Posted on 02/25/2006 3:22:39 PM PST by Cornpone
AT A time when the world is rocked by the outrage against Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, it would be interesting to know the opinions of western intellectuals about the Messenger of Allah.
Some of the famous, contemporary western personalities who read the life of the Prophet, could not help but admire his noble conduct and extraordinary character. This is what they had to say:
Michael Hart, author of the famous, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, said arguing why he chose the Prophet as the leader of the leaders: "My choice of Muhammad (peace be upon him) 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."
George Bernard Shaw, the eminent British playwright said: "The world is in dire need of a man with the mind of Muhammad; (peace be upon him) religious people in the Middle Ages, due to their ignorance and prejudice, had pictured him in a very dark way as they used to consider him the enemy of Christianity. But after looking into the story of this man I found it to be an amazing and a miraculous one, and I came to the conclusion that he was never an enemy of Christianity, and must be called instead the saviour of humanity. In my opinion, if he was to be given control over the world today, he would solve our problems and secure the peace and happiness which the world is longing for."
Indian freedom icon and intellectual Annie Beasant, wrote in The Life and Teachings of Muhammad: "It is impossible for anyone who studies the personality of the great Prophet of the Arabs, and come to know how this Prophet used to live, and how he taught the people, but to feel respect towards this honourable Prophet; one of the great messengers whom Allah sent."
Dr. Gustav Weil writes in History of the Islamic Peoples: "Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a shining example to his people. His character was pure and stainless. His house, his dress, his food — they were characterized by a rare simplicity. So unpretentious was he that he would receive from his companions no special mark of reverence, nor would he accept any service from his slave which he could do for himself. He was accessible to all and at all times. He visited the sick and was full of sympathy for all. Unlimited was his benevolence and generosity as also was his anxious care for the welfare of the community."
Alphonse de La Martaine wrote in Historie de la Turquie: "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 (peace be upon him)? 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.
“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 (peace be upon him). As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?"
Dear readers, is there any man greater than this noblest of all human beings? The West needs to thoroughly study the exemplary life of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, to understand him as he was. The Western media will undoubtedly come to understand and appreciate the ‘Mercy to all Mankind’ just like its scholars and intellectuals have.
He supported himself by raiding caravans. How noble.
There. Fixed it.
L
He was a damn pedophile.
Sure there is, at least a few billion.
what in the heck were the goons reading, he was a pervert pedaphile outlaw murderer..............
He sat before the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: Apostle of Allah! I am her master; she used to abuse you and disparage you. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not abandon her habit. I have two sons like pearls from her, and she was my companion. Last night she began to abuse and disparage you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I killed her. Thereupon the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Oh be witness, no retaliation is payable for her blood.
So as Mark Levin would say, "Get off the mic, ya big dope!"
For a moment, I thought this was an article on Dennis Kucinich or Mother Teresa.
While you have to be impressed with his results, that doesn't mean that you have to respect what came from these results.
Honestly, how does one camel jockey overthrow larges treks of the Byzantine Empire and form a mass of followers that has conquered a good 20% of the globe or so? Yeah, it's impressive. And piss be upon him.
The art of getting away with murder is the art of appearing great while doing it. Many people admire these "qualities" & will deny being had or the hypocrisy by describing the guy with all its material "perfections". Even Christ knew the weakness of being a person in the flesh as Himself.
Now, if Mohammed was so great, his followers surely don't impress me. We will know them by their fruits indeed.
Christ ended all prophecies, He took the prophecies and damnations upon Himself, so that we would not have to follow the cult of prophets & other seers' prerogatives (those of sinners & predators) and we would be free to follow the truth.
For those that do not understand that, Mohammed is their perfect persecutor they all deserve: either one goes to Christ or to Mohammed, I guess. Islam is thus the Devil's answer to God's Christ.
Be careful. You might just get a few of those here on FR to take a look at that elephant that's been squatting in the living room.
History has a lesson for those who refuse to do what it takes to save their lives, their families, their country, their very civilization.
The Western media will undoubtedly come to understand and appreciate the ‘Mercy to all Mankind’ just like its scholars and intellectuals have, the craven ones that survived.
If western intellectuals said what they really thought about Mohammed, Muslims would use it as an excuse to execute the western intellectuals.
And I suspect that's what this article is all about.
It's interesting that the writer wants to know the opinions of "western intellectuals" rather than the opinions of "western peoples". These are two very different things.
Western intellectuals have all but done away with Christianity as a political/social force in Europe, and Europeans have followed their intellectuals.
The American people are more religious than Europeans, but our intellectuals are trying to follow Europe's sectarian lead. That's one difference between blue and red states.
Question an intellectual about Christ and Muhammad and you'll two different answers. Ask him if he'd rather live under Islamic rule rather than in the West and you'll only get one answer.
Why do cultural leaders hold Shaw in any kind of esteem? Maybe because he was one of the founders of Fabian Socialism and a die-hard atheist.
Anyway, his views on some other influential, and contemporary, figures:
Buy it cheap, stack it deep.
Did you catch what happened here in my own little AO just the other day?
It seems one of the sons of mohamet was speeding up the expressway when he lost control of his car and got squashed by a couple of passing semis at highway speed.
No big tragedy, but things got really interesting when the State Police starting looking in the car and found a check for a million dollars, a wad of cash so big noone will say just exactly how much was there, and at least a dozen brand spanking new credit cards, all with different names on 'em.
Haven't heard a word since the Fibbies grabbed the case, not one.
The only thing I did hear is that the dead guy was a 'recent immigrant from Palestine' and we all know that part of the world is overflowing with millionaires.
Questions questions questions....
L
--- Last night she began to abuse and disparage you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I killed her. Thereupon the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Oh be witness, no retaliation is payable for her blood.---
That sort of sums up the difference between Islam and Christianity, doesn't it.
There were several men infinitely greater in Western Civilization that provided progress, knowledge and a greater understanding of humanity and God as compared to mohammed. One stands above all the rest in the West, Jesus Christ, God incarnate, the very bedrock and capstone of our civilization; mohammed wasn't fit to untie his sandals much less stand shoulder to shoulder.
If these are all the western critics this author could find who'd praised mohammed, it's an incredibly shallow collection. None of which I could tell had any theological instruction or training as to rate this camel herder's concept of God and his messages thereto. As the Church branded him and his religion a heresy, so it stands. It is the enemy of Western Civilization, as was Nazism and Communism, materialism and humanism, too. It doesn't hold a candle to what we once stood for, and will need to raise up and defend again. I'm easily willing to do so, is enough of our fellow Americans (and maybe whatever Europeans having any spine or pride or both?) willing to? I'm not only concerned about my civilization, my society, my country and my faith, but my children and at some point grandchildren as well....or hasn't enough people seen the big picture regarding this protracted conflict?
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