Mountains and it had more farmland than Greece.
Peasants had to work the land of a wealthy lord
Rise
The rise of Islam in Africa and Asia was a consequences of years of military and political strategies as well as missionary work. After the Arab peninsula was united under one leadership of the prophet of Islam, there was enough stability and funding to expand abroad.
Islam grew out of a region that is correctly identified as the Middle East, completely in between both Africa and vast Asia.
The natural expansion of the religion took place in Palestine and to the east in, Syria and Persia up til modern-day Pakistan.
On the west, the expansion was naturally in Egypt and North Africa.
Fall
While Islam never 'Fell' out of Africa, there was a marked decline in Islamic Empires. This was mostly due to European powers who were scrambling for Africa. This saw the English, French, Belgians all conquer large parts of the land and use them for slaves and other trades.
