Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West

by Raymond Ibrahim

Muhammad began to launch raids everywhere. There was only one way to avoid the scimitar of Muhammad, captured in the following instructions he gave his followers: “Fight them [non-Muslims] until they testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger; if they do so, then their blood [lives] and possessions are denied you.”4 His followers grew with every spoil-laden victory and were of two kinds: those vanquished by Muhammad, who chose Islam (submission) over slavery or death; and those impressed by Muhammad, who chose Islam (submission) in order to join his bandwagon and reap its rewards. All that both groups had to do was recite the shahada, Islam’s first pillar and proclamation of faith: “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” Whether they sincerely believed the words or not was an academic distinction. In saying them, they made submission (Islam) to Muhammad’s political authority and as such were good Muslims.