Central Asia
The Battle of Talas in 751 between the Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang Dynasty for control of Central Asia was the turning point initiating mass conversion into Islam in the region.
Islamisation of the region has had profound impact on the native cultures in the region moulding them as a part of Islamic civilization.
Islamisation in the region has also had the effect of blending Islam into native cultures, creating new forms of Islamic practices, known as folk Islam, the most prominent proponent of which was Khoja Akhmet Yassawi who’s Sufi Yeseviye sect appealed greatly to local nomads. Some have proclaimed that Yassawi was a Khwajagan, however some scholars insist that his influence on the Shi’a Alevi and Bektashi cannot be underestimated.
Several centers flourished as centers of Islamic learning, culture and art in the region, including Samarkand, Bukhara and Urgench, until the Mongol invasion of Central Asia in 13th century.
Islam led to a change in certain traditional practices of the inhabitants of Central Europe, e.g. the nomadic Turko-Mongolian tribes slowly accepted certain Islamic tenets, such as giving up the consumption of alcohol or bathing before prayer.
Central Asian Islamic scientists and philosophers, including Al-Khwarzimi, Abu Rayhan Biruni, Farabi, and Avicenna made an important impact on the development of science in the following centuries.
Islam influenced the Central Asian art and literature considerably. The Indians rejected the out-dated and absurd customs of Hindu society and showed tendency towards the new trends of life.
The Muslim conquest of Central Asia left a considerable impact on their architecture and there was a unique development in art during the Muslim rule. For instance, Muslim architecture frequently mingled with the Hindu style of buildings such as pillars and domes used in Hindu temples.
Islam had a social impact in Central Asia as it brought about a sense of homogeneity and oneness grew in the social set-up.
East Africa
Islam entered East Africa around the 615 but remained confined to the coast.
By the 14th century, several areas in East Africa, such as Harar, had become seats of Islamic learning.
East African coast became increasingly incorporated into the Arab Muslim world, but even other parts of the continent reflected the power of Islamic thought and institutions. New centers of civilization and political power arose in several parts of sub-Saharan Africa, illustrating the geographical diffusion of civilization.
The expansion of Islam in mainland East Africa not only led to the formation of new communities, but it also reconfigured existing East African communities and empires to be based on Islamic models.
Islamization also served to link East Africa even more closely to the outside world through trade, religion, and politics. Trade and long-distance commerce, in fact, was carried out in many parts that had accepted Islam and linked regions beyond the orbit of Muslim penetration.
Islam led to development of new languages, such as swahili, which is a mixture of Bantu with Arabic (native language of Muslims from the Middle East).
Works Cited
Esposito, John. Oxford History of Islam, Oxford: University Press, 2000. Print.
Sonn, Tamara. A Brief History of Islam, New Jersey: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2004. Print.