Bernard Lewis Quotes

Secularism in the Christian world was an attempt to resolve the long and destructive struggle of church and state. Separation, adopted in the American and French Revolutions and elsewhere after that, was designed to prevent two things: the use of religion by the state to reinforce and extend its authority; and the use of the […]

In the Western world, the basic unit of human organization is the nation, in American but not European usage virtually synonymous with country. This is then subdivided in various ways, one of which is by religion. Muslims, however, tend to see not a nation subdivided into religious groups, but a religion subdivided into nations.

Islam as a religion is in every respect far closer to the Judeo-Christian tradition than to any of the great religions of Asia, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, or Confucianism. Judaism and Islam share the belief in a divine law that regulates all aspects of human activity, including even food and drink. Christians and Muslims share […]

“First – For more than seven years the United States is occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of its territories, Arabia, plundering its riches, overwhelming its rulers, humiliating its people, threatening its neighbors, and using its bases in the peninsula to fight against the neighboring Islamic peoples. Though some in the past have […]

At one time the general assumption of mankind was that “civilization” meant us, and the rest were uncivilized. This, as far as we know, was the view of the great civilizations of the past – in China, India, Greece, Rome, Persia, and the ancient Middle East. Not until a comparatively late stage did the idea […]