An account of Mohammedanism from the first edition of Churchill's The River War.... |
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 paralyses 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 had vainly
struggled, the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation
of ancient Rome. |
Published
in 1889. |