Bismillah:
Quote:the Pope said. "He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command "to spread by the sword the faith he preached".
First of all we would like to know <b>where did Muhammad pbuh say or commanded</b> to <i>“spread by the sword the faith he preached”</i>??
Quote:Obvioulsy, nobody hear is going to agree with that statement.
Not only <b>"here"</b>... but almost all well known and noted historians and great thinkers <b>"many of them are Non Muslims"</b> will disagree on this statement.
<b>EXAMPLES:</b>
<b>De Lacy O’Leary, in his the book "Islam at the cross road" (Page 8): he say:</b>
Quote:"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 myth that historians have ever repeated."
<b>The famous historian, Thomas Carlyle, in his book "Heroes and Hero worship", refers to this misconception about the spread of Islam: </b>
Quote:"The sword indeed, but where will you get your sword? Every new opinion, at its starting is precisely in a minority of one. In one man’s head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it, there is one man against all men. That he takes a sword and try to propagate with that, will do little for him. You must get your sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself as it can."
<b>Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson rightly says:</b>
Quote:"People who worry that nuclear weaponry will one day fall in the hands of the Arabs, fail to realize that the Islamic bomb has been dropped already, it fell the day MUHAMMED (pbuh) was born".
<b>Humayun Kabir in 'The Indian Heritage,' 1955, p. 153.</b>
Quote:"Islam's democratic challenge has perhaps never been equaled by any other religious or social system. Its advent on the Indian scene was marked by a profound stirring of consciousness. It modified the basis of Hindu social structure throughout northern India.”
<b>Napolean Bonaparte as Quoted in Cherfils, ‘Bonaparte et Islam,’ Paris , France , pp. 105, 125.</b>
Quote:"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...
<b>"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
."</b>
<b>George Bernard Shaw in 'The Genuine Islam,' Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936.</b>
Quote:"If any religion had the chance of ruling over England , nay Europe within the next hundred years, it could be Islam."
<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="3723" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>"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."
<b>John William Draper, M.D., L.L.D., A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London 1875, Vol.1, pp.329-330</b>
Quote:"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 . . "
<b>- Sarojini Naidu Lectures on “The Ideals of Islam.” </b>
Quote:[The] <b>sense of justice is one of the most wonderful ideals of Islam, because as I read in the Qur'an I find those dynamic principles of life, not mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world.</b>
Mahatma Gandhi, in 'YOUNG INDIA':he says
Quote:"I wanted to know the best of one who holds today undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind...I became more than 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 his 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 2nd volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life."
hope you enjoy this.
Salam
Wael.
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