Chapter 9

      In Chapter nine, The Worlds of Islam, the book covers the birth of a new religion, Islam. "Islam took hold in the cities and deserts of the Arabian Peninsula" (412). The Arabian Peninsula had been occupied for a long time by a group known as the Bedouins, a nomadic group of Arab people. The Bedouins recognized a variety of gods, ancestors, and nature spirits and held above everything bravery, loyalty, and hospitality. The location of Arabia also held a significant importance. Arabia was located next to the trade routes that connected the Arabian Peninsula to the rest of the Eurasian Continent via the sea routes by way of the Indian ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The connection to the trade routes "gave rise to cosmopolitan commercial cities, whose values and practices were often in conflict with those of traditional Arab tribes" (413). The long distance trading connected them to the rest of the world. Some of the Arab people were starting to explore the possibility that Allah/Yahweh was the only God and that the other lesser gods were more of idols instead of actual gods. Some people believe that this sudden interest in monotheism was a hint that the Arabs were moving toward other religions, such as Judaism or Christianity.