Forenote: Sir Winston Churchill has been recognized as one of the greatest men of the late nineteenth and of the twentieth century. He was an extraordinary war leader to whom the Western World must be forever in debt. He was a prophet in his own time as this quotation, written well over 100 years ago, demonstrates.]
"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries, improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement, the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyzes the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step, and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it (Islam) has vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome.”
[ Postnotes: (1) Sir Winston, as an officer of the British Army, served in Egypt and in the Sudan's War against the Mahdi; in both instances against the Muslims. These experiences gave him ample opportunity to observe the structure of Islamic society.
No comments:
Post a Comment