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"History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated.”—De Lacy O’Leary, ISLAM AT THE CROSSROADS, London, 1923, p. 8.
"The Christian World came to wage crusades against Muslims but eventually knelt before them to gain knowledge. They were spellbound to see that Muslims were owners of a culture that was far superior to their own. The Dark Ages of Europe were illuminated by nothing but the beacon of Muslim Civilization.” (F.J.C Hearushaw, The Science of History.)
"The Renaissance of Europe did not take place in the 15th century. Rather it began when Europe learned from the culture of the Arabs. The cradle of European awakening is not Italy. It is the Muslim Spain.” (Robert Briffault, The Making Of Mankind)
"The teachings of Islam can fail under no circumstances. With all our systems of culture and civilization, we can not go beyond Islam and, as a matter of fact, no human mind can go beyond the Koran. (Johann Goethe, cited in Sir Henry Elliot’s Letters of Johann Goethe, 1865.)
"The greatest crimes, the greatest "sin” of Mohammed in the eyes of Christian West is that he did not allow himself to be slaughtered, to be "crucified” by his enemies. He only defended himself, his family and his followers; and finally vanquished his enemies. Mohammed’s success is the Christians’ gall of disappointment… He did not believe in any vicarious sacrifices for the sins of others.” (Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.)
"The lies which we [Christians] have heaped round this man (Mohammed), are disgraceful to ourselves only.” (Thomas Carlyle, Heroes and Hero Worship)
"Mohammed was the most successful of all religious personalities.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 4th & 11th editions)
"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 religious and secular level.”—Michael H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York: Hart Publishing Company, Inc., 1978, p. 33.
"Among leaders who have made the greatest impact through the ages, I would consider Mohammed before Jesus Christ” [Paul is the actual author of Christianity] (James Gavin, Speeches by a U.S. Army General)
Mohammed never assigned himself a status more than a common man and a messenger of God. People had faith in him when he was surrounded by poverty and adversity and trusted him while he was the ruler of a great Empire. A man of spotless character who always had a confidence in himself and in God’s help. No aspect of his life remained hidden nor was his death a mysterious event. (M.H. Hyndman, The Awakening of Asia)
"In my view, Islam is the only religion in the world that will remain eternally practicable in changing times. (George Bernard Shaw, The Genuine Islam, 1936)
"Mohammed brought an end to idol worship. He preached monotheism and infinite Mercy of God, human brotherhood, care of orphan, emancipation of slaves, forbidding of wine --- No religion achieved as much success as Islam did (Sir William Muir, Life of Mohammed)
"Islam does not set impossible goals. There are no mythological intricacies in this message. No hidden meanings or secrets and absolutely no priesthood.” (Hitti, History of the Arabs)
"I believe that if today an autocrat of Mohammed’s calibre assumes world leadership, he could solve all problems of humanity splendidly. The world will become an abode of peace and happiness. I predict that tomorrow’s Europe will embrace Islam (George Bernard Shaw)
"The sayings of Mohammed are a treasure of wisdom not only for Muslims but for all of mankind.” (Gandhi, Preface to The Sayings of Mohammed by Sohrawardi)
"The essential and definite element of my conversion to Islam was the Koran. I began to study it before my conversion with the critical spirit of a Western intellectual .... There are certain verses of this book, the Koran, revealed more than thirteen centuries ago, which teach exactly the same notions as the most modern scientific researches do. This definitely converted me.” (Ali Selman Benoist, France, Doctor of Medicine.)
"I have read the Sacred Scriptures of every religion; nowhere have I found what I encountered in Islam: perfection. The Holy Koran, compared to any other scripture I have read, is like the Sun compared to that of a match. I firmly believe that anybody who reads the Word of Allah with a mind that is not completely closed to Truth, will become a Muslim.” (Saifuddin) Dirk Walter Mosig, U. S.A.
"The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue.” A. J. Toynbee, CIVILIZATION ON TRIAL, New York, 1948, p. 205.
"The doctrine of brotherhood of Islam extends to all human beings, no matter what colour, race or creed. Islam is the only religion which has been able to realize this doctrine in practice. Muslims wherever on the world they are will recognize each other as brothers.” R. L. Mellema, Holland, Anthropologist, Writer and Scholar.
"Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born at Mecca, in Arabia the man who, of all men exercised the greatest influence upon the human race... Mohammed” ------- John William Draper, M.D., L.L.D., A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London 1875, Vol.1, pp.329-330
"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. "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’.” James Michener in ‘Islam: The Misunderstood Religion,’ Reader’s
Digest, May 1955, pp. 68-70: "Despite the growth of antagonism, Moslem (Muslim) rulers seldom made their Christian subjects suffer for the Crusades. When the Saracens finally resumed the full control of Palestine the Christians were given their former status as dhimmis. The Coptic Church, too had little cause for complaint under Saladin’s (Salahuddin) strong government, and during the time of the earlier Mameluke sultans who succeeded him the Copts experienced more enlightened justice than they had hitherto known. The only effect of the Crusaders upon Egyptian Christians was to keep them for a while from pilgrimage to Jerusalem, for as long as the Frank were in charge heretics were forbidden access to the shrines. Not until the Moslem victories could they enjoy their rights as Christians.” James Addison in ‘The Christian Approach to the Moslem,’ p. 35:
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 Koran is explicit in the support of the freedom of conscience.”
