[Reader-list] what non-Muslims say about Quran, Islam

[radhikarajen at vsnl.net]

GOOD THOUGHTS INDEED REFLECTS THE WISDOM AND INTELLECT OF THIS INDIVIDUAL.. Basic truth of the matter is both Cristian and islam are abrahamic faiths, which were revealed to some individuals, and Gettha can be seen and read as pure humanitarian outlook or as religious text depending on the approach of the reader. As Dr. Radhakrishnan in his preface to the commentary on Shrimadbhagawathgita observes.

 Regards.

----- Original Message -----
From: Javed <javedmasoo at gmail.com>
Date: Monday, January 21, 2008 12:55 am
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] what non-Muslims say about Quran, Islam
To: chanchal malviya <chanchal_malviya at yahoo.com>
Cc: reader-list at sarai.net

> Dear Chanchal ji
> I would love to take up this challenge - I don't mind having a debate
> with you. But there are a few very basic things first.
> 
> (1) I am not attacking Bhagwat Gita, I have no problem with it, I
> haven't read it, I don't own a copy right now, so I can't argue 
> for or
> against it any way, nor do I want to condemn it in any way. As a
> matter of fact, I respect it, just as I respect all other books of
> wisdom. Quite simply, I have nothing to say against Bhagwat Gita or
> any other Holy book. So you have already won on that account.
> 
> (2)  How can I trust you in a discussion when you keep rejecting my
> facts by saying "Gandhi never read Quran", and "forget what people
> say" - how can we forget/ignore things which have been said before
> about Quran. Are you saying that all those philosophers (which I
> quoted) have not read what you have read? Or are you claiming to know
> more about Islam than what all those people have known? Although many
> of them are Christians but that doesn't mean that they would be more
> sympathatic to Islam. The hostilities between Muslims and Christians
> have been equally terrible.
> 
> (3) I would like to know exactly which translation of the Quran are
> you quoting from. Just like you do not approve my references, I may
> have a problems with your sources. So, let us start with that. Please
> let me know which translation of the Quran are you reading.
> 
> (4) Please remember, the most important point which I will keep
> referring to is: The Quran, or any other historical/holy book for that
> matter, was written/compiled at a certain stage in history, at a
> certain geographical location, for a certain cultural context. We have
> to read/interprete each word of that book in the context of those
> times and that location. If we start applying anything from that text
> to the current situation and intepret today's reality from the point
> of view of that old text, we are going to run into trouble - our
> interpretations and evaluations will always be problematic. And I can
> already foresee our running into that quagmire. Some Muslims may say
> that Quran applies to all times and all humans equally, but a
> sociologist/historian may see Quran to be a historical document (my
> apologies if I'm hurting anyone's sentiments). And I would like to
> treat it (at least in this discussion) at a historical document.
> 
> (5) I am not in a mood to fight - the way you are writing so
> aggressively. I would love to participate in a discussion if we tone
> down a bit.
> 
> If you think that my above points make sense, then let us go 
> ahead. I
> am ready for the discussion. I am really looking forward to a
> scholarly, mature, non-partisan, and parliamentary discussion with
> you, in good spirits.
> 
> Javed
> 
> 
> 
> On 1/20/08, chanchal malviya <chanchal_malviya at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > Mahatma Gandhi never read Quran.. He only read Bhagwad Geeta.. 
> and hence
> > what he said was his perception about Quran as a religion...
> > And forget about what people said...
> >
> > Have courage to discuss it personally...
> > I will have Bhagwad Geeta (the most accepted book of Hindus)... 
> and you
> > quote from that book..
> > I will also have Quran (the one translated by your writers)... 
> and I quote
> > from that book...
> >
> > Every page of Quran teaches hatred... and many page teaches 
> killings....>
> > I invite you for an open discussion... here on this forum...  
> two books
> > (Don't divert to other books of Hindus, by quoting Dr. Naiks 
> findings, that
> > has already been taken care of and I can provide link where it 
> has been
> > answered)... Let us focus just two books... one yours and one 
> mine...>
> > I invite... things would be clear..
