The first few who embraced the "new" religion in Makkah in the
Arabian Peninsula at the hands of the Prophet, were his wife Khadijah, his
servant Zaid and his eleven-year-old cousin Ali. Among the ones who later
joined this faith were the honest merchant, Abu Bakr; the iron man of
Arabia, Umar the Great; the shy businessman, Uthman; the Prophet's brave
uncle Hamza and a slave of a pagan, Bilal. They simply couldn't resist the
MAGIC SWORD of a humble and lonely Prophet! The negligible minority of the
believers in this new Faith was soon exiled from Makkah and they arrived
in the city called Yathrab which later became known as MADINAH.
The Muslim emigrants to Madinah brought their SWORD with them. The
SWORD continued to "pull" people towards it until the whole of Arabia
joined the Faith. Compared to the population of the rest of the world at
that time, the Arabs constituted a tiny minority. A fraction of this
minority decided to take the SWORD beyond the boundaries of the Arabian
desert to the mighty empires of Rome and Persia, the shores of the
Mediterranean, the coast of Malabar and the far away East Indies Islands.
People after people continued surrendering to this SWORD and joining
the Faith. So sharp was the edge of the SWORD! It simply conquered the
hearts; bodies yielded automatically. It is the SWORD OF TRUTH, whose mere
shine eliminates falsehood just like light wipes away darkness. HAS THE
SWORD GONE BLUNT? NO, FAR FROM IT. It continues to pierce the hearts of
countless men and women even today - in spite of the relentless efforts by
persons with vested interests who like darkness to prevail, so that they
may rob people of their good things.
Read below the impressions of some who were recently conquered by the
same SWORD. They are from different countries, speak different languages
and have different backgrounds. Their present addresses are also given.
Perhaps you may like to ask them how it feels to be struck by the SWORD OF
TRUTH.
1. LEOPOLD WEISS (now Mohammad Asad): Austrian statesman, journalist,
former foreign correspondent for the Frankfuerter Zeitung; author of ISLAM
AT THE CROSSROADS and ROAD TO MECCA and translator of the Qur'an. He
embraced Islam in 1926. (1) "Islam appears to me like a perfect work of
Architecture. All its parts are harmoniously conceived to complement and
support each other. Nothing is superfluous and nothing lacking, with the
result of an absolute balance and solid composure."
2. AHMED HOLT: British Civil Contractor, traveler in search of the
Divine truth, spent much of his time in research and comparative study of
Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He embraced Islam in 1975. (2) "The SWORD
OF ISLAM is not the sword of steel. I know this by experience, because the
sword of Islam struck deep into my own heart. It didn't bring death, but
it brought a new life; it brought an awareness and it brought an awakening
as to who am I and what am I and for what am I here?"
3. BOGDAN DOPANSKI (now Bogdan Ataullah Kopanski): Originally Polish,
now American; Ph.D. in history and politics, had a very interesting
journey to Islam and faced severe hardships; was imprisoned twice by the
Polish communist regime (1968, 1981-82). He embraced Islam in 1974. (3)
"When I was 12 years old I rejected illogical and contradictory faith of
the Church. Two years later in 1962 - I was fascinated by victorious
struggle of the Algerian Muslim mujahideen against French colonialism. It
was the first ARROW of Islam.... The high school and earliest days of my
education in the University, I was a typical example of 'rebel generation'
of Reds.... My way to the truth of Al-Qur'an was slow and unpaved.... In
1974 I visited Turkey, I wrote my M.A. dissertation about Sultan and
Caliph Suleiman Kanuni's policy towards the Polish Kingdom. There, I was
hit by the most beautiful voice of mankind, the ADHAN, the call to prayer.
My hair stood up. An unknown powerful force led me to old masjid in
Istanbul. There, old smiling Turkish, bearded men taught me WUZU,
ablution. I confessed to tears SHAHADAH and I prayed my first SALAH
Maghrib.... I swept out the rubbish ideologies.... The first time in my
life, my mind was relaxed and I felt pleasure of Allah's love in my heart.
I was a Muslim...."
4. VENGATACHALAM ADIYAR (now Abdullah Adiyar): Indian, noted Tamil
writer and journalist; worked as a news editor in Dr. M. Karunanidhi's
daily MURASOLI for 17 years; assisted 3 former Chief Ministers of Tamil
Nadu. Received Kalaimamani Award (Big Gem of Arts) from Tamil Nadu
Government in 1982. He embraced Islam in 1987. (4) "In Islam I found
suitable replies to nagging queries arising in my mind with regard to the
theory of creation, status of woman, creation of the universe, etc. The
life history of the Holy Prophet attracted me very much and made it easy
for me to compare with other world leaders and their philosophies."
