It is a common misconception with some non-Muslims that Islam would not have millions of followers all over the world, if it had not been spread by the use of force.

The following points will make it clear, that far from being spread by the sword, it was the inherent force of truth, reason and logic that was responsible for the rapid spread of Islam.

Islam has always given respect and freedom of religion to all faiths. Freedom of religion is ordained in the Qur'an itself:

By Islam Magazine | 21 Jan 2012  

Derbent is one of the oldest towns that has saved its original look till nowadays. One can hardly find another town that has survived so many invasions and destructions, has been an apple of discord and a scene of bloody battles so many times.

The first Islamic activists and the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had started their charitable mission here.

By Ehsan Masood | IslamiCity | 19 Jan 2012

The Prophet Muhammad frequently emphasized the importance of good health and healthy eating. He also encouraged people to seek medical treatment, and is reported to have said: 'Make use of medical treatment for God has not made a disease without appointing a remedy for it, with the exception of one disease old age.'

By Omar Karmi |CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA| 17 Jan 2012

The oldest standing mosque in the US is not an imposing building. It lies in a quiet residential neighbourhood just north of downtown Cedar Rapids.

By Idris Tawfiq |The Egyptian Gazette| 15 Jan 2012

Perhaps one of the greatest misconceptions about Islam is that Islam was spread by the sword. This idea has been spread abroad so widely by mischief makers that some people just accept it as a fact.

Even the devil, though, can quote scripture. In other words, anyone can take a verse of scripture out of context from the Bible or the Qur’an and make it seem to represent that religion.

Prepared by N. Jafarov : Islam Magazine | Makhachkala / 2011

Muslim Renaissance

Swiss orientalist Adam Metz (1869 - 1917) is a recognized expert in the history of culture of the Caliphate in the III - IV centuries AH (IX - X centuries AD). He did not turn to oriental studies but in the mature age. Before that he had studied law and theology. Having started with learning of Semitic languages, and having mastered Hebrew and Arabic, Mets then focused on the medieval period of the Arab East. By limiting the scope of his research with nothing more than two centuries, he carefully examined a great number of sources.

By: Dr. Youssef Mroueh / Sunnah.org / 05 Nov 2004

INTRODUCTION

Numerous evidence suggests that Muslims from Spain and West Africa arrived to the Americas at least five centuries before Columbus. It is recorded,for example, that in the mid-tenth century, during the rule of the Ummayyed Caliph Abdul-Rahman III (929-961 CE), Muslims of African origin sailed westward from the Spanish port of DELBA (Palos) into the "Ocean of darkness and fog". They returned after a long absence with much booty from a "strange and curious land". It is evident that people of Muslim origin are known to have accompanied Columbus and subsequent Spanish explorers to the New World.