Is it really fair to judge historical figures by today's standards?

Question

I was prompted to ask this, because I have seen some people argue that Muhammed was a pedophile in order to discredit the Muslim religion. As some of you may already know, Muhammed's wife, Aisha, was about 9 or 10 when she married him. Of course, in the time and place in which we live, such behavior would be considered unacceptable, but let's take a few things into consideration. For one thing, children and teenagers haven't always been treated as they are now. If anything, through much of history they have been treated as small adults. Second, throughout history, marriages have often been based on political alliances rather than romantic love. In fact, in Muhammed's day, marriages in Arabic society were often arranged so that tribes could forge alliances. Not only that, but Muhammed certainly isn't the only historical figure to have had a child bride. In fact, it is said that Mary was probably 12-14 years old when she married Joseph. Nowadays, in most Western countries a person

in that age range would be considered jailbait. Another example is the first wife of Henry IV of England, who was about 12 when she married. Back then, it made sense for girls to marry at such a young age, because the life expectancy of the average person at the time was about 33.

The earlier they married, the more they could procreate.

harryd: The age of the average bride who lived in the time and place in which Mary lived was 12-14 years. What makes you so sure she's any different? Judging historical figures by today's standards is anachronistic and inappropriate.

Answer 1

No, it's not fair or necessarily appropriate. Thanks for pointing that out!

Answer 2

Being unmarried past the age of childbearing was probably what was problematic in that historical context.

Some things from centuries ago are difficult to comprehend immediately. Most people are aware that some of the stuff isn't going to make sense to us
in blended contexts.

Jesus told people to let their fathers bury themselves. "Let the dead bury the dead."

At first it sounds to us like it surely has some great fantastic meaning.

In context, it actually has nothing to do with death or dead people at all. Not even symbolically.

Anymore than today someone jokingly asking if your refrigerator is running, believes your appliances in your kitchen all have legs.

Gender roles are particularly difficuly to translate, how much they shape a society.

Answer 3

of direction you could, or maybe might desire to. even though it won't assist you recognize their motivations or how the values they held or believed they held impacted the strategies they made. you could no longer end that in the event that they supported slavery, to illustrate, that they've been intrinsically evil people, basically because of the fact they supported something that any first rate individual at present abhors. Giving the individuals of our previous a clean examine for the evil they did because of the fact it exchange into socially ideal of their time, takes people off the hook at present for the evill that's justified because of the fact "anybody does it".

Answer 4

Maybe a good way to judge people is based on their best actions, rather than their worst.

I don't have sufficient knowledge of Mohammed to offer anything more than my personal opinion, which I will refrain from doing.

All the best to you!

Answer 5

At the time of Muhammad, life expectancy was only 25 years old. Most people, by the time they died at 25 years-old, were grandparents.
Do the math to figure out the age at which one needed to wed to accomplish that.

Answer 6

If your question is intended to defend Mohammed, who married Aisha when she was eight years old, not 9 or 10, it doesn't fly. Eight year old girls have not reached puberty, whereas some 12-14 year olds have. There is absolutely no indication in the Bible that Mary was 12-14 years old when she married Joseph, so that argument doesn't hold water either. Pointing out the fact that Mo was a pedophile isn't attacking Islam, it is pointing out what kind of person Islam's founder was. If you ask a muslim if Allah had a son, the answer is always "no". That single fact proves beyond a doubt, that Allah is not God. There is only one God and his son is Jesus Christ.

Answer 7

I have a much bigger issue with Mohammed than marrying a 9 year old girl. Spreading his "religion" with a sword, massacring any who didn't convert seems way worse than that.

And the bad part is, that still happens.

Answer 8

History is only judged by those who didn't like their outcome and role in history.

Answer 9

No it really isn't. But since you brought it up, what makes Mohammed different is that he was known for killing a woman's husband and then raping the widow.