In his massive Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon was bound to encounter the Muslims and their prophet. Published in 1776, the great historian’s work proves relevant for current events in the Middle East.
The sword, says Muhammad, is the key of heaven and hell. A drop of blood shed in the cause of God, a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting and prayer.
In the early going Muhammad favored the Jews, who did not recognize him as their Messiah
Their obstinacy converted his friendship into implacable hatred, with which he pursued that unfortunate people to the end of his life, and in the double character of an apostle and a conqueror, his persecution was extended to both worlds.
They [Muslims] could not be ignorant that fanaticism obliterates the feelings of humanity.
The chief of the tribe was tortured in the presence of Muhammad to force a confession of hidden treasure.
Those of the synagogue of Satan: be sure you cleave their skulls, and give them no quarter until they either turn Mohammedan or pay tribute.
Muhammad commanded or approved the assassination of the Jews and idolaters who had escaped from the field of battle.
In his private conduct, Muhammad indulged the appetites of a man and abused the claims of a prophet. A special revelation dispensed him from the laws which he had imposed on his nation. The female sex, without reserve, was abandoned to his desires.
Muhammad had 17 male slaves and 11 women.
Christians condemned to ride on asses, live in smaller buildings, bow down to Muslims
Punishment of death is inflicted for those who have professed and deserted the law of Muhammad.
The Arabs enjoyed the satisfaction of believing that not a Christian of either sex escaped the edge of their scimitars.
The birth of Muhammad was fortunately placed in the most degenerate and disorderly period of the Persians, the Romans and the barbarians of Europe. The empires of Trajan, or even of Constantine or Charlemagne, would have repelled the assault of the naked Saracens, and the torrent of fanaticism might have been obscurely lost in the sands of Arabia.
It wasn’t, and the rest is history as in Robert Spencer’s The History of Jihad: From Muhammad to ISIS. The atrocities of the Islamic state parallel, or exceed, what Hamas inflicted on Israel 10/7. The targets were women, children, infants and the elderly. When Muslims paraded a captive woman in the bed of a truck, they chanted “Allahu akbar!” not “Three Cheers for Palestine.”
Allahu Akbar means that Islam is superior to all other religions. By torturing, killing and capturing Jewish men, women and children, Muslims gain favor with Allah. That’s why a Muslim bragged that he killed ten Jews, and his parents approved. On the other hand, it’s not just about Jews.
On September 11, 2001, in the worst attack on America since Pearl Harbor, Muslims killed 3,000 people, most of them Americans. Days later, President George W. Bush said. “That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace.”
Edward Gibbon reported. You decide.
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.