Thomas Paine Quotes
Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature of all religions established by law.
Paine, Thomas. Rights of Man. J. Johnson, 1791, p. 57.
Louisiana was then a possession of France
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.
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.
This was the beginning of the inquisition.
This sura has unfortunately been used by some Serbians and other Christians to justify ethnic cleansing against Muslims.
The King Outlawed Protestant Worship.
It was uttered in the King’s name by soldiers and officials throughout the land. It is not certain that the exact words of choice were created by Louis but they were uttered in his name. Protestants had been given the right to practice their religion in France by the King’s grandfather (the Edict of Nantes {617664}), but Louis XIV rescinded that {617765} and gave Protestants this choice. Some converted. Some were murdered. Some escaped to other countries.
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.
Damn this world, Damn this time. Damn this fate That uncivilized Arabs have come to make me a Moslem
This is a huge epic poem that he wrote over several years. At the time, the Persians considered themselves far more civilized and sophisticated than the Arabs who were but tribesmen. They really resented the fact that it was the Arabs that brought Islam. And before, most of the Persians worshipped Zoroaster. Although Islam spread faster and further than any religion in history, it was not always easily accepted as this stanza of the poem indicates. There is to this day a superiority that the Iranians perceive over the Arabs. And to this day, many Arabs resent the Iranians for this attitude.
Thomas Paine was an English-born American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. He authored Common Sense (1776) and The American Crisis (1776–1783), the two most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, and helped inspire the patriots in 1776 to declare independence from Great Britain. His ideas reflected Enlightenment-era ideals of transnational human rights. Historian Saul K. Padover described him as "a corsetmaker by trade, a journalist by profession, and a propagandist by inclination".
