Islam’s power

In a 1907 treatise on Islam , the Reformed theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper denied that Islam’s power could be attributed to sheer deception or manipulation. He found a spiritual power in Islam’s relentless monotheism, and suggested that Islam’s conquest of previously Christian regions of the Middle East and Africa was due to the weakness, laxity, and fragmentation of the church.

He ends the little treatise with this sobering observation: “That it has been able to maintain itself with such tenacity for over thirteen centuries in spite of unfavourable times, is a testimony to its inner dynamic that still moves it. The Crescent is far from its demise. As long as it retains its successful rule over the hearts of its mass of 245 million people, it will be a bad mistake for anyone to dismiss Islam as a negligible factor. As in the past, Islam retains its strong position of power, especially in Africa, but even Europe cannot afford to ignore it. Do not forget the following remarkable contrast. The millions of Christians who came under the rule of the Sultan during the seventh and eighth centuries, have almost all converted to Islam. To the contrary, Muslims who currently are ruled by Christian powers have fully persevered in their faith.”