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Question: What were the conditions in 6th and early 7th century Arabia which help account for the emergence of Islam!?
Why, perhaps, were Christianity and Judaism disadvantage in Arabia!? Finally, considering Asia as a whole, why might it be that it was Islam, and not some other merchant-oriented religion like Buddhism or Jainism, which first came up with a whole system of commercial law and dispute resolution!?Www@QuestionHome@Com


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Judaism did have a system of commercial law and dispute resolution and there were Jewish tribes in Arabia!. They were not, however, especially interested in proselytizing and making converts!. Mohammed, in fact, reached out to the Jewish tribes with the expectation that they would join his new!./ old religion and the early chapters of the Koran are more conciliatory than are the later ones after he was rebuffed!. Many Islamic features come out of Judaism ( e!.g!. male circumscision, dietary laws --Kosher/Halal--, Abrahamic origins and the Isaac/Ishmael story --although permuted-- )

There was isolation in Arabia but also trade and so the situation was ripe for a proselytizing religion with military overtones to spread rapidly by conquering and converting tribes one by one!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Mostly it was really, really hot!. The average 7th century Arabian collapsed from heat exhaustion and started babbling incoherently at least five times in an average day, so adopting the rituals of prayer was quite easy for many people!.

Christianity had also failed to gain much of a foothold because many key Biblical episodes failed to translate to an Arabian environment!. Turning water into wine, for instance, made no sense in a land without water - ditto for John the Baptist (no rivers)!.

Buddhism was generally seen as too "new agey" and practiced mostly by aging hippies with no real concern for its teachings or history, being used merely as a vehicle for vague notions of peace and harmony with no ideological foundation!.Www@QuestionHome@Com