Winston Churchill on Islam

Winston Churchill was arguably the most important personality of the 20th century. Had it not been for his steely will, for his steadfastness and his ability to mobilize the British people and to infuse them with his strength and confidence, the Second World War might well have been lost, and the Nazis — with all the horrible consequences that would have had — might have become the masters of the globe.

Our friends of AFSI (Americans for the Safe Israel) published in their magazine “Outlook” evidence of another aspect of Churchill. Many years ago, in 1899 (!) he formed and published ideas about Islam that are fully resonant today. Here is a paragraph from one of his books, cited below.

Gerardo Joffe, President

by Sir Winston Churchill
The River War, Vol. II, pp. 248-50, London; Longman, Green & Co., 1899

“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…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 paralyzes 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…and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome.”

Facts and Logic About the Middle East
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Gerardo Joffe, President

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