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----
> > From: Javed <javedmasoo at gmail.com>
> > To: chanchal malviya <chanchal_malviya at yahoo.com>
> > Cc: reader-list at sarai.net
> > Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2008 6:43:46 PM
> > Subject: what non-Muslims say about Quran, Islam
> >
> > Dear Chanchal ji
> > If you have read Quran and found only war and terror in it, why 
> do so
> > many non-Muslim scholars and philosophers (including Mahatma Gandhi
> > and K. S. Ramakrishna Rao) have said so many great things about it.
> > Please read these quotes carefully. Some of these people are 
> actually> saying just the reverse of what you claim.
> >
> > =====
> >
> > Thomas Carlyle in 'Heroes and Hero Worship and the Heroic in 
> History,' 1840:
> >
> > "The lies (Western slander) which well-meaning zeal has heaped round
> > this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only." "A silent
> > great soul, one of that who cannot but be earnest. He was to kindle
> > the world, the world's Maker had ordered so."
> >
> >
> > A. S. Tritton in 'Islam,' 1951:
> >
> > The picture of the Muslim soldier advancing with a sword in one hand
> > and the Qur'an in the other is quite false.
> >
> >
> > De Lacy O'Leary in 'Islam at the Crossroads,' London, 1923:
> >
> > History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical 
> Muslims> sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point 
> of sword
> > upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths
> > that historians have ever repeated.
> >
> >
> > Gibbon in 'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' 1823:
> >
> > The good sense of Muhammad despised the pomp of royalty. The Apostle
> > of God submitted to the menial offices of the family; he kindled the
> > fire; swept the floor; milked the ewes; and mended with his own 
> hands> his shoes and garments. Disdaining the penance and merit of 
> a hermit,
> > he observed without effort of vanity the abstemious diet of an Arab.
> >
> >
> > Edward Gibbon and Simon Oakley in 'History of the Saracen 
> Empire,' London,
> > 1870:
> >
> > "The greatest success of Mohammad's life was effected by sheer 
> moral force."
> > "It is not the propagation but the permanency of his religion that
> > deserves our wonder, the same pure and perfect impression which he
> > engraved at Mecca and Medina is preserved after the revolutions of
> > twelve centuries by the Indian, the African and the Turkish 
> proselytes> of the Koran....The Mahometans have uniformly 
> withstood the temptation
> > of reducing the object of their faith and devotion to a level 
> with the
> > senses and imagination of man. 'I believe in One God and Mahomet the
> > Apostle of God' is the simple and invariable profession of 
> Islam. The
> > intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any 
> visible> idol; the honors of the prophet have never transgressed 
> the measure of
> > human virtue, and his living precepts have restrained the 
> gratitude of
> > his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion."
> >
> >
> > Reverend Bosworth Smith in 'Muhammad and Muhammadanism,' London, 
> 1874:>
> > "Head of the State as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in
> > one; but he was Pope without the Pope's pretensions, and Caesar
> > without the legions of Caesar, without a standing army, without a
> > bodyguard, without a police force, without a fixed revenue. If 
> ever a
> > man ruled by a right divine, it was Muhammad, for he had all the
> > powers without their supports. He cared not for the dressings of
> > power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his
> > public life."
> > "In Mohammadanism every thing is different here. Instead of the
> > shadowy and the mysterious, we have history....We know of the 
> external> history of Muhammad.... while for his internal history 
> after his
> > mission had been proclaimed, we have a book absolutely unique in its
> > origin, in its preservation....on the Substantial authority of which
> > no one has ever been able to cast a serious doubt."
> >
> >
> > Edward Montet, 'La Propagande Chretienne et ses Adversaries
> > Musulmans,' Paris 1890. (Also in T.W. Arnold in 'The Preaching of
> > Islam,' London 1913.):
> >
> > "Islam is a religion that is essentially rationalistic in the widest
> > sense of this term considered etymologically and historically....the
> > teachings of the Prophet, the Qur'an has invariably kept its 
> place as
> > the fundamental starting point, and the dogma of unity of God has
> > always been proclaimed therein with a grandeur a majesty, an
> > invariable purity and with a note of sure conviction, which it 
> is hard
> > to find surpassed outside the pale of Islam....A creed so 
> precise, so
> > stripped of all theological complexities and consequently so
> > accessible to the ordinary understanding might be expected to 
> possess> and does indeed possess a marvelous power of winning its 
> way into the
> > consciences of men."
