Research Paper on:
Islam and Buddhism Spread Throughout Asia

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
while this is generally accepted, one has to wonder why Buddhism and not Christianity or Islam permeated the territory. In exploring this curious question, the path of Buddhism and Islam  will be explored to denote just why Buddhism spread throughout the whole of East and Southeast Asia but Islam did not. First, in defining the area in question, East  Asia is primarily made up of Japan, China and Korea or the large states everyone is accustomed to discussing whereas Southeast Asia is comprised of smaller but well known states  like Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, The Philippines and several others. Many of the nations noted are known for their embrace of Buddhism and Islam is generally equated with the  Middle East. Of course, Islam is by no means absent from Asia, but it is not as prevalent as Buddhism. In part, the answer to why this is the case  lies in the trading routes taken and the religions that were involved on such trading paths. Silk, spices, gold and silver moved along a silk road and ideas did as  well (Johnson & Johnson, 2002). In fact, the silk industry was very prevalent in China (Shih, 1976). The utilization of silk, and the silk trade in general, laid the groundwork  for the spread of religion. One might compare the phenomenon to the Internet today. It is seen as a dominant vehicle for relaying new ideas, just as television might have  been a couple of decades ago. Similarly, in earlier centuries, trade routes would help to foster the spread of religion. Religious values did spread along trade routes and soon,  millions of Indians accepted Buddhism as their faith (Johnson & Johnson, 2002). In fact, buddhist missionaries traveled with merchants and adventurers on the silk road that led to China and