"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."

"If any religion had the chance of ruling over England, nay
Europe within the next hundred years, it could be Islam."
"I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation
because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears
to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of
existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him
- the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he
must be called the Savior of Humanity."

"I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the
modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way
that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have
prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to
the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe
of today."

"During the period of the Caliphs the learned men of the
Christians and the Jews were not only held in great esteem but were
appointed to posts of great responsibility, and were promoted to the
high ranking job in the government....He (Caliph Haroon Rasheed) never
considered to which country a learned person belonged nor his faith and
belief, but only his excellence in the field of learning."

"We have never heard about any attempt to compel Non-Muslim
parties to adopt Islam or about any organized persecution aiming at
exterminating Christianity. If the Caliphs had chosen one of these
plans, they would have wiped out Christianity as easily as what happened
to Islam during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella in Spain; by the
same method which Louis XIV followed to make Protestantism a creed whose
followers were to be sentenced to death; or with the same ease of
keeping the Jews away from Britain for a period of three hundred fifty
years."

The picture of the Muslim soldier advancing with a sword in one
hand and the Qur'an in the other is quite false.
 

History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical
Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of
sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths
that historians have ever repeated.

My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the worlds most
influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by
others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful
on both the secular and religious level. ...It is probable that the
relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the
combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. ...It
is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence
which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential
single figure in human history.