> >
> >
> > Alphonse de LaMartaine in 'Historie de la Turquie,' Paris, 1854:
> >
> > "Never has a man set for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, 
> a more
> > sublime aim, since this aim was superhuman; to subvert superstitions
> > which had been imposed between man and his Creator, to render 
> God unto
> > man and man unto God; to restore the rational and sacred idea of
> > divinity amidst the chaos of the material and disfigured gods of
> > idolatry, then existing. Never has a man undertaken a work so far
> > beyond human power with so feeble means, for he (Muhammad) had 
> in the
> > conception as well as in the execution of such a great design, no
> > other instrument than himself and no other aid except a handful 
> of men
> > living in a corner of the desert. Finally, never has a man
> > accomplished such a huge and lasting revolution in the world, 
> because> in less than two centuries after its appearance, Islam, 
> in faith and
> > in arms, reigned over the whole of Arabia, and conquered, in God's
> > name, Persia Khorasan, Transoxania, Western India, Syria, Egypt,
> > Abyssinia, all the known continent of Northern Africa, numerous
> > islands of the Mediterranean Sea, Spain, and part of Gaul. "If
> > greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astonishing 
> results are
> > the three criteria of a human genius, who could dare compare any 
> great> man in history with Muhammad? The most famous men created 
> arms, laws,
> > and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than
> > material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. 
> This man
> > moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples, 
> dynasties, but
> > millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more
> > than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas,
> > the beliefs and the souls.
> >
> > "On the basis of a Book, every letter which has become law, he 
> created> a spiritual nationality which blend together peoples of 
> every tongue
> > and race. He has left the indelible characteristic of this Muslim
> > nationality the hatred of false gods and the passion for the One and
> > Immaterial God. This avenging patriotism against the profanation of
> > Heaven formed the virtue of the followers of Muhammad; the 
> conquest of
> > one-third the earth to the dogma was his miracle; or rather it 
> was not
> > the miracle of man but that of reason.
> >
> > "The idea of the unity of God, proclaimed amidst the exhaustion 
> of the
> > fabulous theogonies, was in itself such a miracle that upon it's
> > utterance from his lips it destroyed all the ancient temples of 
> idols> and set on fire one-third of the world. His life, his 
> meditations, his
> > heroic revelings against the superstitions of his country, and his
> > boldness in defying the furies of idolatry, his firmness in enduring
> > them for fifteen years in Mecca, his acceptance of the role of 
> public> scorn and almost of being a victim of his fellow 
> countrymen... This
> > dogma was twofold the unity of God and the immateriality of God: the
> > former telling what God is, the latter telling what God is not; the
> > one overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other starting 
> an idea
> > with words.
> >
> > "Philosopher, Orator, Apostle, Legislator, Conqueror of Ideas,
> > Restorer of Rational beliefs.... The founder of twenty terrestrial
> > empires and of one spiritual empire that is Muhammad. As regards all
> > standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask,
> > is there any man greater than he?"
> >
> >
> > Mahatma Gandhi, statement published in 'Young India,'1924:
> >
> > I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an
> > undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind.... I became
> > more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place
> > for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid
> > simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous
> > regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and 
> followers,> his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust 
> in God and in
> > his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before
> > them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the second volume
> > (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for 
> me to
> > read of that great life.
> >
> >
> > Sir George Bernard Shaw in 'The Genuine Islam,' Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936:
> >
> > "If any religion had the chance of ruling over England, nay Europe
> > within the next hundred years, it could be Islam." I have always 
> held> the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its 
> wonderful> vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me 
> to possess that
> > assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can
> > make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him - the wonderful
> > man and in my opinion for from being an anti-Christ, he must be 
> called> the Savior of Humanity."
> >
> > "I believe that if a man like him were to assume the 
> dictatorship of
> > the modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way
> > that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have
> > prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be 
> acceptable to
> > the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the
> > Europe of today."
