What Is Sharia? Separating Myths from Reality
After Muhammad died, there were military attempts to spread the new religion . During the 100 years, Arabs who followed Islam took over enormous areas of land in Asia, Africa, and even Europe. During this time, there were two groups of Muslims: Shia, which means "group" or "sect," and Sunni, which means "tradition." They didn't get along with each other. The vast majority of Muslims are Sunnis. The Turkic-speaking tribes, which were warlike, changed Islam from the 11th century on. These tribes, the Turkmen Seljuks and the Ottoman Turks, influenced the understanding of "What is Sharia?" The latter may take over the territory of the Orthodox Byzantine Empire and create a vast Ottoman Empire there, making Islam the national religion. The Mongols, who took over the Asian people who were Muslims, accepted it. The Golden Horde's official religion since 1313 has been Islam. Islam spread through the military all the way to India, when the M...