Posted on 03/07/2006 6:30:18 PM PST by southernnorthcarolina
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 civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome.
-- Sir Winston Churchill (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50 [London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1899]).
http://www.blackmask.com/cgi-bin/newlinks/search.cgi?query=Winston+Churchill
There are 6 of his early books at above URL.
Several formats also.
What a brilliant man. The eloquence is mesmerizing and unparalleled.
Churchill's The Second World War, mostly written after his 1945 defeat and before his comeback, consists of six volumes. Churchill wrote elsewhere: "History will be kind to me, for I shall write it." Certainly true with respect to The Second World War.
I'd never be so presumptuous as to say that a given work is "required reading," but this one is close.
Jeff
And your text too. :)
I can not find this quote in the on-line edition version.
bump
I did finally get around to reading William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and it was excellent.
"No stronger retrograde force exists in the world."
It would be good to have a thread of all such *politically incorrect* statements from famous statesmen and such to stand tall next to some of today's pablum.
"Churchill was not even 25 years of age when he wrote that."
The man was brilliant, brave and blunt -- oh, and I think he was learning disabled in his youth. An extraordinary man. Haven't seen his kind since.
Proving once again - The more things change the more they stay the same!
Great quote! Churchill nailed Hitler and he has pegged the Muslims. To bad people are ignoring him now just as they did when he nailed Hitler. Unfortunately many who don't see his wisdom call themselves conservatives.
Do it. You won't regret it. Great inside account not only of the war itself, but of its root causes, and the buildup to it. Of course, the fact that Churchill was a (or perhaps the) key player makes it better.
Contrast with his A History of the English Speaking Peoples, four volumes ©1956-58. I love Winnie, but God, what a plodder. Of course, he was well into his 80s when he wrote it. But way too broad in scope, and the author didn't star in the work.
Bump
His writing reminds me of Mencken. And that's very high praise.
Fer Later
Absolutely.
:-)
“If any religion had the chance of ruling over England, nay Europe within the next hundred years, it could be Islam”--George Bernard Shaw
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