How did Islam really spread across the world? — credits

Early Muslim conquests changed who ruled, but historians find conversion was slow, with no organised attempt to force it, and Islam reached the Swahili coast, Indonesia and West Africa largely through merchants. Indonesia, reached by traders, has the world's largest Muslim population (Pew Research Center, 2025). The Qur'an says: "There is no compulsion in religion" (2:256). A hand-made-style paper-collage animation, rendered live in your browser with plain JavaScript and canvas.

Sources for the story

Qur'an 2:256 (“There is no compulsion in religion”), with Tafsir Ibn Kathir vol. 1 p. 682 on its occasion (the Ansar and their sons; Abu Dawud 2682): the bookend verse.
Tarikh al-Tabari vol. 3 pp. 608–609 (also al-Uns al-Jalil vol. 1 pp. 377–378): Umar's covenant with the people of Aelia (Jerusalem), “they shall not be compelled in their religion”. Its chain runs through Sayf ibn Umar, so it is quoted “as recorded by al-Tabari”.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Egypt: From the Islamic conquest to 1250” (no attempt to force the Egyptians to convert) and “Samudra-Pasai” (Malik al-Salih, 1297); Mawsu'at Safir li-l-Tarikh al-Islami vol. 5 pp. 2–3: the early conquests, 630s–710s CE.
T. W. Arnold, The Preaching of Islam (1913): no organised attempt to force the acceptance of Islam; the “sword” theory examined.
R. W. Bulliet, Conversion to Islam in the Medieval Period (1979), via D. O'Sullivan (2006): Iran from near zero in the 640s to about 80% Muslim by the 960s.
Mujaz al-Tarikh al-Islami vol. 1 pp. 299–301 and Majallat al-Risala no. 987: Islam reached lands no conquerors set foot on through merchants, including the Malay world.
Rihlat Ibn Battuta vol. 1 p. 197 (Mombasa and Kilwa, c. 1331) and Mawsu'at Safir vol. 9 p. 99: the Muslim towns of the Swahili coast.
Pew Research Center (9 June 2025): Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population by Pew's count.
J. S. Trimingham, via 'Abd al-Shafi vol. 1 p. 202, and Mawsu'at Safir vol. 9 pp. 4–6: Islam in West Africa came primarily through trade; traders' Qur'an lessons by firelight.
T. Vosmer, “The Jewel of Muscat” (Smithsonian NMAA, Shipwrecked), and the Belitung wreck: sewn-plank dhows with square sails (no nails), as drawn here.

Out of respect, the Prophet ﷺ is never depicted, and people are shown only from behind.

Made with

Narration: Google Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS (voice “Algieba”), directed and edited for this film.
Illustrations: Google Gemini 3.1 Flash Image (backgrounds) and OpenAI GPT Image 2.5 (cut-outs), art-directed and reviewed frame by frame.
Typefaces (SIL Open Font License): Caveat Brush, Caveat, Patrick Hand, Aref Ruqaa.
Animation engine, sound design and mix: written for this series.

Sound

No music is used. All sound effects are CC0 unless noted.

