AlJazeera Magazine:Napoléon Bonaparte: An Admirer of Islam? -by Karima SaifullahKarima Saifullah
Napoléon Bonaparte: An Admirer of Islam? -by Karima SaifullahKarima Saifullah
Bonaparte first learnt about Islam in 1789, when he proposed a military expedition to seize Egypt -- then a province of the Ottoman Empire -- in order to protect French trade interests and undermine Britain's access to India. It has been reported that while in Egypt, Bonaparte took part in several religious ceremonies and held meetings with Muslim clerics. Many quotes suggest that Bonaparte was a serious admirer of Islam: "Moses has revealed the existence of God to his nation. Jesus Christ to the Roman world, Muhammad (PBUH) to the old continent, "I hope the time is not far off when I shall be able to unite all the wise and educated men of all the countries and establish a uniform regime based on the principles of Qur'an which alone are true and which alone can lead men to happiness,” Napoléon Bonaparte as quoted in Christian Cherfils, ‘Bonaparte et Islam,’ Pedone Ed., Paris, France, 1914, pp. 105, 125. In fact, some aspects of the Shariah law still exist in the French constitution as the basis for some of their laws taken from the Code Napoléon.
Note EU-Digest: Shari'ah Law is undemocratic and degrading to womens equal rights. It has no place in a secular Europe and the claims that Napoleon supported this barbaric law are totally untrue.
Labels: EU, Napoleon Bonaparte, Shari Law
