<P> Initially, the spread of Islam came through the Dawah efforts of Muhammad and his followers . After his death in 632 C.E., much of the expansion of the empire came through conquest such as that of North Africa and later Spain (Al - Andalus). The Islamic conquest of Persia put an end to the Sassanid Empire and spread the reach of Islam to as far east as Khorasan, which would later become the cradle of Islamic civilization during the Islamic Golden Age (622 - 1258 C.E.) and a stepping - stone towards the introduction of Islam to the Turkic tribes living in and bordering the area . </P> <P> The missionary movement peaked during the Islamic Golden Age, with the expansion of foreign trade routes, primarily into the Indo - Pacific and as far south as the isle of Zanzibar as well as the South - Eastern shores of Africa . </P> <P> With the coming about of the tradition of Sufism, Islamic missionary activities increased considerably . Later, with the conquest of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks, missionaries would find easier passage to the lands then formerly belonging to the Byzantine Empire . In the earlier stages of the Ottoman Empire, a Turkic form of Shamanism was still widely practiced in Anatolia which soon lost ground to Sufism . </P> <P> During the Ottoman presence in the Balkans, missionary movements were taken up by people from aristocratic families hailing from the region, who had been educated in Constantinople or other major city within the Empire such as the famed madrassahs and kulliyes . Primarily, individuals were sent back to the place of their origin and were appointed important positions in the local governing body . This approach often resulted in the building of mosques and local kulliyes for future generations to benefit from, as well as spreading the teachings of Islam . </P>

Who are missionaries and where did they come from