A Moral Fanatic or a Role-model? the Portrayal of Prophet Mohammad in Voltaire’s Works

As one of the most outstanding orientalists in the intellectual sphere of eighteenth-century France as the society rushed headlong into la révolution, Voltaire depicted Prophet Mohammad in various and often controversial ways. In his earlier years, Voltaire viewed Prophet Mohammad as a fraud of Christian religion and a fanatic whose religion was violent and barbaric. This view is reflected in his play Mahomet. However, Voltaire had a change of heart in his view of the Prophet. In his later years, he took on a more modest portrayal of Mohammad as a steadfast politician who was influential in unifying the Arabs and forming one of the most formidable empires in history. This paper examines Voltaire’s views on Prophet Mohammad and how he changed his view later on in his life, the type of criticism he posed, and the relationship between his criticism of Christianity and the Prophet’s portrayal. It also demonstrates that the Islamic prophet’s portrayal implies and depicts more about Voltaire's view on religion and his use of Islam as a foil to Christianity.

کلیدواژه ها:

Voltaire ، Mohammad ، fanatic ، Islam ، Christianity