Napoleon Bonaparte Had No Genuine Interest In Islam
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
12 July
2023
“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 Quran which alone are true and
which alone can lead men to happiness."
Napoleon Bonaparte, quoted by a reader
Napoleon
Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David via Wikimedia Commons
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"Almost
all historians are convinced of the genius and cunning intelligence of Napoleon
Bonaparte during the testing and difficult military campaign in Egypt, his stay
there and the formulation of policy according to the needs and objectives of
the country. There, Napoleon attributed the reason for his adopting the Muslim
attire to the conditions in Egypt and not to himself converting to Islam or
having any kind of relation to the religion.
In
connection to Napoleon’s entry into Egypt, we find that he entered Cairo, Egypt
on a June morning in 1798. He was accompanied by 36,000 troops. Napoleon had
studied the history of Islam extensively before his campaign in Egypt and knew
how to channel the emotions of the Muslims living there and also learnt some
basic Arabic words to make him more agreeable to the locals."
Awwab Saad
Hayat, Al Hakam
The reader,
who has quoted Napoleon Bonaparte with an intention to get an endorsement of
authority and supremacy of Islam from the redoubtable French General, must know
the context and circumstances. Haven't you heard the famous aphorism, in Rome,
do as Romans do? Napoleon Bonaparte followed this dictum in toto during his
French campaign in 1798.
Napoleon
was an astute statesman who extolled Islam and Quran only when he realized that
his eulogy of Islam would make things easier in a part of the world dominated
by Islam. He had no genuine interest in Islam. He was a Catholic Christian who
believed in religion but did away with its customs and rituals. Relate this
phenomenon to Indian political context to understand why all demagogues
(Napoleon was also a demagogue, albeit far better and more dignified than all
our politicians put together) talk about religion only when the hustings are
round the corner. Why've Modi, Shah and Doval suddenly started praising Muslim
community? Are they interested in knowing Islam as a faith and serious about
tackling the issues of Muslims? It's obvious that these people have general
elections on their mind. Napoleon also had the same intention of expansion
behind his paeans to Islam and the Quran. So, please stop quoting western
scholars, statesmen, kings and emperors to prove that the whole world
recognises the value and importance of Islam and Koran. Religion, not just Islam,
has often been a political tool for the rulers.
By the way,
modern French philosopher Paul-Michel Foucault wrote about Napoleon in Le
Figaro (1970): 'Napoleon knew how to use religion to reach out to people
belonging to some other faiths.'
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A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in
comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed
articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including
Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/napoleon-bonaparte-genuine-islam/d/130196
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