Question

— robert w. strayer & eric w. nelson, ways of the world: a global history with sources, 2016. 1. using the excerpts, answer (a), (b), and (c). keep your responses succinct - remember that you will only have 1 page to answer all 3 parts of an saq on the ap exam. a) briefly describe one major difference between cohen & douglass and strayer & nelsons historical interpretations of the spread of islam. one major difference between cohan & douglass versus strayer & nelson is cohan emphasizes the spread of islam happened because of the weakness of muslim rule, while strayer emphasizes the familiarity of islam concepts with other religions. b) briefly describe how one historical event or development between 600 c.e. and 1250 c.e. not explicitly mentioned in the excerpts that could be used to support cohen & douglass interpretation. c) briefly describe how one historical event or development between 600 c.e. and 1250 c.e. not explicitly mentioned in the excerpts that could be used to support strayer & nelsons interpretation.

Explanation:

a) The response correctly points out the contrast in their emphases on the causes of Islam's spread. For (b), a possible event could be the internal power - struggles within Muslim caliphates like the Fitna periods which could show weakness in Muslim rule. For (c), the syncretic religious practices in areas like the conversion of people in Africa who saw similarities between Islam and local animist and monotheistic beliefs could support Strayer & Nelson's view.

Answer:

a) Cohen emphasizes weakness of Muslim rule for Islam's spread, while Strayer emphasizes familiarity of Islam concepts with other religions.
b) Internal power - struggles (Fitna periods) within Muslim caliphates showed weakness in Muslim rule.
c) Syncretic religious practices in Africa where people saw similarities between Islam and local beliefs.