Question

During the era of Golden-Age Islam (9th to 13th centuries), the Dar al-Islam-or the core Islamic areas of North Africa, Spain, the Near East, and Persia—became the central hub of a network of trade routes reaching across Asia to China in the east and across Africa to Mali in the west. Merchants traveling along these trade routes moved goods like silk, porcelains, exotic fruits, precious metals, and many other things. Culture also moved along these trade routes. Merchants and missionaries spread Islam far beyond the Dar al-Islam. With Islam came the Arabic language and script. Over time, that script was adopted and adapted by several Asian civilizations to write Persian, Kurdish, Urdu, Sindi, Pashto, and many others.

Based on the passage, what was the economic impact of the rise of Islam in Asia and Africa?

Arabic script was the basis of many writing systems throughout Asia and North Africa.
Merchants spread Islamic beliefs and practices along trade routes.
The Dar al-Islam functioned as the center of a vast trading network.
Merchants traveled between China and Mali.

Answer 1

The Dar al-Islam functioned as the center of a vast trading network.

Justification: the passage describes the core Islamic regions as the hub of routes linking China to Mali, through which merchants moved goods (silk, porcelain, metals, etc.), boosting long-distance trade and economic integration across Asia and Africa.