Equivalence between the Mosque in Cordoba and Church in Damascus

Submitted by Prashant, Jun 3, 2017 at 08:50

Dear Dr Pipes,

When we accept equivalence between the 'mosque in Cordoba' and 'church in Damascus' we make a mistake: the church in Damascus was in its native surroundings when it was occupied by Islamic armies but the Mosque in Cordoba had no business being there. According to both Muslim and Christian historical sources around the turn of the 7th century Islamic armies invaded Spain. These armies did not consist of religious preachers in white or orange (or even green) robes. These armies consisted of naval ships disguised as merchant vessels.

When we evaluate Islam we forget that verses like Q8:41 allow Islamic armies to plunder the vanquished and distribute war booties. The verses prior to Q8:41, justify in no uncertain terms that the 'disbelievers' need to be punished and verse Q8:41 justifies plundering of the vanquished and
tells how to distribute the booties. It seems the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate exactly followed this advice in the early decades of Islam. The lure of plunder would be a huge incentive for a simple artisan to leave whatever he is doing and join an Islamic army and attack a neighboring state. Imagine if someone offers such a deal to even today's men: What will happen if people in Dallas are allowed to plunder people in Houston for three days if they win a war against them (I am obviously not recommending this)?

And what about Islam in Syria? It does not get any worse than what actually did happen. Syria was won for Islam by Islamic armies that were working under direct tutelage of Muhammad's father in law Abu-bakr (Aisha's father). Aisha was Muhammad's favorite wife and a big supporter.

So, I contend that there is no equivalence between the mosque in Damascus and the church in Damascus. The former must not be there. The latter must be.

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