> >
> >
> > Michael Hart in 'The 100, A Ranking of the Most Influential 
> Persons In
> > History,' New York, 1978:
> >
> > My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most 
> influential> persons may surprise some readers and may be 
> questioned by others, but
> > he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both
> > the secular and religious level. ...It is probable that the relative
> > influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined
> > influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. ...It is 
> this> unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence 
> which I
> > feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single
> > figure in human history.
> >
> >
> > Dr. WilliamDraper in 'History of Intellectual Development of 
> Europe':>
> > Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born in 
> Mecca,> in Arabia, the man who, of all men, has exercised the greatest
> > influence upon the human race... To be the religious head of many
> > empires, to guide the daily life of one-third of the human race, may
> > perhaps justify the title of a Messenger of God.
> >
> >
> > Arthur Glyn Leonard in 'Islam, Her Moral and Spiritual Values':
> >
> > It was the genius of Muhammad, the spirit that he breathed into the
> > Arabs through the soul of Islam that exalted them. That raised them
> > out of the lethargy and low level of tribal stagnation up to the 
> high> watermark of national unity and empire. It was in the 
> sublimity of
> > Muhammad's deism, the simplicity, the sobriety and purity it
> > inculcated the fidelity of its founder to his own tenets, that acted
> > on their moral and intellectual fiber with all the magnetism of true
> > inspiration.
> >
> >
> > Philip K. Hitti in 'History of the Arabs':
> >
> > Within a brief span of mortal life, Muhammad called forth of
> > unpromising material, a nation, never welded before; in a 
> country that
> > was hitherto but a geographical expression he established a religion
> > which in vast areas suppressed Christianity and Judaism, and 
> laid the
> > basis of an empire that was soon to embrace within its far flung
> > boundaries the fairest provinces the then civilized world.
> >
> >
> > Rodwell in the Preface to his translation of the Holy Qur'an:
> >
> > Mohammad's career is a wonderful instance of the force and life that
> > resides in him who possesses an intense faith in God and in the 
> unseen> world. He will always be regarded as one of those who have 
> had that
> > influence over the faith, morals and whole earthly life of their
> > fellow men, which none but a really great man ever did, or can
> > exercise; and whose efforts to propagate a great verity will 
> prosper.>
> >
> > W. Montgomery Watt in 'Muhammad at Mecca,' Oxford, 1953:
> >
> > His readiness to undergo persecution for his beliefs, the high moral
> > character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as a
> > leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement - all 
> argue his
> > fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more
> > problems that it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of
> > history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad.... 
> Thus, not
> > merely must we credit Muhammad with essential honesty and 
> integrity of
> > purpose, if we are to understand him at all; if we are to 
> correct the
> > errors we have inherited from the past, we must not forget the
> > conclusive proof is a much stricter requirement than a show of
> > plausibility, and in a matter such as this only to be attained with
> > difficulty.
> >
> >
> > D. G. Hogarth in 'Arabia':
> >
> > Serious or trivial, his daily behavior has instituted a canon which
> > millions observe this day with conscious memory. No one regarded by
> > any section of the human race as Perfect Man has ever been 
> imitated so
> > minutely. The conduct of the founder of Christianity has not 
> governed> the ordinary life of his followers. Moreover, no founder 
> of a religion
> > has left on so solitary an eminence as the Muslim apostle.
> >
> >
> > Washington Irving 'Mahomet and His Successors':
> >
> > He was sober and abstemious in his diet and a rigorous observer of
> > fasts. He indulged in no magnificence of apparel, the 
> ostentation of a
> > petty mind; neither was his simplicity in dress affected but a 
> result> of real disregard for distinction from so trivial a 
> source. In his
> > private dealings he was just. He treated friends and strangers, the
> > rich and poor, the powerful and weak, with equity, and was 
> beloved by
> > the common people for the affability with which he received 
> them, and
> > listened to their complaints. His military triumphs awakened no 
> pride> nor vain glory, as they would have done had they been 
> effected for
> > selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power he 
> maintained the
> > same simplicity of manners and appearance as in the days of his
> > adversity. So far from affecting a regal state, he was 
> displeased if,
> > on entering a room, any unusual testimonials of respect were 
> shown to
> > him. If he aimed at a universal dominion, it was the dominion of
> > faith; as to the temporal rule which grew up in his hands, as he 
> used> it without ostentation, so he took no step to perpetuate it 
> in his
> > family.
