying this this is documented fact so when you see a prosperous nation that are powerful that have strengths that have military they have might they have the version of technology they have wealth they have the lingua franca and these people have a new God you see two people back then who were really into almonds they were intrigued by new gods [9:34] and the fact that maybe this God will bring good omen onto us so it's not you know this is nonsense that people were all forced to become Muslim oon and then they were there and then they had to uh stay Muslim I mean who was monitoring their Islam why would they make their children Muslim I think about it the dynasty afterwards had collapsed why would you you you you know and who's gonna be who's gonna be checking in the farmlands the majority of civilization was in the was rural was in the countryside's so who is gonna be policing all of this [10:14] so this is nonsense this is like just it either propaganda against you know religions or it's just bigoted views or it's the inability in may if it is genuine it's the inability to fathom what the minds of people in the past thought like so people are thinking or today I wouldn't because today it's true people won't just take on other religions so we're assuming that in the past but a good way to look at it today in some ways is like saying like how [10:53] people will maybe take on lifestyle approaches today like they'll change their lifestyle to match a particular lifestyle like I know like it's the new year you know I'm gonna go on to this lifestyle become healthy I'm gonna do this I'm gonna go dream I'm gonna become a vegan I'm gonna become a merit of this lifestyle I'm gonna get into this this particular I don't all environmental kind of lifestyle and get into this and people do still adopt that today I mean it's not a strong parallel but I'm just giving an example but in the past people were very eager to adopt something that [11:31] would bring them good almonds so yeah so I hope that makes sense it was never that this is nonsense utter nonsense I mean I'm not saying don't get me wrong I'm not saying nobody was ever converted by force I'm sure they were and I'm sure there were many oh if you know if you're gonna look over entire history of human civilizations but they would never that was never the norm of how it was happening that was never the majority that was not how Islam was spreading because somebody was going around saying oh you better accept Islam otherwise I'll chop your head off and what people were accepting it and they were becoming [12:09] Muslim as well and how many people were policing and how long did these empires last because within the empires thick their rulers keep getting taken over every five years so yeah so I hope that makes some sense I I definitely wanted to kind of shed some light on that ## Cite Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment _dSMPIAR0BM/s/3. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/_dsmpiar0bm/s/3/ Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.