 By the end of the 18th century, European powers, mainly the British Empire, commenced to extend political influence over the Muslim world, as well as extending into the Indian subcontinent, and by the end of the 19th century, much of the Muslim world as well as the Indian subcontinent, came under European colonial domination, most notably the British Raj.Islam in South Asia existed in communities along the Arab coastal trade routes in Sindh, Bengal, Gujarat, Kerala, and Ceylon as soon as the religion originated and had gained early acceptance in the Arabian Peninsula, though the first incursion by the new Muslim successor states of the Arab World occurred around 636 CE or 643 AD, during the Rashidun Caliphate, long before any Arab army reached the frontier of India by land.The connection between the Sind and Islam was established by the initial Muslim missions during the Rashidun Caliphate.