5. HERBERT HOBOHM (now Aman Hobohm): German diplomat, missionary and
social worker. An intellectual who has been serving the German diplomatic
missions in various parts of the world. Presently working as Cultural
Attache in German Embassy in Riyadh. He embraced Islam in 1941. (5) "I
have lived under different systems of life and have had the opportunity of
studying various ideologies, but have come to the conclusion that none is
perfect as Islam. None of the systems has got a complete code of a noble
life. Only Islam has it; and that is why good men embrace it. Islam is not
theoretical; it is practical. It means complete submission to the will of
God."
6. CAT STEVENS (now Yousuf Islam): British; formerly a Christian and a
world famous pop singer. He embraced Islam in 1973. (6) "It will be wrong
to judge Islam in the light of the behavior of some bad Muslims who are
always shown on the media. It is like judging a car as a bad one if the
driver of the car is drunk and he bangs it into the wall. Islam guides all
human beings in the daily life - in its spiritual, mental and physical
dimensions. But we must find the sources of these instructions, the Qur'an
and the example of the Prophet. Then we can see the ideal of Islam."
7. MS. MARGARET MARCUS (now Maryam Jamilah): American, formerly a
Jewess, essayist and an author of many books. She embraced Islam in 1962.
(7) "The authority of Islamic Morals and Laws proceeds from Almighty God.
Pleasure and happiness in Islam are but the natural byproducts of
emotional satisfaction in one's duties conscientiously performed for the
pleasure of God to achieve salvation. In Islam duties are always stressed
above rights. Only in Islam was my quest for absolute values satisfied.
Only in Islam did I at last find all that was true, good, beautiful and
which gives meaning and direction to human life and death."
8. WILFRIED HOFMAN (now Murad Hofman): Ph.D. in law (Harvard); German
social scientist and diplomat; presently German Ambassador in Algeria. He
embraced Islam in 1980. (8) "For some time now, striving for more and more
precision and brevity, I have tried to put on paper, in a systematic way,
all philosophical truths, which in my view, can be ascertained beyond
reasonable doubt. In the course of this effort it dawned on me that the
typical attitude of an agnostic is not an intelligent one; that man simply
cannot escape a decision to believe; that the createdness of what exists
around us is obvious; that Islam undoubtedly finds itself in the greatest
harmony with overall reality. Thus I realize, not without shock, that step
by step, in spite of myself and almost unconsciously, in feeling and
thinking I have grown into a Muslim. Only one last step remained to be
taken: to formalize my conversion. As of today I am a Muslim. I have
arrived."
9. CASSIUS CLAY (now Muhammad Ali): American; three times World
Heavyweight Champion, formerly a Christian. He embraced Islam in 1965. (9)
"I have had many nice moments in my life. But the feelings I had while
standing on Mount Arafat on the day of HAJJ (Muslims' pilgrimage), was the
most unique. I felt exalted by the indescribable spiritual atmosphere
there as over a million and a half pilgrims invoked God to forgive them of
their sins and bestow on them His choicest blessings. It was an
exhilarating experience to see people belonging to different colors, races
and nationalities, kings, heads of states and ordinary men from very poor
countries all clad in two simple white sheets praying to God without any
sense of either pride or inferiority. It was a practical manifestation of
the concept of equality in Islam." (Speaking to the daily "Al-Madinah,"
Jeddah, 15 July, 1989.)
These were the impressions of a few persons who had themselves been
struck by the SWORD OF TRUTH, that is, the Message of Islam. AS FOR THE
PROPAGANDA THAT IT WAS THE SWORD OF STEEL, THAT IS, FORCE, WHICH WAS
INSTRUMENTAL IN THE UNIVERSAL EXPANSION OF ISLAM, WE GIVE BELOW QUOTATIONS
FROM THE WRITINGS OF SOME OF THE PROMINENT NON-MUSLIM SCHOLARS AND LEADERS
REFUTING THIS BASELESS ACCUSATION.
1. M.K. GANDHI: "....I became more than ever convinced that it was not
the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life.
It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the prophet, the
scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and
followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God
and in his own mission. These, and not the sword carried everything before
them and surmounted every trouble." YOUNG INDIA, 1924. (10)
2. EDWARD GIBBON: "The greatest success of Mohammad's life was effected
by sheer moral force without the stroke of a sword." HISTORY OF THE
SARACEN EMPIRE, London, 1870.
3. A.S. TRITTON: "The picture of the Muslim soldier advancing with a
sword in one hand and the Qur'an in the other is quite false." ISLAM,
London, 1951, page 21. (12)
4. DE LACY O'LEARY: "History makes it clear, however, that the legend
of fanatical Muslims, sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the
point of sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically
absurd myths that historians have ever repeated." ISLAM AT CROSSROADS,
London, 1923, page 8.
5. K.S. RAMAKRISHNA RAO: "My problem to write this monograph is easier
because we are not generally fed now on that (distorted) kind of history
and much time need not be spent on pointing out our misrepresentations of
Islam. The theory of Islam and sword, for instance, is not heard now in
any quarter worth the name. The principle of Islam, there is no compulsion
in religion, is well known." MOHAMMED THE PROPHET OF ISLAM, Riyadh, 1989,
page 4.
6. JAMES A MICHENER: "No other religion in history spread so rapidly as
Islam... The West has widely believed that this surge of religion was made
possible by the sword. But no modern scholar accepts that idea, and the
Qur'an is explicit in support of the freedom conscience." ISLAM - THE
MISUNDERSTOOD RELIGION, READERS' DIGEST (American Edition) May 1955.
7. LAWRENCE E. BROWNE: "Incidentally these well-established facts
dispose of the idea so widely fostered in Christian writings that the
Muslims, wherever they went, forced people to accept Islam at the point of
the sword." THE PROSPECTS OF ISLAM, London 1944. IF YOU TOO POSSESS A
SOFT, TENDER HEART AND AN OPEN MIND, DO WRITE TO US FOR SOME BASIC
INFORMATION ABOUT THE WAY OF LIFE CALLED "ISLAM." DO NOT BELIEVE IN
HEARSAY AND LEARN FROM THE DIRECT SOURCES. WE ARE READY TO HELP.
ADDRESSES:
1. Muhammad Asad, (deceased recently)
2. Ahmad Holt, 23 Welland
Garden Perivale, Middlesex UB6 8SZ, U.K.
3. Bogdan Ataullah Kopanski,
3013 Harrel Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 75051.
4. Abdullah Adiyar, 1
Ashok Avenue, Rangarajapuram, Kodambakkam, Madras, India.
5. Aman
Hobohm, Cultural Attache, P.O. Box 8974, Riyadh 11492, Saudi Arabia.
6. Yousuf Islam, Chairman, Muslim Aid, 3 Furlong Road, London, N7,
U.K.
7. Maryam Jamilah, c/o Mohammad Yusuf Khan, Sant Nagar, Lahore,
Pakistan.
8. Murad Hofman, Ambassador, Embassy of Federal Republic of
Germany, BP 664, Alger-gare, Algeria. 9. Muhammad Ali, c/o Masjid
Al-Faatir, 1200 East 49th Street, Chicago, IL 60615.
NOTE: 10.
Twentieth century champion of non-violence who lead the Indian movement of
freedom from British colonization.
RECOMMENDED INTRODUCTORY
PUBLICATIONS:
1. III&E Brochure Series may be obtained from the
address given below.
2. WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ISLAM AND
MUSLIMS by Suzanne Haneef, Kazi Publications, Chicago, IL.
3. ISLAM IN
FOCUS by H. Abdulati, American Trust Publications, Indianapolis, IN.
4. THE BIBLE, THE QUR'AN AND SCIENCE by Maurice Bucaille, American
Trust Publications, Indianapolis, IN.
5. QUR'AN, AN INTRODUCTION by
A.R. Doi, Kazi Publications, Chicago, IL.
6. HADITH, AN INTRODUCTION
by A.R. Doi, Kazi Publications, Chicago, IL.
7. MUHAMMAD, HIS LIFE
BASED ON THE EARLIEST SOURCES by Martin Lings, Inner Traditions
International, Rochester, VT.
8. LIFE OF MUHAMMAD by A.H. Siddiqi,
Kazi Publications, Chicago, IL.
9. HISTORY OF ISLAM by Masud-ul-Hasan,
Islamic Publications, Lahore, Pakistan.
10. THE CULTURAL ATLAS OF
ISLAM by I.R. al-Faruqi and Lois L. al-Faruqi, Macmillan Publishing
Company, New York, NY.