The rapidity of the spread of Islam is a crucial fact of history ... The sublime rhetoric of the Koran, that inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy”. (M. Pickhtal)
"Along with many other reasons, Islam spread because of its followers’ exemplary lifestyle and unceasing effort to transmit its message throughout the world. These lie at the root of Islam’s conquest of hearts. Islamic universalism is closely associated with the principle of amr bi al-ma‘ruf (spreading and encouraging the good), for this is how Muslims are to spread Islam. This principle seeks to convey Islam’s message to everyone, without exception, and to establish a model community that displays Islam to the world: Thus We have made of you a community justly balanced, that you might be witnesses (models) for the peoples, and the Messenger has been a witness for you (2:143).”
"Islam also spread rapidly because of its tolerance. Toynbee praises the Muslims’ tolerance toward the Peoples of the Book after comparing it with the Christians’ attitude toward Muslims in their lands” (Arnold Toynbee, A Historian’s Approach to Religion [New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1956], 246).
Byzantium’s Orthodox Christians openly expressed their preference for the Ottoman turban in Istanbul to the hats of the Catholic cardinals. Elise Reclus, a nineteenth-century French traveller, wrote that the Muslim Turks allowed all non-Muslims to observe their religious duties and rituals, and that the sultan’s Christian subjects were freer to live their own lives than those Christians whose lands were ruled by a member of a rival Christian sect (Elise Reclus, Nouvelle Geography Universelle, vol. 9; quoted in Yabancilara Göre Eski Türkler...). Popescu Ciocanel pays tribute to the Muslim Turks by stating that the Romanians were lucky to have Turkish, instead of Russian and Austrian, rulers. Otherwise, he points out, "no trace of the Romanian nation would have remained” (Popescu Ciocanel, La Crise de l’Orient, quoted in Yabancilara Göre Eski Türkler...).
"The Muslims’ attitude toward the people they conquered is quite clear in the instructions given by the Rightly-Guided Caliphs: Always keep fear of God in your mind; remember that you cannot afford to do anything without His grace. Do not forget that Islam is a mission of peace and love. Keep the Holy Prophet (upon him be peace and blessings) before you as a model of bravery and piety. Do not destroy fruit trees or fertile fields in your paths. Be just, and spare the feelings of the vanquished. Respect all religious persons who live in hermitages or convents and spare their edifices. Do not kill civilians. Do not outrage the chastity of women and the honour of the conquered. Do not harm old people and children. Do not accept any gifts from the civil population of any place. Do not billet your soldiers or officers in the houses of civilians. Do not forget to perform your daily prayers. Fear God. Remember that death will inevitably come to everyone of you at some time or other, even if you are thousands of miles away from a battlefield; therefore be always ready to face death. (Andrew Miller, Church History; ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, Nahj al-Balagha.)”
An historical episode, recorded by the famous Muslim historian Baladhuri in his Futuh al-Buldan, tells how pleased the indigenous peoples were with their Muslim conquerors and is of great significance:
When Heraclius, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire (610-41), massed his troops against the Muslims, and the Muslims heard that they were coming to meet them, they refunded the tribute they had taken from the inhabitants of Hims, saying: "We are too busy to support and protect you. Take care of yourselves.” But the people of Hims replied: "We like your rule and justice far better than our former state of oppression and tyranny. We shall indeed, with your help, repulse Heraclius’ army from the city.” The Jews rose and said: "We swear by the Torah, no governor of Heraclius shall enter Hims unless we are first vanquished and exhausted.” Saying this, they closed and guarded the city gates. The Christians and Jews of cities that had capitulated did the same. When, by God’s help, Heraclius’ army was defeated and the Muslims won, they opened the gates of their cities, went out with singers and musicians, and paid the tribute.
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.”
H.G. Wells - "The Islamic teachings have left great traditions for equitable and gentle dealings and behaviour, 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.”
Marmaduke Pickthall in his 1927 Lecture on ‘Tolerance in Islam,’ Madras, India. ----- "In the eyes of history, religious toleration is the highest evidence of culture in a people....It was not until the Western nations broke away from their religious law that they became more tolerant, and it was only when the Muslims fell away from their religious law that they declined in tolerance and other evidences of the highest culture. Before the coming of Islam it (tolerance) had never been preached as an essential part of religion...
"If Europe had known as much of Islam, as Muslims knew of Christendom, in those days, those mad, adventurous, occasionally chivalrous and heroic, but utterly fanatical outbreak known as the Crusades could not have taken place, for they were based on a complete misapprehension... "Innumerable monasteries, with a wealth of treasure of which the worth has been calculated at not less than a hundred millions sterling, enjoyed the benefit of the Holy Prophet’s (Muhammad’s) Charter to the monks of Sinai and were religiously respected by the Muslims.
The various sects of Christians were represented in the Council of the Empire by their patriarchs, on the provincial and district council by their bishops, in the village council by their priests, whose word was always taken without question on things which were the sole concern of their community...
"The tolerance within the body of Islam was, and is, something without parallel in history; class and race and colour ceasing altogether to be barriers.”
© Organisation of Muslims in the West (OMW)