Interesting Napoleon Quote

[Capulet]

I found this on quite a few websites, seaching for quotes about the Qur'an. I found a quote on thinkexist that is attributed to Napolean Bonaparte, that says, "“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 the Quran which alone are true and which alone can lead men to happiness," from the book "Napolean et Islam."

I searched for the book on Google, and it does indeed exist.
http://www.google.com/search?hs=oEu...S:official_s&q=bonaparte+et+islam&btnG=Search

On this page, it gives a source for the book's quote and when the book was published:

http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/quote2.html

Napolean Bonaparte as Quoted in Christian Cherfils, ‘Bonaparte et Islam,’ Pedone Ed., Paris, France, 1914, pp. 105, 125.
Original References: "Correspondance de Napoléon Ier Tome V pièce n° 4287 du 17/07/1799..."

"Moses has revealed the existence of God to his nation. Jesus Christ to the Roman world, Muhammad to the old continent...

"Arabia was idolatrous when, six centuries after Jesus, Muhammad introduced the worship of the God of Abraham, of Ishmael, of Moses, and Jesus. The Ariyans and some other sects had disturbed the tranquility of the east by agitating the question of the nature of the Father, the son, and the Holy Ghost. Muhammad declared that there was none but one God who had no father, no son and that the trinity imported the idea of idolatry...

"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 Qur'an which alone are true and which alone can lead men to happiness."

I thought this was kind of weird for a Frenchman like Napolean to say. Anyone know anything about this book and why Napolean would say something like that?

Apprently it is from: Correspondance de Napoléon Ier Tome V pièce n° 4287 du 17/07/1799, a letter I'm guessing.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

wow thats interesting. Hes got a point though. Why dont the great religious leaders just sit down and sort it out? Gos what a great idea ( no pun intended seriously)

 

[Verbose]

When Napoleon abandoned that weird little Egyptain campaign of his (left his men in the lurch to become dictator of France), the commander he left in place was a Muslim convert.

The revolutionary Frenchmen of the early days (full of zeal for the principles of Reason, "natural" religion etc.) had decidedly less problems with Islam than with Christianity.

Not that any of it helped the French in Egypt. They still had a guerilla war on their hands, complete with ambushes and punitive expeditions.

 

[Andu Indorin]

An interesting quote, but one that shouldn't be taken too seriously. He always had a fascination with "the Orient"; and his Egyptian misadventure reinforced that tendency. Nelson's victory at Aboukir Bay probably reoriented his ambitions significantly. If I recall correctly, for a while he even started talking about conquering Constantinople and setting himself up as the enlightened sultan of a new Muslim order in the Middle east. Failure at Acre put an to that dream.

Then again, who can say whether or not all that wild talk was just for propaganda purposes to help quell dissent in Egypt.

 

[puglover]

Look at his motivation though. He only supported Islam to gain popular approval in the Arab nations he invaded.

If he wasn't busy losing battles in the Middle East, he would've probably been adamently "Christian" to win support from religious Frenchmen back in Europe.

 

[Alvaro da Luna]

Look at his motivation though. He only supported Islam to gain popular approval in the Arab nations he invaded.

If he wasn't busy losing battles in the Middle East, he would've probably been adamently "Christian" to win support from religious Frenchmen back in Europe.

But is there any evidence that what he said or wrote was intended for local native consumption?

 

[privatehudson]

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/612/

 

[rilnator]

I think the only God Napoleon ever really cared for was the 'god of war'.

 

[SeleucusNicator]

I think the only God Napoleon ever really cared for was the 'god of war'.

aka himself.