Islam has attracted people from different societies and cultures, bringing about important changes as a result of contact and often blending with local beliefs. Islam sometimes spreads to other countries due to military conquest. Muslims rarely force people to convert to their religion, often preferring to tax other religions instead. Islam spread through more conversions as people learned what it was through trade and missionary networks. The religion was simple in that it contained a set of beliefs about what to do and what not to do to go to heaven and avoid eternity in hell. First, Islam gained followers in the Middle East and North Africa, and then slowly gained popularity in Southern Europe. Christianity, on the other hand, believes that Jesus is God the Son who became man. People receive eternal life by believing in Jesus and following his teachings. Christianity has had a major impact on the West, particularly in the arts, philosophy, and society. From 750 AD to the early 1400s, Islam was gaining territory in all parts of Europe by invading countries in unusual ways, such as creating a cultural fusion and a pocket of Muslims inhabiting the area. Christianity then made its appearance in the Americas at the end of the 1400s with Spanish missionaries who forced people to convert. Both religions have changed over time for the people who believe in them, but have remained at the core of their beliefs. The rise of Islam quickly created fear and hatred in Christian Europe, which identified itself as its rival. European crusades were launched in the 11th century to reconquer the Holy Land from the Muslims, although they were only partially successful. Hostility towards Islam in Europe remained a major theme until... middle of paper... created a significant Muslim minority, although there were some forced conversions. There was no Christianity in the Americas before the Era of exploration that began in 1492 with the arrival of Christopher Columbus. In 1493 Ferdinand and Isabella sent a second expedition to Latin America. These Christian missionaries arrived from the Kingdom of Spain and much of this work came in the form of forced conversion and enslavement as the Spanish conquest developed. Spanish soldiers carried weapons into battle against the Aztec, Mayan, and Inca peoples. They came with the desire to impose Christianity and Spanish rule on the continent and with the hope for the riches believed to be there. There was a systematic attempt to spread Christianity through permanent missions and they did this by converting people and attempting to spread their culture and influence.