Mohammed and the Saracens

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MOHAMMED AND THE SARACENS. BY WARREN SHEPHERD, OF THE CLASS IN ORATORY, BRIGHAM YOUNG ACADEMY, PROVO.

Pre-eminent among men who have shaped the destiny of the world, stands Mohammed, the warrior prophet of Arabia; a fact attested by the circumstance that more than one-sixth of the human race are today his enthusiastic followers. For centuries Mohammed has been looked upon as an impostor, and even as anti-Christ; but today, he is generally regarded as a reformer: that is, as a man who introduced into Arabia, a religion and a morality much superior to that which previously prevailed. A self-conscious impostor he certainly was not. He believed strongly in his mission, and that his mission was to turn his countrymen from polytheism to the worship of one God. Perhaps the greatest blemish in his career was the propagation of his doctrines by the sword. In the ages previous to the advent of Mohammed, the most prominent religious beliefs of Arabia were those of the Magians and the Sabaeans, blended with idolatry and the senseless worship of many gods. The ancient Sabaean sages supposed the stars to be inhabited by angels, placed there by an Almighty power to supervise and govern the universe. But history tells us that this beautiful, highly-idealized faith was in later ages practically subverted, and that the stars themselves became objects of worship and so far did such faith sink into grossness that graven images were at last made in honor of them. From such a degradation of religious ideals, it was natural that the unity of creation should be lost sight of. Accordingly

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it soon happened that among the Arabs, each tribe worshiped a particular star, and set up a particular idol: so that when Mohammed was born, a degrading polytheism bound mankind in its strong fetters of superstition. Mohammed was born in 571 A. D. He was of the family of Hashim and the tribe of Koreish, to which was intrusted the keeping of the Kaaba.* Being left an orphan while very young, and in poverty, he

was reared by his uncle, under the influences of idolatry. This uncle was a merchant, and made trips to the distant fairs. He often took the boy with him, particularly to Syria, where the future prophet became acquainted with the Holy Scriptures, especially the Old Testament. In his twenty-fifth year, Mohammed entered the service of Khadijah, a very wealthy widow. The personal beauty, and probably the intelligence of the young man, won the heart of Khadijah, and although she was twelve years older than he, she became his wife. Mohammed's religious nature now led him to live in humble solitude. Very often he would retire to a cave, and there spend long vigils in prayer. He had visions, so he declared, in which the angel Gabriel appeared to him, and gave him revelations which he was commanded to make known to his fellow-men. The sum of the new faith which he was commanded to teach, was: "There is but one God, and Mohammed is his prophet." Mohammed at once set himself to work to produce a reform, and this, too, amid overwhelming obstacles. He first talked with his uncles and friends, but they only laughed at him. His wife Khadijah was his first convert. He told her of his dreams and ecstacies, and how he believed himself the ambassador of God to

• The object of greatest veneration among the Arabs, was a "Black

Stone," at Mecca. This is said by some to have fallen from heaven with Adam; others assert that it was given to Abraham by an angel, and was handed down by Ishmael. Over this stone was a small rock building, called the Kaaba. The guardianship of the Kaaba was intrusted to the oldest and most honorable family of Mecca.

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do away with idols and establish belief in the one God; that he alone is reality; that he made us, and sustains us; and that we must resign ourselves to him. Such were the new truths earnestly proclaimed by Mohammed. What a grand and all-important truth it was to impress upon people sunk in pleasure-seeking and sensuality, that there is one supreme Intelligence who rules all things! This is the one great truth that Moses sought to seal upon the minds of the Israelites whom he led out of Egypt. Mohammed was forty years of age when he began to preach. Few believed in him. The poor did not flock to him, as they did to Christ; on the contrary, he seems to have been shunned by all. At the end of three years' proselyting, he had only thirteen followers. Even his relatives persecuted him, and urged him to silence. "Why do you attack idols? Why quarrel with your own interests? Why. destroy your popularity?" But in answer he said, "If the sun stood on my right hand, and the moon on my left hand, ordering me to hold my peace, I would still declare there is but one God." Buffeted and ridiculed, Mohammed still persevered. At first, he used only moral means, appealing to the minds and the hearts of the people. But his earnest voice was drowned by discordant noises. He was regarded as a lunatic for professing to believe in a personal God. At last hostilities began. Mobs laid plots against his life. And while in these distressed circumstances, he lost his most ardent follower and helpmate, his wife Khadijah. Almost broken-hearted, and much discouraged, he fled from Mecca to the city of Medina, where he was cordially welcomed, and where he soon found himself surrounded with followers. This flight from Mecca to Medina, which took place in the year 622 A. D., is called the Hegira. It is the central event in Mohammedan history. From this date, Moslems reckon their chronology, just as the Christians count dates from the birth of Christ. Now appears for the first time a new phase in the prophet's life and teachings. Until the Hegira, it would seem that Mohammed propagated his doctrines by moral force only; and what is more, he elevated the doctrines he advocated. In addition to

