Dear Editor,
”
The Character of the Prophet of Islam
”
is a topic worthy of consideration. The Muslim community is
taking great pains to convince the world that
”
the Prophet
”
was a man of peace, piety, humility and generosity
”
and most Americans are content to believe this to be the
case.
Dear Editor,
“The Character of the Prophet of Islam” is a topic worthy of consideration. The Muslim community is taking great pains to convince the world that “the Prophet” was a man of peace, piety, humility and generosity” and most Americans are content to believe this to be the case.
Simply reading the Islamic authoritative texts (Kuran and Hadith), however, presents a very different picture. Muhammed came on the scene in a way that has marked the history of Islam, when in 624 AD at Badr, he violated the sacred month of Rajab and butchered the Meccans, declaring “Smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger tips of them” (8:12). As Ayatollah Khomeini stated, after Badr “Islam grew with blood.”
Muhammed, this man of peace, declared that the sight of severed enemy heads pleased him more than “the choicest camel in Arabia.” He stated that killing prisoners was condoned by Allah (8:68) and described unbelievers as “the worst animals” (8:55) and “the vilest of creatures” (98:6) who are undeserving of mercy.
The documents portray Muhammed as a classic anti-semite. He told his followers to “kill any Jew you can lay your hands on” and massacred the last Jewish tribe in Medina, when he and his men decapitated up to 900 men. According to the peaceful Islamic text, Allah praised Muhammed for the way “he struck terror into their hearts” (33:25). All of the women were raped, and Muhammed chose for himself a young woman who had just witnessed her father and husband butchered before her.
While Muhammed is being praised by Muslims for his piety, one should keep in mind that his last wife, taken in his old age, was the 7 year old child, Aisha. He had sex with her when she turned 9 years old. It’s not surprising then that paradise is described as a place where “martyrs” are treated to dozens of virgin maidens and “fresh” pre-pubescent boys.
This is just a snapshot of the virtuous man of peace presented, not by your speakers, but by their sacred texts.
Fr. Seraphim Bell, Ph.D.
(Greek Orthodox Christian Church), Ben Lomond
