Allama Abdullah Al-Mamun Al-Suehrawardy Quotes
Islam never invented the rack or the stake for stifling difference of opinion, or strangling the human conscience, or exterminating heresy
While Christianity and other religious groups were the inventors of these particular devices of compulsion of conscience, in modern times, but almost all other groups have given up torture and execution as a means of compelling religious obedience, many Muslim nations, even in modern times use the machine gun or the headman’s sword or other barbaric means to punish heretics. At the beginning of the third millennium, Islamic theocracies such as Iran, commonly executed followers of the Bhai and other non-Islamic religions. Many historians feel that the Muslims learned from the Christians such barbarity, but maintained the practices long after the questions had abandoned them. In addition, Shiite and Sunni Muslims have been butchering each other for centuries in dominate Islam nations and trying to force their interpretation of Islam in each other. The practice still continues.
Allama Abdullah Al-Mamun Al-Suehrawardy, *, Indian Moslem Theologian and Historian, The Sayings of Muhammad, 1938
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Historically, when Christian Europe was torturing and butchering people over differences of religious opinion, Islam was for the time, in most places, a model of tolerance. Suhrawardy died before Islam degenerated into an intolerance that almost rivaled in brutality that of the Christians centuries ago. And while his statement about the invention and initiation of brutal intolerance is correct, he would be shocked at the behavior of 21st century Iran, Pakistan and some other Islamic nations who from a traditional Islamic perspective had degenerated.
This was the beginning of the inquisition.
Abdul Rahman had converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years before. Conversion from Islam is a capital crime under Sharia Law. Rahman was charged but the judge demonstrating the tolerance of Islamic law said that Rahman would be given an opportunity to change his mind and re-embrace Islam and if he did so, he would be converted and not killed.
William was a Catholic himself. Spain then controlled Holland.
It is this verse that for some Muslims justifies terrorism against non-Muslims. See {584354} for a specific example. There are similar provisions in the Old Testament which a few extremely conservative Jews and Christians have used to advocate for blasphemy being a capital crime. Note that if an unbeliever repents and becomes a Muslim, he should be spared.
Servetus’ book On the Motion of the Heart and Blood of Animals, was so threatening that of the 1000 copies that were printed only 3 survived the burning including ironically Calvin’s personal marked up copy.
Catholics were blamed by some for the defeat of Henry Clay in 1844. Anti catholic sentiment was high:. Johnson was then a Congressman representing a district where there were few Catholics and strong anti-Catholic feeling.
The King, a religious exremist fanatic, was a great supporter of the Inquisition whose excesses were horrible during his reign.
Ingersoll was considered to be the greatest orator and political thinker of his day, but his overt atheistic views curtailed his elected political career.
Toleration is a relative term. The Muslim Moors made Christians (and Jews) pay a special tax. At times they were forced to wear special clothing so that they could be readily identified. And they could not build churches larger or taller than the smallest mosque in the community. At times, their occupations were restricted but at other times Christians and Jews were appointed to the highest positions like Vizier. The Inquisition, in contrast, forced all Muslims (and Jews) to leave the country without any of their property or money or be tortured and killed—usually by burning at the stake unless of course that they converted to Christianity.
While Aquinas brought much wisdom and good to the Church, this statement and others laid a foundation for murdering non-believers and organizing the Inquisition.
This is a particularly interesting historical quotation because it succinctly gives a history of the various horrors of religious strife in British history—a history that was very well known to the American Founding Fathers and the general American Colonial population. This history was the major driver behind the public insistence for the Bill of Rights and the 1st Amendment which erected a wall of separation between church and state with government never favoring or abetting any particular religion.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910
In one of the historical ironies of the 12th century, a Christian sect preferred the rule of the Muslims than their Christian brethren—on the grounds of religious tolerance. It illustrates the changes that take place over time. By the 21st century, it was the Christians who were thought of as tolerant and the Muslims as the opposite.