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inculcating the unity of God and the hatred of idolatry, he commanded his disciples to return good for evil, to be patient under injuries, and to be submissive to the divine will. He also laid down as a rule the necessity of rest on the Sabbath day. In fact, he copied many precepts from the Bible. During the three years of his ministry at Mecca, he had written the Koran, a book containing the doctrines of Mohammedanism. This book maintains that God has revealed himself through four holy men. To Moses he gave the Pentateuch; to David the Psalms; to Jesus the Gospels, and to Mohammed, the last and the greatest of all prophets, he gave the Koran. "There is no God save Allah," is the fundamental doctrine of the Koran; to which is added the declaration, "Mohammed is the prophet of Allah." The faithful Moslem must believe in the sacredness and infal- the day of judgment, libility of the Koran, in the resurrection, and

and in an after-state of happiness and of misery. He must also believe that God fore-ordains whatsoever comes to pass, and that nothing man can do, can change his appointments. The Koran impressed the practice of four virtues. The first is prayer; five times each day the believer must turn his face towards Mecca and engage in devotion. The second is almsgiving. The third is keeping the fast of Ramadan, which lasts one whole month. The fourth is the duty of making a pilgrimage to Mecca. Mohammed had lived 3l life of asceticism and retirement. In this way, he had become a fanatic, and believed that he was not only the greatest but also the last of the prophets. Being much discouraged with the small progress he had made, and being warmly received by the people of Medina, he threw aside the character of exhorter, and assumed that of warrior. He resolved, in short, to make the "end justify the means." His first care was to adapt his religion to the habits and passions of the people.*

• He advocated that all those who would take up arms in the defense of the new faith should enter paradise. He described paradise as the seventh heaven, the dwelling place of God; a place of magnificent castles and beautiful gardens. In these gardens grew fig trees, one for €very man who entered Paradise.

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He declared it to be the will of God, that the new faith should be spread by the sword. So, the year following the Hegira, the Moslems began to attack and plunder caravans, particularly those belonging to Mecca. This kindled the flames of war; and within ten years of the Hegira, Mohammed was the sovereign of Arabia. Then the great Arabian Prophet died, (632 A. D.) Authorities ditfer regarding his life; some call him a self-deluded enthusiast, while others denounce him as the boldest of impostors. A dispute now arose as to who should be his successor. Finally, Abu-Bekr, the Prophet's father-in-law, was elected to the position, with the title of Caliph, or Vicar of the Prophet. Many people thought that Ali, Mohammed's cousin, ought to have succeeded the Prophet: and this question of succession afterwards divided the Mohammedans into two sects, very much opposed to each other, Abu-Bekr began at once to carry out the Prophet's wishes regarding the spread of the gospel by the sword: till all men should confess the creed of Islam, or consent to pay tribute to the faithful. A call addressed to the believers throughout Arabia was responded to with great enthusiasm. From every quarter warriors flocked to Medina. War was first waged against Syria; and only seventeen years after the Hegira, the conquest of Syria was completed. Then followed the conquest of Persia, which country, having been at war for some time, could offer but feeble resistance to the strong Saracen army. Shortly after the conquest of Persia, the Arabs crossed over the mountains to the north, and spread their faith in Central Asia. The conquest of Egypt soon followed that of Syria. At the request of Omar, the successor of Abu-Bekr, the standard of the Prophet was carried into the valley of the Nile. Alexandria, after much resistance, was abandoned to the enemy; and with the destruction of this capital, the greatest library in the world perished. Omar is reported to have said concerning the Alexandrian Library, "If these books agree with the Koran, they are useless; if they disagree, they are pernicious. In either case, they ought to be destroyed." The lieutenants of the Caliph now moved westward, determined to conquer Northern Africa. After forty years of hard fighting, the Saracens captured the city of Carthage, and tore it to

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ruins; and the people of Northern Africa, who had mingled for years with the people of Europe, once more came under the yoke of Asia. About 716 A. D., the Moslems in the east attacked Constantinople. But its heroic defense by the Emperor Leo III saved that great capital for several centuries longer to the Christian world. At the same time that Constantinople was attacked, the Saracens, who had conquered northern Africa, crossed over into Spain, and in one battle subjugated the entire country. Spain being a very beautiful country, multitudes of colonists from Arabia, Syria, and northern Africa crowded thither, until in a very few years the whole peninsula became Arabic in dress,,

manners, language, and religion. A few years later, the Moslems crossed the Pyrenees, and established themselves upon the plains of Gaul. All Christendom was alarmed. It looked as if they would soon be completely surrounded by the Arabian conquerors. In 732, however, just one hundred years after the death of the great Prophet, the Franks under their renowned chief tian, Charles Martel, arrested the Saracens in Europe, once for all, at the battle of Tours. So rapid were the conquests of the Mohammedans that in the short space of one century they had reduced thirty-six thousand cities, towns, and castles, and built fourteen thousand mosques. "Just as the Romans Romanized the peoples they conquered, so did .the Saracens Saracenize the populations of the countries subjected to their authority. Over a great part of Spain, over North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Babylonia, Persia, northern India, and portions of Central Asia, were spread the native customs, speech^ and worship, the manners, the language, and the religion of the Arabian conquerors." On the one hand, we must perforce take the ground that the religion of Mohammed has wonderful truths that we perhaps do not understand; truths which appeal to the hearts and the consciences of men, and excite great enthusiasm even in successive generations; that it is a religion which has bound diverse nations together for many hundreds of years; a religion to which civilization is certainly indebted. Why then should we abuse, or ridicule, or sneer at it? bad because it may not compare with Is it all Christianity in many things? On the other hand, we are bound to