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PREFACE
TO THE FIRST EDITION.
There is a general impression amongst European students of Islám, that it is a simple system of Deism unfettered by numerous dogmas and creeds, which are supposed to be such an insuperable hindrance to an acceptance of Christianity. Such was the opinion of the historian Gibbon, and it is also the view taken by some who seek to weaken the authority of the Christian system by extolling the merit of its great rival creed. But even amongst the advocates of Christianity there is altogether an erroneous impression as to what Muhammadanism really is. Dean Stanley has an admirable chapter on the subject of Islám in his
