Has Islam spread with the sword?

The word "sword" is not mentioned in the Noble Qur’an, not even once. The countries that did not witness any wars in the history of Islam are the countries where the majority of Muslims of the world live today like Indonesia, India, China, and others. The existence of Christians, Hindus, and others until today in the countries conquered by Muslims is an evidence on that. Whereas, Muslims who live in countries occupied by non-Muslims are only few, those countries in which genocides were committed and people were compelled to adopt their beliefs like the Crusades and others.

Edouard Montet, the Head of the University of Geneva, said in one of his lectures: "Islam is a fast spreading religion. It spreads by itself without any encouragement offered by organized centers. This is because each Muslim is a missionary by nature. The Muslim possesses strong faith, and the strength of his faith overwhelms his heart and mind, and this is a special advantage of Islam not found in any other religion. Hence, a Muslim glowing with faith preaches his religion wherever he goes. He transmits the infection of strong faith to whoever gets in contact with him from among the pagans. In addition to faith, Islam is compatible with social and economic circumstances. It has an amazing ability to adapt with the surroundings and to make the surroundings adapt with the requirements of this strong religion." [167] "Al-Hadīqah Majmū‘at Adab Bāri‘ wa Hikmah Balīghah" by Sulaymān ibn Sālih al-Kharāshi.