- One of the rare exceptions to this is Richard Gabriel.
The idea of a soldier motivated by religion in the certainty that he was
doing God's work on earth seems to have been one of Muhammad's most
important military innovations [...] no army before Muhammad ever
placed religion at the centre of military motivation [...] the soldiers of
Islam were usually extremely religious [...] A central part of the
motivation of the Islamic soldier was the teaching of his faith that death
was not something to be feared, but to be sought [...] those killed in battle
would be welcomed immediately into a paradise of eternal pleasure [...]
To die fighting in defense of the faith (jihad) was to become a martyr.
Muhammad: Islamʼs First Great General, Oklahoma, 2007, p.47.
Whilst focusing only on Mohammed as a military leader rather than on
the subsequent history of Jihad, at least Gabriel was one academic who
was prepared to provide a narrative that went against The Grand Lie that
Islam is a religion of peace. ↵
dana p.
(Dana P.)
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