Stark himself, it appears, and perhaps some of the  
contributors to this thread, write as though religious  
competition is like a footrace, where the athletes  
begin at the same starting line.  
  
Of course, Christianity and Islam had very different  
starting points and the leading actors in each sought  
to establish themselves under very different economic,  
social, cultural, and political conditions.  
  
It occurs to me that, given another 600 years to  
develop without being harassed by the Christians, an  
even "better capitalism" might have developed from an  
Islamic tradition. Or if Islam was not inhibited  
earlier by an already developed religion and later by  
the technology produced mostly through capitalism,  
perhaps the finish line of a "victory of reason" would  
have been reached sooner as well.  
  
Pat Gunning