> >
> >
> > James Michener in 'Islam: The Misunderstood Religion,' Reader's
> > Digest, May 1955, pp. 68-70:
> >
> > "No other religion in history spread so rapidly as Islam. The 
> West has
> > widely believed that this surge of religion was made possible by the
> > sword. But no modern scholar accepts this idea, and the Qur'an is
> > explicit in the support of the freedom of conscience."
> > "Like almost every major prophet before him, Muhammad fought shy of
> > serving as the transmitter of God's word sensing his own inadequacy.
> > But the Angel commanded 'Read'. So far as we know, Muhammad was 
> unable> to read or write, but he began to dictate those inspired 
> words which
> > would soon revolutionize a large segment of the earth: "There is one
> > God"."
> >
> > "In all things Muhammad was profoundly practical. When his 
> beloved son
> > Ibrahim died, an eclipse occurred and rumors of God 's personal
> > condolence quickly arose. Whereupon Muhammad is said to have
> > announced, 'An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish to
> > attribute such things to the death or birth of a human being'."
> >
> > "At Muhammad's own death an attempt was made to deify him, but 
> the man
> > who was to become his administrative successor killed the hysteria
> > with one of the noblest speeches in religious history: 'If there are
> > any among you who worshiped Muhammad, he is dead. But if it is 
> God you
> > Worshiped, He lives for ever'."
> >
> >
> > Lawrence E. Browne in 'The Prospects of Islam,' 1944:
> >
> > Incidentally these well-established facts dispose of the idea so
> > widely fostered in Christian writings that the Muslims, wherever 
> they> went, forced people to accept Islam at the point of the sword.
> >
> >
> > K. S. Ramakrishna Rao in 'Mohammed: The Prophet of Islam,' 1989
> >
> > My problem to write this monograph is easier, because we are not
> > generally fed now on that (distorted) kind of history and much time
> > need not be spent on pointing out our misrepresentations of 
> Islam. The
> > theory of Islam and sword, for instance, is not heard now in any
> > quarter worth the name. The principle of Islam that "there is no
> > compulsion in religion" is well known.
> >
> > Napolean Bonaparte as Quoted in Christian Cherfils, 'Bonaparte et
> > Islam,' Pedone Ed., Paris, France, 1914, pp. 105, 125.
> > Original References: "Correspondance de Napoléon Ier Tome V 
> pièce n°
> > 4287 du 17/07/1799..."
> >
> > "Moses has revealed the existence of God to his nation. Jesus Christ
> > to the Roman world, Muhammad to the old continent... "Arabia was
> > idolatrous when, six centuries after Jesus, Muhammad introduced the
> > worship of the God of Abraham, of Ishmael, of Moses, and Jesus. The
> > Ariyans and some other sects had disturbed the tranquility of 
> the east
> > by agitating the question of the nature of the Father, the son, and
> > the Holy Ghost. Muhammad declared that there was none but one 
> God who
> > had no father, no son and that the trinity imported the idea of
> > idolatry...
> >
> > "I hope the time is not far off when I shall be able to unite 
> all the
> > wise and educated men of all the countries and establish a uniform
> > regime based on the principles of Qur'an which alone are true and
> > which alone can lead men to happiness."
> >
> >
> > Sir George Bernard Shaw in 'The Genuine Islam,' Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936.
> >
> > "If any religion had the chance of ruling over England, nay Europe
> > within the next hundred years, it could be Islam." "I have 
> always held
> > the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful
> > vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess 
> that> assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence 
> which can
> > make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him - the
> > wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, 
> he must
> > be called the Savior of Humanity."
> >
> > "I believe that if a man like him were to assume the 
> dictatorship of
> > the modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way
> > that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have
> > prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be 
> acceptable to
> > the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the
> > Europe of today."
> >
> >
> > Bertrand Russel in 'History of Western Philosophy,' London, 
> 1948, p. 419.
> >
> > "Our use of phrase 'The Dark ages' to cover the period from 699 to
> > 1,000 marks our undue concentration on Western Europe...
