pation of the
Canaanites:--

"After the time of God's forbearance was expired, they had still the
alternative, either to flee elsewhere, as in fact, many of them did, or
to surrender themselves, renounce their idolatries, and serve the God of
Israel. Compare Deut. XX. 10-17."[316] This was certainly compulsory
conversion and proselytizing at the point of the sword.

[Sidenote: 124. Example cited from the Jewish history.]

There is only one instance in the Koran in which an example is cited for
the war of defence by Mohammad, from the Jewish History. It is the
asking of the children of Israel their prophet Samuel to raise up a king
for them to fight in their defence against the Philistines, who had very
much oppressed the Israelites. Saul was appointed king over the
Israelites, and David killed Goliath, called _Jalut_ in the Koran, which
was in defence of the Israelites. I have quoted the verses relating to
the above subject from the Koran (Sura II, 247 and 252) in page 19th of
this work.

"Hast thou not considered the assembly of the children of Israel after
_the death_ of Moses, when they said to a prophet of theirs,--'Raise up
for us a king; we will do battle for the cause of God?' He said, 'May it
not be that when fighting is ordained you, ye would not fight?' They
said, 'And why should we not fight in the cause of God, since we are
driven forth from our dwellings and our children?'....

This shows that what the Koran or Mohammad took as an example from the
history of the Jews was only their defensive war.

[Sidenote: 125. Mosaic injunctions.]

It is very unfair of the Christians to make too much of the wars of
Mohammad, which were purely of a defensive nature, and offer apologies
for the most cruel wars of conquest and extermination by Moses, Joshua
and other Jewish worthies under the express commands of God.--(_Vide_
Numbers XXXI; Deut. XXI, &c.) But see what Mr. Wherry says. He writes in
his comments on the 191 verse of the second Sura of the Koran.

"(191). _Kill them, &c._ Much is made of expressions like this, by some
Christian apologists, to show the cruel character of the Arabian
prophet, and the inference is thence drawn that he was an impostor and
his Quran a fraud. Without denying that Muhammad was cruel, we think
this mode of assault to be very unsatisfactory to say the least, as it
is capable of being turned against the Old Testament Scriptures. If the
claim of Muhammad to have received a divine