Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world and share a historical and traditional connection, with some major theological differences. The two faiths share a common place of origin in the Middle East, and consider themselves to be monotheistic.
The effect of the spread of Islam was an increase in trade. Unlike early Christianity, Muslims were not reluctant to engage in trade and profit; Muhammad himself was a merchant. As new areas were drawn into the orbit of Islamic civilisation, the new religion provided merchants with a safe context for trade. The application of sharia—Islamic law derived from the Koran—ensured a certain measure of uniformity in the application of criminal justice. Sharia law protected commerce and imposed stiff punishments for theft and dishonesty. Muslim jurists called qadis were established to resolve disputes through the application of sharia. Merchants were thus provided with a forum for making complaints and having them resolved in a consistent and systematic way. Trade and travel were not as risky or perilous as before and both thrived with the coming of Islam.
<span>The main reasons for adopting the new calendar included those that were secular in nature. The secular nature was that church was not as big of a part of people's lives, and this was reflected in the creation of the new calendar. The calendar replaced the Gregorian calendar which was religious in nature and did not focus on scientific ideals.</span>