> > "From India to Spain, the brilliant civilization of Islam 
> flourished.> What was lost to christendom at this time was not 
> lost to
> > civilization, but quite the contrary...
> >
> > "To us it seems that West-European civilization is civilization, but
> > this is a narrow view."
> >
> > H.G. Wells
> >
> > "The Islamic teachings have left great traditions for equitable and
> > gentle dealings and behavior, and inspire people with nobility and
> > tolerance. These are human teachings of the highest order and at the
> > same time practicable. These teachings brought into existence a
> > society in which hard-heartedness and collective oppression and
> > injustice were the least as compared with all other societies
> > preceding it....Islam is replete with gentleness, courtesy, and
> > fraternity."
> >
> >
> > Dr. William Draper in 'History of Intellectual Development of 
> Europe'>
> > "During the period of the Caliphs the learned men of the Christians
> > and the Jews were not only held in great esteem but were 
> appointed to
> > posts of great responsibility, and were promoted to the high ranking
> > job in the government....He (Caliph Haroon Rasheed) never considered
> > to which country a learned person belonged nor his faith and belief,
> > but only his excellence in the field of learning."
> >
> >
> > Thomas Carlyle in 'Heroes, Hero Worship, and the Heroic in History,'
> > Lecture 2, Friday, 8th May 1840.
> >
> > "As there is no danger of our becoming, any of us, Mahometans (i.e.
> > Muslim), I mean to say all the good of him I justly can... "When
> > Pococke inquired of Grotius, where the proof was of that story 
> of the
> > pigeon, trained to pick peas from Mahomet's (Muhammad's) ear, 
> and pass
> > for an angel dictating to him? Grotius answered that there was no
> > proof!...
> >
> > "A poor, hard-toiling, ill-provided man; careless of what vulgar men
> > toil for. Not a bad man, I should say; Something better in him than
> > hunger of any sort, -- or these wild arab men, fighting and jostling
> > three-and-twenty years at his hand, in close contact with him 
> always,> would not revered him so! They were wild men bursting 
> ever and anon
> > into quarrel, into all kinds of fierce sincerity; without right 
> worth> and manhood, no man could have commanded them. They called 
> him prophet
> > you say? Why he stood there face to face with them; bare, not
> > enshrined in any mystry; visibly clouting his own cloak, 
> cobbling his
> > own shoes; fighting, counselling, ordering in the midst of them: 
> they> must have seen what kind of man he was, let him be called 
> what you
> > like! No emperor with his tiaras was obeyed as this man in a 
> cloak of
> > his own clouting. During three-and-twenty years of rough actual 
> trial.> I find something of a veritable Hero necessary for that, 
> of itself...
> >
> > "These Arabs, the man Mahomet, and that one century, - is it not 
> as if
> > a spark had fallen, one spark, on a world of what proves explosive
> > powder, blazes heaven-high from Delhi to Granada! I said, the Great
> > man was always as lightning out of Heaven; the rest of men 
> waited for
> > him like fuel, and then they too would flame..."
> >
> >
> > Phillip Hitti in 'Short History of the Arabs.'
> >
> > "During all the first part of the Middle Ages, no other people 
> made as
> > important a contribution to human progress as did the Arabs, if we
> > take this term to mean all those whose mother-tongue was Arabic, and
> > not merely those living in the Arabian peninsula. For centuries,
> > Arabic was the language of learning, culture and intellectual 
> progress> for the whole of the civilized world with the exception 
> of the Far
> > East. From the IXth to the XIIth century there were more
> > philosophical, medical, historical, religiuos, astronomical and
> > geographical works written in Arabic than in any other human 
> tongue.">
> >
> > Carra de Vaux in 'The Philosophers of Islam,' Paris, 1921.
