September 1, 2026:
During the first century of Islamic expansion, a lot of people died opposing the 35-year-long rampage of the Islamic armies. Most estimates put the number at 100 million or more. But in 700, the world population was essentially the same as in 600. There should have been 10-20 million more people, but those were the number of people in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, North Africa, and Europe who died opposing the Islamic attacks.
In addition to the deaths, the Muslim conquerors radically changed the religious landscape of Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey, which used to be Christian, became Muslim, or paid heavy taxes and suffered other indignities until they did. The same thing happened in Egypt and across Christian North Africa. Islam never completely converted all Egyptians; many belong to the Coptic sect, founded by one of the Apostles, Mark, and about 12 million Copts still exist, mostly in Egypt. Christian and animist Somalis were also forced to accept Islam or die.
Iran and Afghanistan were Zoroastrian and Buddhist in areas closer to Central Asia. While Islam was defeated trying to advance farther into Northern India, what is now Pakistan went from Hindu and Buddhist to largely Muslim. In Southeast Asia, most of the Hindu and Buddhist people became Muslims. While Christian Spain was conquered, French armies halted further Muslim advances beyond the Pyrenees Mountains. The Iberian (Spanish, Portuguese) Christians continued to resist and finally, in 1492, drove the last Muslim armies back to North Africa. In Eastern Europe, the Byzantine Roman Empire halted the Muslim advance until 1453, when Turkish Muslims captured Constantinople and parts of southeast Europe. The Turkish Empire lasted until 1920, when victorious Allied World War I armies defeated the Turkish Sultan and Turkey became a republic that tolerated all religions as long as everyone kept the peace and supported the government.
Despite this long history of resistance to Muslim aggression, the fundamental doctrine of Islam is to conquer the world. Islamic clerics and religious scholars continue to support that goal. Before the 20th century, Western nations simply ignored the Islamic threat and observed the ongoing conflicts between Muslim states. With the discovery of oil in the early 20th century, Persian Gulf states, including Persia, became wealthy and more dangerous to world peace. This was because wealthy members of the oil-rich states were willing to subsidize radical Muslims to carry out their Islamic terrorism in non-Muslim countries. That terrorism never succeeded, and it got many Islamic radicals killed. This left oil-rich nations with fewer radicals to deal with.