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Did the Prophet Muhammad Really Exist? This Is Robert Spencer’s Shocking Answer
The Blaze ^ | 05/05/2012 | Billy Hallowell

Posted on 10/10/2014 12:51:59 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

Did the Prophet Muhammad really exist? This question, which may seem bizarre on the surface, is at the root of a new book by Robert Spencer, a prominent author and the director of Jihad Watch. Spencer, a figure who is praised by his fans and loathed by his detractors, has written numerous books on Islam.

Earlier this week, The Blaze spoke with the expert about his controversial, new book, “Did Muhammad Exist?” As can be derived from the title, the text delves into some uncomfortable subject matter, as Spencer examines the historical documentation surrounding the Muslim prophet.

The book’s official description perfectly encapsulates its central tenets:

Did Muhammad exist?

It is a question that few have thought—or dared—to ask. Virtually everyone, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, takes for granted that the prophet of Islam lived and led in seventh-century Arabia. But this widely accepted story begins to crumble on close examination, as Robert Spencer shows in his eye-opening new book.

In his blockbuster bestseller The Truth about Muhammad, Spencer revealed the shocking contents of the earliest Islamic biographical material about the prophet of Islam.

Now, in Did Muhammad Exist?, he uncovers that material’s surprisingly shaky historical foundations. Spencer meticulously examines historical records, archaeological findings, and pioneering new scholarship to reconstruct what we can know about Muhammad, the Qur’an, and the early days of Islam. The evidence he presents challenges the most fundamental assumptions about Islam’s origins.

The premise of the book is that Islam — like Judaism and Christianity –deserves to be scrutinized and appropriately examined. Spencer maintains that Islam, unlike the other massive faith systems, has never truly been given the academic attention and examination it deserves. Like Christianity, he maintains that the faith is one that “deserve[s] historical scrutiny.”

(Excerpt) Read more at theblaze.com ...


TOPICS: History; Religion
KEYWORDS: faithandphilosophy; islam; jihad; koran; lycurgus; mohammad; muhammad; quran; robertspencer; spencer
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1 posted on 10/10/2014 12:51:59 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Bump.


2 posted on 10/10/2014 12:53:23 PM PDT by gov_bean_ counter (Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools)
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To: SeekAndFind

mooslims head pop in 3...2....1...


3 posted on 10/10/2014 12:56:24 PM PDT by dragonblustar
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To: dragonblustar

Hope this guy has his life insurance and Will updated.


4 posted on 10/10/2014 12:57:47 PM PDT by dfwgator (The "Fire Muschamp" tagline is back!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Did the child rapist, mass murderer, slave trader, liar and thief actually exist?


5 posted on 10/10/2014 12:58:37 PM PDT by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - they want to die for islam and we want to kill them)
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To: SeekAndFind
Maybe Spencer and Salman Rushdie should become room mates. Think how much they can save on security costs
6 posted on 10/10/2014 12:59:59 PM PDT by Michael.SF. (It takes a gun to feed a village,)
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To: SeekAndFind

There are some coins which suggest what we call Islam is far older.


7 posted on 10/10/2014 1:05:47 PM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now it is your turn ...)
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To: SeekAndFind

I think he did exist. He was a warlord pedophile and he created a so-called “faith” to support it.


8 posted on 10/10/2014 1:05:49 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: dragonblustar



9 posted on 10/10/2014 1:08:18 PM PDT by MeshugeMikey ("Never, Never, Never, Give Up," Winston Churchill)
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To: 2banana
Did the child rapist, mass murderer, slave trader, liar and thief actually exist?

These are just a few of the weaknesses in the traditional account of Muhammad's life and the early days of Islam:
The lack of confirming detail in the historical record, the late development of biographical material about the Islamic prophet, the atmosphere of political and religious factionalism in which that material developed, and much more, suggest that the Muhammad of Islamic tradition did not exist, or if he did, he was substantially different from how that tradition portrays him.
10 posted on 10/10/2014 1:09:57 PM PDT by SeekAndFind (If at first you don't succeed, put it out for beta test.)
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To: SeekAndFind
Who? Him?
11 posted on 10/10/2014 1:11:20 PM PDT by A Formerly Proud Canadian (I once was blind but now I see...)
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To: GeronL

Satan does exist.
If Muhamhead is a lie that fits his M.O.perfect.

You have to admire and agree with this quote from the guy:

“I’ve gotten so many death threats over so many years…what’s a few more?,” he said. “If somebody wants to do violence to me because of this book, then in a certain sense it validates what I’ve been saying about Islamic texts for years.”


12 posted on 10/10/2014 1:19:46 PM PDT by right way right (America has embraced the suck of Freedumb.)
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To: SeekAndFind

http://prophetofdoom.net/


13 posted on 10/10/2014 1:20:31 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum ("The man who damns money obtained it dishonorably; the man who respects it earned it." --Ayn Rand)
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To: SeekAndFind

Wow.

He’s going to have hundreds of them ‘fat wads’ issued against him...


14 posted on 10/10/2014 1:20:38 PM PDT by WayneS (Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.)
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To: right way right

bump


15 posted on 10/10/2014 1:20:46 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: SeekAndFind

Is this “way back machine” day? This is the second story in a row this afternoon that is a couple of years old.


16 posted on 10/10/2014 1:22:17 PM PDT by Vermont Lt (Ebola: Death is a lagging indicator.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Bkmrk


17 posted on 10/10/2014 1:22:25 PM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear
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To: SeekAndFind
re:
"... early accounts written by the people the Arabs conquered never mention Islam, Muhammad, or the Qur'an. They call the conquerors "Ishmaelites," "Saracens," "Muhajirun," and "Hagarians," but never "Muslims."- SeekandFind

What would historians say when examining current records expunged of any negative reference to Islam? Today, we are limited to identifying muhammedan terrorists as al qaeda, boko haram, hezbollah, hamas, etc.

As to whether muhammed ever really existed, does it really matter? The influence of record - contrived or not - has demonstrated generations of adherents to this blood thirsty cult will emulate the alleged prophet, the perfect example in word and deed - uswa hasana, al insan al kamil - for eternity.

The Easter Bunny doesn't exist, but every year children enjoy the contrived traditions of Easter.

18 posted on 10/10/2014 1:22:44 PM PDT by wtd
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To: SeekAndFind

It’s been done with the Koran.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Syro-Aramaic_Reading_of_the_Koran

http://www.amazon.com/The-Syro-Aramaic-Reading-Koran-Contribution/dp/3899300882/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412972630&sr=8-1&keywords=syro-aramaic+koran


19 posted on 10/10/2014 1:23:04 PM PDT by research99
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To: Vermont Lt

RE: Is this “way back machine” day? This is the second story in a row this afternoon that is a couple of years old.

History is history. What’s a two year old article in the scheme of 1500 years?


20 posted on 10/10/2014 1:23:36 PM PDT by SeekAndFind (If at first you don't succeed, put it out for beta test.)
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