amb_coral_beach_waves — #587164 "Evening Ocean Waves along the Pacific Coast" by el_boss, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 120-154 s; HPF 40 Hz; 30 s seamless loop, -24 LUFS. Gentle, rather dull/dark (preview has little above 4 kHz)
amb_desert_wind_night — #796193 "Wind in the desert countryside 1" by fran_marenco, CC0 1.0; #651241 "Slight cricket singing with silent breeze recorded at night in the desert at Bagdad California" by felix.blume, CC0 1.0. Edits: soft wind 290-324 s (HPF 50 Hz, a stretch without the recording's daytime birds) + faint night-cricket air 2-36 s (HPF 150 Hz, 0 dB); 30 s seamless loop, -24 LUFS
amb_fire_crackle — #363092 "Fire Crackle and Flames 002" by TheWoodlandNomad, CC0 1.0. Edits: 10 s seamless crackle loop, -24 LUFS
amb_morning_birds_dry — #718403 "liminbout sparrows" by bruno.auzet, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 125-159 s (sparrows, distant pigeons; avoids the car near 190 s); HPF 100 Hz; 30 s seamless loop, -24 LUFS
amb_open_sea_rigging — #371172 "Sailboat, cockpit at 12kn wind speed" by borralbi, CC0 1.0; #195193 "LargeWoodenShip.mp3" by PimFeijen, CC0 1.0; #852108 "Sailboat Bow" by myLoop, CC0 1.0. Edits: layered: cockpit hull wash + wind 24-58 s (HPF 40 Hz, 0 dB) + wooden creaks 10-44 s (HPF 60 Hz, -21 dB) + bow splash/wind 40-74 s (HPF 80 Hz, -24 dB); 30 s seamless loop (2 s crossfade), -24 LUFS. Made for how-islam-spread
amb_predawn_hush — #651241 "Slight cricket singing with silent breeze recorded at night in the desert at Bagdad California" by felix.blume, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 2-36 s; HPF 120 Hz; 30 s seamless loop, -26 LUFS (source is ~-45 LUFS, so gain is about +19 dB)
amb_river_night_insects — #673960 "River with slight water flow, lapping, with cricket and frog recorded at night in Amazon rainforest" by felix.blume, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 74-108 s; HPF 60 Hz; 30 s seamless loop, -24 LUFS
sfx_ceramic_clink_soft — #568758 "Cup and Saucer 2.wav" by bowlingballout, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.08-0.70 s; HPF 100 Hz; trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_cloth_swish_1 — #391448 "Shirt Whoosh 1.wav" by saturdaysoundguy, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 6.70-7.40 s; HPF 80 Hz,FFT denoise 10 dB (floor -72); trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_cord_pull_1 — #646586 "Sewing cloth.wav" by heifabaisi, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 9.37-10.08 s (thread pulled through cloth); HPF 120 Hz,FFT denoise 8 dB (floor -60); trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_cord_pull_2 — #646586 "Sewing cloth.wav" by heifabaisi, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 29.16-29.86 s; HPF 120 Hz,FFT denoise 8 dB (floor -60); trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_cord_pull_3 — #646586 "Sewing cloth.wav" by heifabaisi, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 35.20-35.77 s; HPF 120 Hz,FFT denoise 8 dB (floor -60); trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_dream_shimmer_short — synthesized for this series: Same engine, 1.6 s dense sparkle sting.
sfx_flame_catch_soft — #326463 "Lighting A Match OWI.wav" by miekyj, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.42-1.85 s (flame flare only, strike removed); HPF 80 Hz; trim, 0.25 s fade-out, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_page_turn_1 — #136778 "Page Turn" by davidbain, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.00-1.98 s; HPF 80 Hz; trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_page_turn_2 — #397548 "Page Turn 01" by LilMati, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.00-0.50 s; HPF 80 Hz; trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_paper_rustle_1 — #181774 "rustling paper.wav" by keweldog, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.30-2.55 s; HPF 80 Hz; trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_paper_rustle_2 — #181774 "rustling paper.wav" by keweldog, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 2.50-4.45 s; HPF 80 Hz; trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_paper_rustle_3 — #449127 "Rustling Paper" by HarpyHarpHarp, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 1.45-2.15 s; HPF 80 Hz,FFT denoise 10 dB (floor -60); trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_paper_rustle_4 — #449127 "Rustling Paper" by HarpyHarpHarp, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 5.70-6.41 s; HPF 80 Hz,FFT denoise 10 dB (floor -60); trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_paper_rustle_5 — #211246 "PageRustle" by Tomoyo Ichijouji, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.10-1.90 s; HPF 80 Hz; trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_paper_slide_1 — #464302 "PaperSlide.wav" by eyesonlegs, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.00-1.64 s; HPF 60 Hz,FFT denoise 10 dB (floor -55); trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_paper_slide_2 — #444431 "Sliding Envelope.wav" by MTJohnson, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.20-1.10 s; HPF 80 Hz; trim, fades, peak -3 dBFS
sfx_paper_tear_1 — #272028 "Ripping Paper" by aldenroth2, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.00-1.96 s; HPF 60 Hz,FFT denoise 8 dB (floor -60); trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_paper_tear_2 — #342541 "Fast Paper Rip" by sgrowe, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.00-0.89 s; HPF 60 Hz; trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_paper_tear_3 — #170311 "Tearing paper" by ludde44, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.20-1.52 s; HPF 60 Hz; trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_parchment_unroll — #753282 "Parchment - Unroll" by Vrymaa, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 16.30-17.36 s; HPF 80 Hz; trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_pencil_scribble_1 — #257518 "Scribble_short.wav" by waldram, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.00-1.27 s; HPF 150 Hz,FFT denoise 12 dB (floor -50); trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_pencil_scribble_2 — #85703 "Pencil_scibble.aif" by tmkappelt, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.00-3.20 s; HPF 150 Hz,FFT denoise 12 dB (floor -62); trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_tick — synthesized for this series: A short synthesized key click for typing in the Qaf app screen (made for this series). Non-instrumental.
sfx_tissue_slide_1 — #147281 "fh_Paper_Swipe_Surface2_Long_01.wav" by Frank1100, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.10-1.42 s; HPF 120 Hz; trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_tissue_slide_2 — #147286 "fh_Paper_Swipe_Surface2_Mid_01.wav" by Frank1100, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 0.00-1.24 s; HPF 120 Hz,FFT denoise 8 dB (floor -55); trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS
sfx_whoosh_soft_synth — synthesized for this series: White noise through a time-varying log-Gaussian band-pass sweeping 300 Hz -> 2.2 kHz, swell envelope, slow L->R pan.
sfx_wood_creak_short — #130364 "Slow Creaking Stereo.wav" by harveyism, CC0 1.0. Edits: cut 12.15-13.40 s; pitched/slowed to 0.8x (about -4 semitones); HPF 60 Hz; trim, fades, peak -1 dBFS