From the exhibition
Pulp Magazine Cover
· c. 1920s

This pocket-series booklet, edited by E. Haldeman-Julius, presents an analytical overview of Islamic history and the Koran. Theodore M.R. von Keler provides a biographical and religious survey beginning with pre-Islamic Arabia's polytheistic practices (365 idols centered on the Kaabah and its black stone) and progresses through Mohammed's life: his orphaned childhood, employment as camel driver, marriage to the wealthy widow Khadijah, and his religious visions beginning around age thirty. Von Keler attributes these visions to epileptic seizures and hallucinations. The text traces Mohammed's early converts including Abu-Bekr and Omar ibn al-Hattab, his struggle against Meccan opposition to monotheism, the two-year boycott of his clan, his migration to Medina in 622 CE (establishing the Islamic calendar), and his military campaigns including the massacre of 800 male captives. The narrative concludes mid-sentence describing Mohammed's demands upon regional rulers to accept Islam.
Public domain (pre-1929), restored and presented by comicbooks.com public-domain