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might have suggested to him , that with such a Reward before their eyes they were not altogether unlikely to deceive others . Among the causies of the rapid propagation of Islamism , Mr . Higgtns places " the total abstinence in its followers from persecution , at least as
far as concerned Jews and Christians , '' and he afterwards contends that this tolerant spirit " was strictly accordant with that ^ of Mohamed . " The simple truth is , that while Muhammed was weak he was tolerant , and no longer ; and the character of his disposition may be learnt from the dreadful curses which the Koran denounces against those who do not receive the impostor ' s creed .
In his admiration of this man , •« who , " if we are to credit our author , " lived like a hero , and died like a philosopher , " Mr . Higgins is tempted to turn Moslem . " A philosopher , " he says * " may , perhaps , be tempted to heave a sigh of regret for the beautiful , plain , intelligible , and unadorned simplicity of the Mohamedan profession of faith , believe in one God 9 and Mohamed the apostle of God . " Not to speak of the strange application of the term " beautiful , " we very much fear that if Mr . Higgins ' s judgment
was but a little stronger than his prejudice , he would find that the real creed of Islamism is neither very plain , nor intelligible , nor unadorned . In fact , our author has taken the foundation for the building . The acknowledgment of Muhammed implies the acknowledgment of all that he taught , and if the Koran be a fair representation of his teachings , ( though it contains some interesting views of the Divine character , and some good moral injunctions , ) they in some cases equal , in others even surpass in absurdity * the corruptions
of the Roman Catholic Church . Nor do we think that Mr . Higgins could have been betrayed into a love of Islamism except it had been through his dislike of Christianity . Confounding together the religion of Christendom and the religion of the New Testament , he is ever ready to disparage both , and he applies the same latitude of perversion in impeaching Christianity , as he does in defending the religion of the Moslems . Anxious to vindicate his beloved faith from every imperfeetibh , and blindly following one who ,
in respect of hatred to Christianity , was a kindred spirit—Gibbon , he asserts that " the Mahometan religion is destitute of priesthood or sacrifice , " and intimates that it forbad the use of priests and priesthood , ifcd the Writer done nothing more than read Gibbon himself with attention , he would have been saved from this error ; for the fact asserted in the words just quroted , which are taken from " The Decline and Fall , " Gibbon himself impeaches with strange forgetfulness and inconsistency . In the very chapter whence
the words are taken , he not only speaks of " the preaching of Mahomet , " of his addressing the people «* from the pulpit , " but expressly asserts , that " he assumed the exercise of the regal and sacerdotal office . " By Mr . U ^ haiti , also , in his History of the Ottoman Empire , we are informed that Miihamrhed , " assuming both the sacerdotal and regal character , prayed daily in the mosque which he had built , and expounded his doctrine . "
u During the existence of the Saracenic empire * Mohammedanism , " says Mr . Forster , " possessed a priesthood in the persons bf the caliphs ; and in the Turkish branch , the Ottoman Sultans claim to be the legkittiate successors of Mahomet and heads of their religion . " * Mi \ Mills * also , in his History of the Muhammadan Religion , distinctly says , ' * As the Koran was supposed to be the treasure ef divine and human laws , and as the caliphs were the depositaries of this treasure , they became at once pontiffs , legislators , and judges ,
* Mohammedanism Unveiled , Vol . I . p . 422 .
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23 $ Wtjg'g'ins ' i Apolngyfor Mohamed .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1830, page 238, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2583/page/22/
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