Posted on 04/23/2012 4:17:11 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Why would it matter if Muhammad never existed? Certainly the accepted story of Islam's origins is taken for granted as historically accurate; while many don't accept Muhammad's claim to have been a prophet, few doubt that there was a man named Muhammad who in the early seventh century began to claim that he was receiving messages from Allah through the angel Gabriel.
Many who hear about my new book "Did Muhammad Exist? An Inquiry Into Islam's Obscure Origins" ask why it would matter whether or not Muhammad existed -- after all, a billion Muslims believe he did, and they are not going to stop doing so because of some historical investigations. Yet the numerous indications that the standard account of Muhammad's life is more legend than fact actually have considerable implications for the contemporary political scene.
These are just a few of the weaknesses in the traditional account of Muhammad's life and the early days of Islam:
* No record of Muhammad's reported death in 632 appears until more than a century after that date.
* The 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."
* The Arab conquerors, in their coins and inscriptions, don't mention Islam or the Qur'an for the first six decades of their conquests. Mentions of "Muhammad" are non-specific and on at least two occasions are accompanied by a cross. The word can be used not only as a proper name, but also as an honorific.
* The Qur'an, even by the canonical Muslim account, was not distributed in its present form until the 650s.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
“Why else would the muslims embrace those stories?”
Because they are told to embrace those stories.
In much of the muslim world, the primary purpose of education of the youth is to weed out question askers. The rest of the muslim world where education is, more or less, about education learns to keep it’s collective head down as they are in all actuality, hostage to those who’ve been properly de-weeded.
There is no free thought in islam. Any manifestations of free thought are cured with public execution.
No, I don’t think he is the anti-Christ. I just think the anti-Christ will actually get installed a number of things that Bambi is trying to do now.
Satan has a long range plan, just like God, and he must prepare the ground.
Pinging more Freeper friends here to post#13 and more.
Through the years, I have seen many good freepers pass and many new freepers join the cause of spreading Liberty and fighting for Freedom.
Thank you seekthetruth. On a little lighter note, considering 0’s admissions today, maybe Muhammad was a “composite” ; }
Blessings to you FRiend, and
May God guide our course.
Tatt
That pretty much covers it.
I pride myself on historical accuracy. ;-)
Thanks for the ping!
Was sorry to hear about Freeper FireHat. I have missed so many threads this past few weeks and will be trying to catch up.
My hubby and I will continue doing everything we can to bring attention to the Islamic Terrorist enemy within, to support our troops and bring attention to military issues, and to help elect the very best Conservatives to Congress from Florida. We told each other that when we put our heads on our pillow on November 6th that we want to be able to say we did everything we could.
No, but he was a good boxer.
he and Larry had cheese.
+1, and thanks for the ping STT!
I suspect Mo really did exist. Many times the rest of the world starts to document a fellow only after his influence has grown big enough to be worth saving. Often that is only after all the original stuff has been lost or destroyed. Mo’s body is said to be laying in Medina but fat chance of getting that examined scientifically.
Here is a clip of Robert Spencer at the Conference. The group of protesters that he refers to is the small group we had to deal with at the sign in table. It was clear to me that they were there to disrupt and obviously are those who are in support of Islamic honor killings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi1Q4Vvs9pM&feature=player_embedded
And yes, some in this group tried to enter the Conference claiming they preregistered or tried to preregister. Needless to say, they had not preregistered and were not on the list. Nor could they show their registration conformation on their I-phones. They also knew that preregistration was required, and everyone had over three months to register.
The woman who said she saw one person enter the Conference after showing his registration conformation on his phone, we did find his name on the list that was updated just prior to the event. This was the same woman who stated at the sign in table: “I guess if I didn't have a scarf on I could get in.” To which I replied, “Oh no, dear, I had a scarf on earlier because it is so windy outside.”
We had to explain several times that pre-registration was required in order to attend the event due to the size of the conference room, which by the way, was full. None of the members of this group could show their registration confirmation at the sign in table.
Thanks for Ping!
A problem that continues to be addressed but with little effect in the reality of things.
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