Expose Muslims to historical research

Submitted by Dave (United States), Nov 19, 2022 at 12:55

Prashant,
The Muhammad that is emulated by Muslims is based on the canonical version of his life. On the other hand,
modern, leading-edge historical research shows that he was actually a very different person. He was probably not a Muslim, as Islam was developed many years after his death, or even from Arabia. The main lesson is that his smashing success depended on his ability to form a broad and powerful coalition of diverse people, largely thanks to his inclusive and tolerant approach to religion. Muhammad, the ruthless warlord and religious zealot, was an invention of the Abbasid caliphate to help establish a political theology to cement their control over the empire they had inherited.
The organized religion, Islam, which was invented later, puts Muslims in a superior position, non-Muslims as inferiors, and encourages the subjugation of non-Muslims through jihad, or warfare (literally "struggle"). This is why Islam has become such an intolerant, international pest, where worshippers of other faiths are attacked, Israel and India being wholly interchangeable in this regard. Welcome to the club, infidel!
Perhaps the most effective method for reform is through ideological persuasion, as you imply. One potent weapon could be the evidence available from modern research into the actual events and players of the seventh century in order to disabuse the faithful of some of their cherished illusions.

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