Islam in History

I'm reading a book called Isis Unveiled, originally published in 1877, and I unexpectedly came across the following. In Chapter Ten, while discussing Hindu ruins in the caverns of Ajunta (which the author describes as about 200 miles from Bombay) she quotes an article from the Observer of her day:

"Hundreds and thousands of niches are beautifully cut in the solid rock, and when these temples were thronged with worshippers, each niche had a statue or image, usually in the florid style of these Oriental sculptures. It is a sad truth that almost every image here is shamefully defaced and mutilated. It is often said that no Hindu will bow down to an imperfect image, and that the Mahometans, knowing this, purposely mutilated all these images to prevent the Hindus from worshipping them..."

So, nothing seems to have changed much. In the 19th Century Muslims had a reputation as far as England as defacers and mutilators of others' religious icons; and we watched them on television, in the 21st century, still engaged in the same savage and ignorant behavior, blowing up glorious, ancient, sacred statues of Buddha in Afghanistan, diminishing and offending the entire civilized world.

Interestingly, while the author discusses the beliefs and practices of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism in some detail, she essentially dismisses Islam as a spiritual vacuum, in a single reference.

So, people in the spirituality business in 1877 considered Islam insufficiently "spiritual" to be included in the club, and already understood them to be nothing more than marauding barbarians.

How exactly did we forget this lesson? And how can anyone, anywhere, any time, without blushing, call it a Religion of Peace?

The Gunslinger