Page:Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din - The Strength of Islam.djvu/24

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
20
THE STRENGTH OF ISLAM

fanaticism, or what you will, the fact of the real Presence of God is the very essence of the creed of the faithful followers of the Holy Prophet, and it is the chief reason why they have no fear of death or hell, which hold out such terrors to many whose beliefs are of a more complicated and less convincing character. Then there is no need of any outside aid, no introductions, no atonement; the key to heaven need never be missing, and the Muslim communing with his God at least five times a day is less likely to be engaged in the planning of any serious crime or any outrage on his conscience than one who rarely gives a thought to the real Presence of the Almighty. Statistics show that Muslim communities are singularly free from crime, and especially from crime of a brutal and cruel character, and this is, I think, to a great extent due to the Muslim's conviction that God is always with him, and also to the fact that alcoholic stimulants do not find favour, and indeed are expressly forbidden. Most people will admit that something like 90 per cent. of the crime in most civilized countries is directly or indirectly due to the abuse of alcohol. It