In this presentation, I have analyzed the ways in which Islam spread throughout the world rapidly through trade, conquest and its assimilation by various peoples of the Old World. In this presentation, I attempt to connect the ways in which the rise of Islam in the early 7th century AD led to conflicts with the western world which eventually gave way to the Crusades and the ongoing antipathy that characterizes relations between both religions. While the spread of this religion did much to interconnect trade and new ideas throughout Eurasia, there were conflicts between conquered populations and the new Muslim rulers. One example would be the conquest of Hispania by the Umayyads in the 8th century AD., relations between native Iberians and the Muslim ruling minority oscillated between harsh treatment and tolerance. I have also added information concerning how Islam was able to spread so rapidly, vanquishing large, formidable powers such as the Persian Empire and the Byzantine or East Roman Empire, with a fanatical zeal to spread the message of Allah. As a result, former Christian regions such as North Africa and Syria gradually converted to Islam, often due to the benefits in which becoming a Muslim helped concerning treatment as well as taxes. Jews and Christians were counted as “Peoples of the Book”,  a term which linked Islam, Judaism and Christianity as monotheistic faiths. This presentation also has three images which deal with Islam as a religion and its expression in art. I also highlight two textual sources which deal with European responses and views to Islam and how this religion came to bee seen as in perpetual conflict with the West and its values. To understand Islam, one must trace its roots back to where it started, thus in my analysis of its spread throughout the vast Asian continent and into parts of Europe, I have posted in my presentation the ways in which Muslims came to see themselves as having a duty to spread their religion by force of arms as well as by peaceful means such as trade. Early Christian Europeans traded with the Middle East and North Africa, in slaves as well as goods. Fears of Muslim penetration into Europe were held as early as the 7th century AD, when Islam was rapidly expanding from its base in the Arabian peninsula into Persia, Anatolia, North Africa and Iberia. The Muslim conquests were remarkable in that they occurred in a shorter time period unlike earlier empires, the Umayyad conquests may be regarded as one of the largest empires to have existed at the time.  Islam spread further into Central Asia and South Asia, reaching the borders of the Chinese Tang empire at one point, converting as well as assimilating different populations to its cause. Islam as a religion also deals with rivaling sects such as the Shiites who oppose the Sunnis which comprise a majority of Muslims. I have also incorporated into my Prezi portfolio the benefits in which Islamic culture helped preserve ancient texts which dealt in medicine and mathematics.