“Honor is due to the Jews. They are the People of the Book. They were the first to whom God revealed the truth, that He is one. Any religion that does not recognize this is not a religion, merely superstition. Their prophets, Father Ibrahim, Moses, Samuel and Isaiah were true prophets. Mohammed, the Messenger of God, was simply the last of the prophets, hence he is called the Seal of the Prophets. But the Jews fell away from God, first because they whored after other gods and golden calves and then because they virtually deified their Law. Also, their concept of being a ‘chosen people’ is repugnant. All men are equal in God’s eyes. No priest or saint is a hair’s-breadth closer to the Lord of the Worlds than any ordinary man. No race or people is a particle holier than any other. One of the Prophet’s wives was black and he gave his daughter in marriage to a black. Any other teaching is not religion, it is bigotry.

“Another failing of the Jews is that they rejected Jesus, who was a true prophet, who called upon men to love each other as brothers. But the Nazarenes also perverted the teachings of Jesus. They taught that God is three, not one, and that Jesus was his son, begotten of a human female. And the Nazarenes have such strange ideas, such as ‘original sin.’ How can anyone look at the innocent newborn babe and say that he is guilty of Adam’s sin? The very idea is absurd. Every man’s sin is his own and no other. If we are not responsible for our own actions, justice has no meaning. They compound the error by confusing this original sin with sex. That too is absurd. Lawful sex is good. If it were not so, God would not have made it pleasurable,” Zaid said with a smile.

“Islam is otherwise. With us, there are no miracles to excite the superstitious. The Messenger of God, Peace be upon him, insisted that he never performed a single miracle, except for the improbability of an unlettered man, such as himself, producing the poetic glory that is the holy Koran. Islam is based on man’s experience and his reason. If you seek miracles, look for yourself!” Zaid cried harshly, pointing up at the star-scattered night. “Look! Only a fool would cry for a sign when creation harbors nothing else!”

The fire burned low. There was no wind and the camels were still. It was a moment of perfect silence, such as God himself must have known in the moments before creation, Nick thought.