A scholar in the desert {Hagarism: the origins of Islam}

Patricia Crone on Mecca:

Not a single source outside Arabia mentions Mecca before the conquests, and not one displays any sign of recognition or tells us what was known about it when it appears in the sources thereafter. That there was a place called Mecca where Mecca is today may well be true; that it had a pagan sanctuary is perfectly plausible (Arabia was full of sanctuaries), and it could well have belonged to a tribe called the Quraysh. But we know nothing about the place with anything approaching reasonable certainty. In sum, we have no context for the prophet and his message.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/faith-europe_islam/mohammed_3866.jsp

But did Muhammad exist?

“The results were such that it is my conviction that it cannot be proven whether Muhammad actually lived or not,” said Kalisch. “I believe that there is no definite answer to this question, although I must admit that I tend more towards the view that he did not exist.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088564/posts

more on the nonexistence of Muhammad http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/JK18Aa01.html

“Wasn’t one of King David’s ancestors a daughter of Lot? God works in mysterious ways...”

Ruth the Moabite
Ruth married Boaz (the Book of Ruth) and had Obed
Obed had Jesse the father of David .

Thanks..great site. I am on their 15 day free trial but I am sure that I will continue...the cheapest book “Hagarism” was about $1500, so it is worth a rental..I am doing research for a book so that sight has many books that were unavailable to me before...

Did Muhammad Ever Really Live? by Perdogg -- "A number of Islamic associations have put a quick end to their collaboration with a professor -- and trainer of people who are supposed to teach Islam in German high schools -- who has expressed his doubt that Muhammad ever lived. Islam scholar Michael Marx spoke with SPIEGEL ONLINE about what lies behind the debate and the historical person of the Prophet." [2008]
Zul-Qarnain - What is the argument?by Jochen Katz (not on FR) -- [snip]I have never claimed that Zul-Qarnain *is* the historical Alexander the Great. I don't know why your move to agree with me in this is considered a rebuttal... The argument is then that the Qur'anic story is clearly taken from the legends about Alexander. There are many many details of the Qur'an account which are nearly verbatim to be found in the Alexander legends. Conclusion: Zul-Qarnain clearly is the Alexander the Great of the legend stories. And because the Qur'an presents the material from the legends as if this were history, it shows that Muhammad could not distinguish between legends and history when he incorporated this material in the Qur'an. This is evidence that the Qur'an is not of divine origin.[/snip]

What is the Koran? atlantic monthly | J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 9 | Toby Lester

Great article. Not that I ever wanted to know anything about Islam... But as I learned in the Marine Corps; "Know thy enemy, and know thyself"!

My take on the article is that it would be possible to force a "kinder-gentler" interpretation of Islam upon the Muslims.

Unfortunately, it would probably take an entity that is more vicious and brutal than ISIS to cause that metamorphosis. That doesn't seem likely.

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