1. ISLAM: CREATOR OF THE MODERN AGE

~ 31 ~ When the ancient concept of polytheism invested the rulers with a sacred status, not one, but two great evils found their way simultaneously into society. The evil that power brings had reached its zenith. As Lord Acton (1834-1902) put it, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” If the public could not change rulers in a secular context in order to be rid of their oppression, how could they ever think of deposing those who ostensibly ruled as the vicegerents of God on earth, or who posed as His incarnations? This political evil, which the French historian, Henri Pirenne, has termed ‘imperial absolutism,’ became a permanent obstacle in the way of all progress. It was only when Islam broke the power of these ancient empires that it became possible to unlock the doors to human progress. Henri Pirenne’s book, History of Western Europe, provides an informative study on this subject. The gist of Henri Pirenne’s thinking is that the ancient Roman Empire, which was spread over both sides of the Red Sea, had closed the doors to all human progress by imposing a strict curb on