When Napoleon “Turned” Muslim
It is no secret that Napoleon was one of the most powerful men Europe had ever seen. On top of this, many of his reforms and practices became standard in the entire world making him one of the most influential personalities in the world.
Napoleon had many positives but there were many questionable choices he made during his reign. Besides his military campaigns, many details about him are not commonly known, and one of the most interesting ones was how he supposedly became a Muslim.
Conquest
Napoleon began his Egyptian expedition on May 10, 1798, when he and his army started their journey from France. On arriving in Egypt, Napoleon was met with stiff resistance by an army that numbered around 50,000. His strategy combined with his technological advantage against them ensured him a victory.
His interests in Egypt would have been of greater value if he could win the hearts of Egyptians. As Napoleon had “forcefully made himself the ruler of Egypt,” it was necessary to develop a political standing that was in favor of him.
Initially, Napoleon desired the Egyptians to worship him in the mosques. He stated that:
I wanted to make the Imans cause
prayers to be offered up in the mosques for me
The Imams (the person who leads prayers in a mosque) were aware that this was not in line with Islam and they responded by saying:
they were not to obey,
respect, or hold faith with infidels
It is at this point that he queried what could be done to turn into Muslims.
Proselytization
After waiting, the Imams came back with the information they required. Napoleon was given a few conditions and some of them he deemed “unfit” for Frenchmen.
They could not abstain from wine as they were “poor cold people, inhabitants of the north” who could not live without it. And that they could not circumcise because they were not fit for it.
He then required more consultations. They ended up taking three more weeks and stated that circumcision may not be necessary but drinking wine may take them to hell. Napoleon responded that they were not converting to Islam to go to hell hence more consultations were made and this time they took three months.
When the Imams came back they had changed their positions and stated that it was okay to drink wine and not to be circumcised but it was necessary to perform certain good works.
Napoleon thus stated that he and the French army were now Muslims. He stated that they readily believed this because:
the French soldiers never
went to church, and had no priests with them.
For you must know that during the revolution
there was no religion whatever in the French army.
In the end, it was all just a show by the Frenchmen to gain favor in the eyes of the Egyptian populace. Napoleon himself admitted that he did not follow “any of the tenets of that religion,” but pretended to adhere to their religion.
We could conclude that it was haughty on Napoleon’s part to assume godhood to the point of requiring people to worship him in the mosque. Living in Egypt had one positive outcome. He learned how to respect Muslims and their religion.
Sources
[1]O’MEARA, Barry Edward. Napoleon in exile; or, A voice from St. Helena.. Vol. 1. W. Simpkin&R. Marshall, 1822.
[2]”The Twilight of Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign: Introduction.” LSU Libraries. Accessed January 15, 2022. https://www.lib.lsu.edu/sites/all/files/sc/exhibits/e-exhibits/egypt/int_one.html.
