"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides
the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog,
there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many
countries, improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish
methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of
the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace
and refinement, the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in
Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property,
either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of
slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.
Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the
religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger
retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is
a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central
Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that
Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against
which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as
fell the civilization of ancient Rome."
Sir Winston Churchill; (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50
(London:
