Iron County register., 1882-08-17
MOhammedaDism.
ILL.,

his wife Kadijah, his second was hi
servant Zeid, and his third was Ali
his cousin and subsequent son-in-law
who was then nine years old. Aftel
months of argument, f1attery. ant
fawning, and probably bribery, Abu
beker, q man of talents and influence
came In. Mohammed took his daugh
ter Ayesha, who was then seven years
old, as his second wife. Abubeker soor
enlarged the numbr of members of this
cabal, for at first 1t was secret, oath.
bound society.
In A. d. 612, he began to publicly
propagate his religion. This gave rise
to great opposition; and Mohammed
pretended that he took a journey to the
seventh heaven, and received there the
right to defend himself and propagate
his religion by the sword, which at first
he did not claim the right to do. His
first attempt at preaching with the
sword was failure. He sent his un-
Gle, Hama, with thirty horsemen, to
attack q caravan of Koreish merchants;
but as it was defended by three hun
dred we'll armed men, the missionaries
thought best to defer their conversion.
In A. D. 624 he fought his first battle
in person as missionary. He attack
ed a very rich caravan of Koreish
merchants returning from Syria; they
had more than three to his one, but he
killed and captured one hundred and
fifty of them, and lost fourteen of Lis
own men. The spoils were enormous.
He took one-fifth for himself in the
name Of the Church, and gave his fol-
lowers the rest. This was the rule in
regard to plunder or spoils taken in
battle. In A. D. 625 his party had
grown so much that he fought the
great battle of Ohud against the Kore-
ish, who were three thousand strong,
and whipped them soundly. A. D.
627 he attacked the Konidites, and put
all the men to the sword after they had
surrendered. He took their women,
most beautiful of all the women for his
third wife. In the same year, sight
OF Zeinib, the wife of his servant Zeid,
called for chapter to be added to the
Koran on divorce. Zeinab was di-
vorced from Zeid and married to Mo-
hammed.
Such is a fair sample of Mohammed-
anism. tits combination of violence,
plunder and lust. Mohammed follow
ed out this system, and in eight years
subdued the greater part of the Arabi-
an Peninsula.
AS already remarked, he died in A.
D. 632, without appointing successor,
and an ELECTORAL Commission" decid-
ed in favor of Abubeker, one of his
fathers-in-law, as Khalif, over Ali, his
cousin and son-in-law.
AbubekeF was Mohammed, only more
50. Hefought and preached continual
ly. The discussions varied according
to the congregation He exhorted his
followers to fight like iends, and ex-
planned to the opposition that the Ko-
ran was better than the sword. His
first conquest was Babylollia; his next
was Syria. In A. p. 635 Damascus
was taken, with indiseriminate slaugh-
ter; and on the same day Abu beker
died, having by formal will appointed
Omar as Khalif, under whom the war
IF conversion went on vigorously. The
distressed Syrian and Greek Christians
appealed to the Greek Emperor, Her
aclius, for aid; and he sent two hundred
and forty thousand men, of whom one
aundred and fifty thousand were swept
away in the awful battle of Yermouk.
Soon afterwards Jerusalem was be-
'ieged, and, although valiantly de-
ended, was compelled to surrender.
The ninth article of capitulation reads:
They shall not sell wine, nor any 9TH
,r strong drink What rebuke to
,ur Christianity. This was in April,
a. D. 637. The next year Antioch was
aiken; Tyre soon followed, and all
Egypt.
In A. D. 647, Abdallah, with forty
thousand men, commenced the con-
quest of Africa, and was followed by
Akbar in 665, and near the close of the
century the conquest was completed by
Iassan. In A. D. TIA they entered
spain, and overthrow the kingdom of
he Visigoths. In a. D. 1872 they rolled
vei into France, and ravaged the coun-
ry for forty years; but were defeated in |
l. ID. 672, at the battle of Tours, by a |
army commanded by Chas.
iartel, who LETT to them nothing wor-
by of being called an army The Sar-
Gems lost three hundred and seventy-I
we thousand men in the battle and
u.sequens pursuit. Their military
over being broken, they ceased FROM
1t was not the Saracens but Moham-
1edanism that everran the world.
'he Khalif was only the exponent of I