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.
Islam is a murdering, plundering, sex-slaving cult. The entire attraction of Muhammadanism was the allure of theft, blood, women and property. Kill, murder, steal, rape and thieve in the name of the Meccan moon deity and you will go to the Moslem heaven. No wonder uncivilized savages from the Arabian wastes were so eager over time to participate. Bukhari's Hadith track the Moslem expansion and the lust for wealth and women.
Jihad all the time:
4-386
Narrated Jubair bin Haiya:
'Umar sent the Muslims to the great countries to fight the pagans. When Al-Hurmuzan embraced Islam, 'Umar said to him. "I would like to consult you regarding these countries which I intend to invade." ...[Khosrau...Caesar and the ...Faris.] ...Our Prophet, the Messenger of our Lord, has ordered us to fight you till you worship Allah Alone or give Jizya (i.e. tribute); and our Prophet has informed us that our Lord says:-- "Whoever amongst us is killed (i.e. martyred), shall go to Paradise to lead such a luxurious life as he has never seen...I accompanied Allah's Apostle in many battles..."
War, Jihad, a tribute tax, fight the Unbelivers until they worship Muhammad or Allah. Nice. The Jizya tax or ransom tribute levied on Jews and Christians was the foundation of Moslem wealth:
4-388
Narrated Juwairiya bin Qudama At-Tamimi:
We said to 'Umar bin Al-Khattab, lo Chief of the believers! Advise us." He said, "I advise you to fulfill Allah's Convention (made with the Dhimmis) as it is the convention of your Prophet and the source of the livelihood of your dependents (i.e. the taxes from the Dhimmis.) "
Without the Dhimmis or 'People of the Book', Islam would never have been able to support itself. The Moslems conquered superior peoples and stole their wealth. Rather simple and straightforward and a program that would surely appeal to the robber-brigandage culture of the illiterate Arabs.
If the Christians or Jews want to avoid the Jizya and inure themselves from plunder and rape they need to convert to Islam. If they don't all of their property can be taken by the Muhammad-Allah cult:
4-392
Narrated Abu Huraira:
While we were in the Mosque, the Prophet came out and said, "Let us go to the Jews" We went out till we reached Bait-ul-Midras. He said to them, "If you embrace Islam, you will be safe. You should know that the earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle, and I want to expel you from this land. So, if anyone amongst you owns some property, he is permitted to sell it, otherwise you should know that the Earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle."
How is your ego Muhammad? All of the Earth belongs to the apostle of the Meccan moon deity. Wow. Now that denotes a sensible, well-balanced, informed and faith soaked intellect does it not? Don't all 'prophets' wage war until the Earth is theirs? Why did the Arabs follow such an obviously insane psychopath? War, plunder, the theft of property, the allure of sex slaves and many women of course. Before Muhammad's Jihad, Arabia was a backwater, uncivilized, poor, debased. From 4-386 quoted above we have a delegate to the Persians admitting the depraved state of the Arabs:
“The other asked, "Who are you?" Al-Mughira replied, "We are some people from the Arabs; we led a hard, miserable, disastrous life: we used to suck the hides and the date stones from hunger; we used to wear clothes made up of fur of camels and hair of goats, and to worship trees and stones.”
The Arabs and Moslems still lead a hard miserable life, except for those who can feast on the benefices of Western-discovered oil, or Western-based trading and financial systems. No wonder the near-savages were so enthusiastic to embrace a pagan-fascism which allowed them, under divine auspices, to plunder, kill, rape and acquire wealth.