And if it is not accurate, where did this myth originate from and how did it gain such traction? I can understand that Christian Europe would claim that to disparage a competing religion, but why would this become so widely accepted about Islam more than other competing religions? In addition- if 'spread by the sword' is inaccurate- how did a religion based on one man's prophecies grow so rapidly to immense proportions?
hi! hopefully someone will drop by to address all of your secondary questions, but re the title question, I've rounded up a few posts that may help as a start
Did the period of "Islamic conquest" happen before Islam really took hold as a religion?
Did early muslims try and evangelize, or did most of their conversions come through conquest?
specific cultures