The man who is described as "the Saracen" tells the disguised Holger:
"'I am a Christian like yourself. Once, true, I fought for the paynim, but the gentle and chivalrous knight who overcame me also won me to the True Faith. Though even were I still a follower of Mahound, I would not be so discourteous as not to drink your most beautiful lady's health.'" (p. 106)
(Every faith is believed to be "true," of course.)
Incredibly, there is a small minority that wants to make this an issue now. I was amazed to hear men on a demonstration in London shouting, "Christ is king!" The leader of that same small party led a demonstration against a new mosque and Islamic Centre near here. His speech included the remarks that he and his fellow patriots did not want to be informed about Islam because they already have the True Faith. He led prayers and some of his marchers carried crosses. Meanwhile, clergy from several Christian denominations were among the larger crowd which had assembled to welcome the mosque. They were denounced as heretics.
When the Cold War ended, a work colleague told me that people would soon return to fighting about religion! Society can go backwards as well as forwards. See Robert Heinlein's Future History for technological advances and an American theocracy. (And I did not know that that was where this post was going when I started it.)
Fantasy and sf are about the real world.
2 comments:
Note that Muhammad was a warlord and ruler as well as a religious prophet.
Kaor, Paul!
Why on Terra should you be surprised that people can fight about anything? IWHBD.
Moreover, I don't like Islam, for theological, political, and social reasons. As
Stirling said its founder was a warlord and conqueror, and that had tremendous and baleful effects on Muslim theology and politics.
I too would not welcome that new mosque, my sympathies being for those protesting it, despite their unnuanced language. Islam can and should be opposed and criticized far more politely, subtly, and effectively. Some of the best books I read about Islam were by Catholics who studied it carefully--to criticize it effectively.
Ad astra! Sean
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