John Adams regarding Islam

sequoia

Sun, Aug 15 2010, 11:50 am

Has anybody come across this quote before or know if it is real? Do you agree with it?

“In the seventh century of the Christian era a wandering Arab, of the lineage of Hagar, the Egyptian, combining the powers of transcendent genius with the preternatural energy of a fanatic and the fraudulent spirit of an imposter, proclaimed himself as a messenger from heaven, and spread desolation and delusion over an extensive portion of the earth.
Adopting, from the sublime conception of the Mosaic law, the doctrine of one omnipotent God, he connected indissolubly with it the audacious falsehood, that he was himself his prophet and apostle. Adopting from the new revelation of J-sus, the faith and hope of immortal life, and of future retribution, he humbled it to the dust by adapting all the rewards and sanctions of his religion to the gratification of the s-xual passion. He poisoned the sources of human felicity at the fountain, by degrading the condition of the female s-x, and the allowance of polygamy; and he declared undistinguishing and exterminating war as part of his religion against all the rest of mankind. The essence of his doctrine was violence and lust; to exalt the brutal over the spiritual part of human nature.

Between these two religions, thus contrasted in the characters, a war of more than twelve hundred years has already raged. That war is yet flagrant; nor can it cease but by the extincture of that imposture, which has been permitted by Providence to prolong the degeneracy of man. While the merciless and dissolute are encouraged to furnish motives to human action, there never can be peace on earth and good will toward men. The hand of Ishmael will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him.” -- John Adams, 1830

nylon

Sun, Aug 15 2010, 6:42 pm

Can't verify or disprove.

It's all over sites that are anti-Islamic. Snopes hasn't got it. It was John Quincy Adams, not John Adams (John Adams died in 1826). One site has a reference, but it's not something I can check. The younger Adams was not as well regarded as his father, for what that's worth.

I'm loath to ascribe too much importance to it. I could find plenty of racist, sexist, or anti-Semitic quotes from statesmen of the time. Should we take those words as gospel truth too, or just the ones that coincide with our prejudices?

Ima2NYM_LTR

Sun, Aug 15 2010, 9:05 pm

nylon wrote: