The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)the words of these great religious teachers are clearly not equal in their
meaning.
That 's why I have place d a "Muh ammad vs. Jesu s" side bar in ever y
chapter to emphasize the fallacy of those who claim that Islam and Chris-
tiani ty—and all other religi ous tradi tions , for that matte r—are basic ally
equal in their ability to inspire good or evil. It is also meant to emphasize
that the West, built on Christian ity, is worth defending,even ifwe liveina
so -ca ll ed po st- Ch ri st ia n er a. Fu rt he rm or e, th ro ug h th e wo rd s of
Muhammad and Jesus, we can draw a distinction between the core prin-
ciples that guide the faithful Muslim and Christian. These principles are
important. The followers of Muhammad read his words and imitate his
action s, which leads to an expres sion of faith quite differ ent from Chris-
tians. One does not have to look too far to see that life in an Islamic country
is differ ent from life in the Unite d States or Brita in. The differe nce
beg ins wit h Muh amma d. In the se days whe n so manyinv oke Muh am-
mad's words and deeds to justify actions of violence and bloodshed, it is
important to become familiar with this pivotal figure.
For man y in the Wes t, Muh amma d rem ain s mor e mys ter iou s than
other major religious figures. Most people know, for example, that Moses
rece ived the Ten Comma ndme nts on Mount Sina i, that Jesu s died on a
cross at Calvary and was raised from the dead, and maybe even that Buddha
sat under a treeand received enlightenment. But less is known about
Muham mad, and even that much is dispu ted. Hence, what follo ws will
be taken solely from Islamic texts.
Fi rs t ba si c fa ct : Mu ha mm ad ib nAb da ll ah ib n Ab d al-Mu tt al ib
(570-632), the prophet of Islam,was a manof war. He taughthis follow-
ers to fight for his new religion. He said that their god, Allah, had com-
mand ed the m to take up arms. And Muha mmad, no armc hair gene ral,
fought in numerous battles. These facts are crucial to anyone who really
wants to under stan d what caus ed the Crusa des centu ries ago or, in our
own time, what has led tothe rise of the global jihad movement.