Did Jesus Redeem Mankind? — Page 9
? 2 was the time of its meteoric rise. It spelled disaster for Jerusalem, the centre of Jews. In close resemblance to this pattern, Baghdad, the centre of the Muslim Empire, was ransacked after the decline of the period of Abbasside glory that had followed the Holy Prophet's time. Muslim Divines were scattered hither and thither flowing their escape, after the centre fell into the hands of the invaders. In both cases, the first calamity that overtook the two peoples, affected in no small measure, the headquarters of their respective States. Nebuchadnezzar sacked the city of Jerusalem, taking away with him all the valuable things he found there and forced the Jews into exile. The disaster that befell the Muslims, likewise, resulted in a considerable measure, in the desolation of the centre of the Muslim State. Another feature common to both consists in point of the period. The time that intervened between the terms of the early glory and the first destruction of Jerusalem approximated the time that intervened between the Abbasside ascendancy and the fall of Baghdad. The Jewish Kingdom could not survive the second disaster that befell the Jews in the time of Titus; they had to flee the country. Some, therefore, sought refuge in Iran and some in Egypt. A similar second disaster was destined for the Muslims. As the first national catastrophe that befell the Jews began sometime before the advent of the Messiah, and extended to quite some time after his