> >
> > "Finally how can one forget that at the same time the Mogul 
> Empire of
> > India (1526-1857 C.E.) was giving the world the Taj Mahal (completed
> > in 1648 C.E.) the architectural beauty of which has never been
> > surpassed, and the 'Akbar Nameh' of Abul Fazl: "That extraordinary
> > work full of life ideas and learning where every aspect of life is
> > examined listed and classified, and where progress continually 
> dazzles> the eye, is a document of which Oriental civilization may 
> justly be
> > proud. The men whose genius finds its expression in this book 
> were far
> > in advance of their age in the practical art of government, and they
> > were perhaps in advance of it in their speculations about religious
> > philosophy. Those poets those philosophers knew how to deal with the
> > world or matter. They observe, classify, calculate and 
> experiment. All
> > the ideas that occur to them are tested against facts. They express
> > them with eloquence but they also support them with 
> statistics."...the> principles of tolerance, justice and humanity 
> which prevailed during
> > the long reign of Akbar."
> >
> >
> > Marcel Clerget in 'La Turquie, Passe et Present,' Paris, 1938.
> >
> > "Many proofs of high cultural level of the Ottoman Empire during the
> > reign of Suleiman the Magnificent are to be found in the development
> > of science and law; in the flowering of literary works in Arabic,
> > Persian and Turkish; in the contemporary monuments in Istanbul, 
> Bursa,> and Edirne; in the boom in luxury industries; in the 
> sumptuous life of
> > the court and high dignitaries, and last but not least in its
> > religious tolerance. All the various influences - notably Turkish,
> > Byzantine and Italian mingle together and help to make this the most
> > brilliant epoch of the Ottomans."
> >
> >
> > Michael the Elder (Great) as Quoted in 'Michael the Elder, Chronique
> > de Michael Syrien, Patriarche Jacobite d' Antioche,' J.B. Chabot,
> > Editor, Vol. II, Paris, 1901.
> >
> > "This is why the God of vengeance, who alone is all-powerful, and
> > changes the empire of mortals as He will, giving it to 
> whomsoever He
> > will, and uplifting the humble beholding the wickedness of the 
> Romans> who throughout their dominions, cruelly plundered our 
> churches and our
> > monasteries and condemned us without pity, brought from the 
> region of
> > the south the sons of Ishmael, to deliver us through them from the
> > hands of the Romans. And if in truth we have suffered some loss,
> > because the Catholic churches, that had been taken away from us and
> > given to the
> > Chalcedonians, remained in their possession; for when the cities
> > submitted to the Arabs, they assigned to each denomination the
> > churches which they found it to be in possession of (and at that 
> time> the great churches of Emessa and that of Harran had been 
> taken away
> > from us); nevertheless it was no slight advantage for us to be
> > delivered from the cruelty of the Romans, their wickedness, their
> > wrath and cruel zeal against us, and to find ourselves at people.
> > (Michael the Elder, Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch wrote this 
> text in
> > the latter part of the twelfth century, after five
> > centuries of Muslim rule in that region. Click here for a relevant
> > document sent to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt. Sinai,
> > 628 C.E.)
> >
> >
> > Sir John Bagot Glubb
> >
> > "Khalif (Caliph) Al-Ma'mun's period of rule (813 - 833 C.E.) may be
> > considered the 'golden age' of science and learning. He had always
> > been devoted to books and to learned pursuits. His brilliant 
> mind was
> > interested in every form of intellectual activity. Not only 
> poetry but
> > also philosophy, theology, astronomy, medicine and law all occupied
> > his time."
> > "By Mamun's time medical schools were extremely active in 
> Baghdad. The
> > first free public hospital was opened in Baghdad during the 
> Caliphate> of Haroon-ar-Rashid. As the system developed, 
> physicians and surgeons
> > were appointed who gave lectures to medical students and issued
> > diplomas to those who were considered qualified to practice. The 
> first> hospital in Egypt was opened in 872 AD and thereafter 
> public hospitals
> > sprang up all over the empire from Spain and the Maghrib to Persia."
> >
> >
> > On the Holocaust of Baghdad (1258 C.E.) Perpetrated by Hulagu:
> > "The city was systematically looted, destroyed and burnt. Eight
> > hundred thousand persons are said to have been killed. The Khalif
> > Mustasim was sewn up in a sack and trampled to death under the 
> feet of
> > Mongol horses.
> >
> > "For five hundred years, Baghdad had been a city of palaces, 
> mosques,> libraries and colleges. Its universities and hospitals 
> were the most
> > up-to-date in the world. Nothing now remained but heaps of 
> rubble and
> > a stench of decaying human flesh."
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