Links from my del.icio.us account for November 17th through November 18th:
- Islamic Theologian Says Prophet Muhammad Likely Never Existed – WSJ.com – German Muslim prof. doubts Muhammad existed, now reaping predictible backlash. Unfortunately article does not really delve into the reasons for this doubt, but does mention idea that Islam is a Christian heresy.
- Pirates Seize Saudi Supertanker – "The Saudi-owned supertanker loaded with more than $100 million worth of crude oil is the largest ship ever hijacked, according to U.S. Navy officials."
- Americans May Sympathize With Israel, But They Want a More Even-Handed Policy, Say Walt & Mearsheimer – John Mearsheimer and Steve Walt respond to recent Israel Forum poll, saying that the poll never asked how Americans feel is the best way to resolve the IP conflict.
- The President’s Man | Menassat – Osama Saraya, in all his splendor and glory.
- Poll: Only 6% of Americans think U.S. should back Palestinians in peace talks – Haaretz – Israel News – Since polls can often be skewed by leading questions, beware of this story, especially since the pollster is a pro-Israel group. Still, it shows there's a lot of work to be done in raising awareness and combatting propaganda on the IP conflict.
The main reason people give for doubting the existence of Muhammad is that he doesn’t appear in any inscriptions before the early 690’s – the original shahada was almost certainly just, “There is no God but God.” However, most scholars in the field, including those who are skeptical of the Muslim historical tradition, see that as insufficient reason to write Muhammad out of existence. Islam had to come from somewhere, for example, and it’s not than unusual for religious leaders to gradually gain importance in their own religious tradition as Buddha and Jesus would probably attest. Chances are that there was a Prophet Muhammad who preached a return to the pure monotheism associated with Abraham, and that after a couple of generations his specific mission came to be used as a marker of identity to a Muslim tradition still in the early stages of working out exactly what being a Muslim meant.
What about the Constitution of Medina? Also, Mohammed wrote some letters to imperial rulers. Were they all fabrications?
Rightly or wrongly I put a lot credence in the basic Islamic narrative, just because it has a lot of explanatory power about the formation of the Islamic state/dynasty.
I wasn’t agreeing with the idea – I realize that there is much more evidence that Muhammad existed than many other prophets. Plus what Brian says.