Until the advent of materialism and 19th c. dogma, Western Civilisation was superior to anything Islam had developed. Islam has not aided in the development of the modern world; in fact civilisation has only been created in spite of Islam. Proof of this resides in the 'modern' world and the unending political-economic and spiritual poverty of Muslim states and regions. Squatting on richer civilisations is not 'progress'. Islam is pagan, totalitarian, and irrational.
Gold and 'vanities' have no importance according to the Koran. Only Allah has import. Supplicating your will to the moon deity Ali-ilah of Mecca, is your sole duty in life. If you reject the Meccan moon cult and play with trifles, gold or silver objects, 'false gods', and engage in egocentricity, you will be, as the Koran makes very clear, burned and punished in Hell [43:74]. Intolerance parading as a religion. How farcical and yet the really smart people constantly intone that 'Islam is peace'. Yes, and Hitlerism was only a misunderstood movement to restore Germanic volk pride. Sura 43 is remarkably little different than the first 42 Suras. Doesn't insanity constantly repeat itself ?
The Koran is so repetitive that you have to be an illiterate boor to both read it, and believe it. There is little in the first 43 chapters or Suras which imparts anything close to an intelligent plan of ethics or metaphysics. The injunctions on each page are depressingly monotonous – worship only the Allah cult; obey without question the so-called 'prophet' the mad Mohammed; and if you don't conform to what the Koran dictates, you will be killed and burned in Hell. Oh, and Jews and Christians are inferior and should be either converted or killed. Consider this from Sura 43:
“And never came there a prophet to them but they mocked him. So We destroyed (them) – stronger in power than these; - and (thus) has passed on the Parable of the peoples of old.” [7,8]
One can find such a sentence on almost any page in the Koran. All ancient Jewish and Christian prophets were really Muslims. When their populations rejected them, the Muslims, through the magical power of the moon deity Ali-ilah, destroyed them. Thus did the ancient empires in and around the Arabian peninsula rise and fall. It was the work of the great one [not Obama], Allah.
The promise of an afterlife to right practicing Muslims was a key attribute and attraction for those who converted to the Meccan death cult. Be a good little Muslim man and you will find yourself in a happy after-life with gold, women and wine: “...We raise to life therewith a land that is dead; even so will you be raised (from the dead); -......To them will be passed round, dishes and goblets of gold: there will be there all that the souls could desire, all that the eyes could delight in: and you shall abide therein (for ever).: [11 and 71].
Being a good Muslim means for the most part following the rituals and laws of the Koran. This includes hating Jews and Christians. If you want the babes, the gold, the wine and the eternal life of heaven granted by the Meccan moon deity Allah, you better avoid the Jews and Christians and their evil ways;
“Or do they think that We do not hear their secrets and their private counsels? Indeed (We do), and Our Messengers are by them, to record.” [80]
Infidels can't hide from the omnipotent moon guy Allah. Once he finds out their plans, they are doomed:
“The sinners will be in the punishment of Hell, to dwell therein (for ever): Nowise will the (punishment) be lightened for them, and in despair will they be there overwhelmed.” [74,75]
If you the Muslim stray into the path of the infidel you must, “..turn away from them, and say 'Peace!' But soon shall they know!”[89]. In other words turn away and ignore the infidel Jews and Christians for Allah will exact his retribution upon them, whether they know it or not. Hell is their destiny. If you the good Muslim follow the diktats of the cult you will be blessed. But if you stray from Islam and become an apostate or if you are a Jew or Christian and do not convert to the moon cult and continue to ignore the glorious power of the Meccan deity you are doomed since, “The Qu'ran is indeed the Message, for you and for your people; and soon shall you (all) be brought to account.” [43]
Brought to account means an eternity of punishment, hellfire and torture. Most ancient peoples it can be assumed would prefer to avoid such a fate. Fear mongering, threats, coercion and predictions of eternal damnation do not a religion of peace, gratitude, or compassion make. They are the expressions of Oriental despotism and fascistic paganism – which is what the Arabian moon cult has always been. A cult fascinated by death, power and killing those who don't follow the Meccan moon deity Ali-ilah.
[Note: This sura is taken from 'The Holy Quran', translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, reprinted in 1995, Goodword Books. Regarded as one of the best translations from Arabic to English of the Koran.]