[885] 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Observations on the Mohammedan 

 Religion. [^From Mr. Jackson's 

 Account of the Empire of Ma- 

 rocco.2 



MANY writers hare endea- 

 voured to vilify the Mo- 

 hammedan religion, by exposing 

 the worst side oT" it, blackened by 

 various fables, invented for divers 

 sinister purposes ; these represen- 

 tations, indeed, have been trans- 

 mitted to posterity, by enthusiasts 

 who have been anxious to acquire 

 ecclesiastical fame, or by men who 

 appear to have known but little of 

 the original language of Moham- 

 medans, and whose object was to 

 abuse and calumniate; but we 

 shall, on a minute examination of 

 the doctrines contained in the Ko- 

 ran, find that it approaches nearer 

 to the Christian religion in its mo- 

 ral precepts, than any other with 

 which we are acquainted. Indeed, 

 were there as many absurdities in 

 this religion as some persons have 

 attributed to it, it is probable that 

 it would not have extended itself 

 over so great a portion of the ha- 

 bitable globe : for we find it em- 

 braced, with litle exception, from 

 the shores of West Barbary, to 

 the most eastern part of Chinese 



Tartary, an extent of upwards of 

 8,000 miles ; and from the Medi- 

 terranean to the Cape of Good 

 Hope, with the exception of a few 

 nations of Pagans ; neither is there 

 any language spoken and under- 

 stood by so great a proportion of 

 the population of the world as that 

 in which it is promulgated : of this, 

 however, I shall speak more par- 

 ticularly in the next chapter. 



Koran, chap. vii. — " Forgive 

 easily: command nothing but what 

 is just : dispute not with the igno- 

 rant." 



Koran, chap. xi. — " O earth, 

 swallow up thy waters : O heaven, 

 withhold thy rain ; immediately 

 the waters subsided, the ark rested 

 on Mount Al Judi, and these 

 words were heard : Wo to the 

 wicked nation !" 



Chap. xiii. — " They who do 

 good for evil shall obtain paradise 

 for their reward." 



From these extracts we see that 

 the Mohammedans have some of 

 the same moral precepts laid down 

 for their guidance which are incul- 

 cated by the Gospel of Christ. 

 They believe in the flood; they 

 teach forgiveness of injuries; jus- 

 tice, and rendering good for evil. 

 The nations which followed Pa- 

 ganism 



