Excerpts from “The Mohammedan Religion and Its Founder”



Excerpts from “The Mohammedan Religion and Its Founder”

From Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia (vol. 6, 1927)

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Few romances are stranger than the career of this founder of one of the world’s great historic religions. Born in Mecca . . . Mohammed was early left an orphan and was brought up by a poor but kind uncle. For a time he was a camel driver and accompanied caravans from Mecca to surrounding countries with which the Arabs had trade . . .

Marrying a rich widow named Khadija, he himself became a merchant, but he continued to brood on the low moral condition of his people. At this time the Jewish religion and Christianity flourished in some communities of southern Arabia, and Mohammed could not help contrasting these clean religions with the idolatry of the Arabs. Mohammed became interested in the Bible and the books of the Jews, and grew familiar with the teachings and lives of Jesus Christ and the Prophets. He became convinced that there was but one true God, and not a mere multitude of magic-working spirits (like the genii of Aladdin’s lamp) who dwelt in sticks and stones and graven images. So he began ridiculing the worship of the Meccans and preaching a new religion. He even claimed that the archangel Gabriel had appeared to him, revealing the true faith and commanding him to spread it abroad.

Mohammed soon gained the support of his own family and clan. From others came persecution so bitter that he was forced to flee from Mecca to the neighboring city of Medina . . . This flight or “hegira” of Mohammed (622 A.D.) is the date from which the whole Mohammedan world reckons time, as we do from the birth of Christ. It was also the turning point in Mohammed’s career. He had proclaimed himself as the true interpreter of God, as a prophet, and fiercely denounced all idolators . . .

When the Arabs began to flock to his standard he proclaimed a savage crusade, which continued long after his death. Soon all Arabia was at his feet, for the desert Arabs rejoiced at the opportunity to plunder the rich Meccan caravans. Mohammed fiercely suppressed idolatry, and allowed no one to reside in his city of Medina unless he acknowledged the new faith . . . He died at Medina in 632, ten years after his flight . . .

Within a hundred years after Mohammed’s death, not merely Arabia, but Syria, Persia, Egypt, northern Africa, and Spain had been conquered by Mohammed’s victorious successors (called “califs”). His religion was prepared for yet further extension into Asia Minor, eastern Europe, central and eastern Asia, and the interior of Africa. The spread of Roman conquest about the Mediterranean had taken more than four times as long. The progress of the Christian religion in its first century was . . . restricted to a much narrower area.

Today Mohammedanism (sometimes called “Islam”) is the faith of about 225,000,000 people in Asia, Africa, and eastern Europe . . . Its sacred book is the Koran, made up of discourses and sayings of the Prophet. Mohammed himself was illiterate, but his sayings were written down by his followers in Arabic, the sacred language studied by all Moslems, who aim to know the Koran by heart. He borrowed largely from Christianity and Judaism, and Christ, Adam, Moses, and the angel Gabriel are mentioned with great reverence. Mohammedanism forbids the use of strong drink, or the lending of money at interest. Every Moslem must pray five times a day, facing toward Mecca . . . One month in the year, called “Ramadan,” is kept as a season of fasting, when Moslems may not eat between dawn and sunset. The use of pork, as among the Jews and Hindus, is strictly forbidden. Mohammed himself married many wives in accordance with the oriental custom . . . He adopted polygamy in his religion, but limited the number of wives for his followers to four. The greatest blot on this religion is that women are not regarded as having souls or as sharing in any way in that Paradise which is promised after death to the faithful followers of the Prophet. Divorce and inheritance rules also favor men unduly.

The Mohammedan religion is still spreading in Asia, and particularly in Africa, where its democratic teachings appeal to the negroes. It is a fact that no Moslem draws a color line against other Moslems . . .

Like Christianity, Mohammedanism is divided by sects which differ in their interpretation of the teachings of the founder. Chief of these are the Sunnites, or orthodox group, and the Shiites, or “intellectuals.” The latter have always claimed that the descendants of Ali, husband of the Prophet’s daughter Fatima, were the only legitimate califs. Persia is today the Shiite stronghold. But all Moslems make pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina . . .

The “Saracens,” as followers of Islam were called in the Middle Ages, passed from Africa into Spain in 711. At the famous battle of Tours in 732 . . . the Mohammedan invasion of France was halted by Charles Martel, grandfather of Charlemagne. Driven back into Spain on the west, and held in check by the Byzantine Empire at Constantinople, the Arabs, Moors, and other Mohammedan peoples settled down in their new-won lands and developed from the 8th to the 12th centuries a culture which far surpassed that of western Europe.

The centers of this culture were Damascus, in Syria; Bagdad, on the river Tigris; Cairo, on the lower Nile; and Cordova, in Spain. Here were gathered together the threads of civilization drawn from Greece, Persia, Syria, Egypt, India, and Spain. Agriculture made great strides. Irrigation was practiced extensively and tree-grafting became a science. Among new plants introduced into Europe from the Arabs—especially during the crusades—were rice, sugar cane, hemp, artichokes, asparagus, the mulberry, orange, lemon, and apricot.

In manufactures the Saracens excelled. The sword blades of Toledo and Damascus were world renowned. Equal skill was shown in the fashioning of vases, lamps, and like articles of copper, bronze and silver; in the weaving of carpets and rugs which are still unsurpassed; in the molding of fine glass and pottery . . . Paper, without which the invention of printing would have been valueless, came to Europe through the Mohammedans. The finest leather goods came from Cordova and Morocco.

Arab caravans threaded their way into central Africa, and across the wilds of Asia into China and India to fetch the riches of these far-off lands, and Arab ships distributed them in the Mediterranean.

In literature, particularly poetry, and in science the Mohammedans attained a high degree of development . . . Learned Arabs did much to preserve and spread broadcast the writings of the great Greek philosopher Aristotle, after he had been all but forgotten in western Europe. In mathematics Mohammedan scholars led the world. Algebra was practically their creation . . . The so-called “Arabic” numerals were introduced by them and replaced the clumsy Roman numerals. In astronomy they made notable advances. In chemistry many of our common terms, such as “elixir,” “alcohol,” “alkali,” which are of Arabic origin, prove our indebtedness to these early students. In medicine their skill was in advance of European physicians . . . The richness and grace of their architecture is evident in all their lands, especially in Moorish Spain . . .

All of this culture began to wane, however, when the Moslem world was split by the rise of the Turkish power in the 11th century. Great as was their early knowledge, the religion of the Moslems made the great mass of the people intolerant and unprogressive. Today the golden era of Mohammedan art and learning is but a memory. [pp. 2275-2278]

QUESTIONS:

1) What are the most important points made in this encyclopedia excerpt from the 1920s? Briefly summarize the major themes.

2) Compare & contrast this article (1927) with the textbook’s presentation of Islam [pp. 231-239]? Are there any significant differences in emphasis or interpretation? Read carefully.

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