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 | | The Quest for the Historical Muhammad by Ibn Warraq (Editor) ISBN-10: 9781573927871 ISBN-10: 1-57392-787-2 ISBN-13: 9781573927871 ISBN-13: 978-1-57392-787-1 Hardcover 2000-03 Prometheus Books Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description Over one hundred years ago Western scholars began to investigate the origins of Islam, using the highest standards of objective historical scholarship of the time. Their aim was to determine what could be known about Muhammad and the rise of early Islam quite apart from the pious and totally unobjective traditions preserved by the Muslim religious community. In some ways this research was inspired by a similar investigation of Christianity made famous by Albert Schweitzer's "Quest of the Historical Jesus". Today although much has been learned about early Christianity, little comparable progress has been made in the field of Islamic Studies. Here objective historical research has long been severely handicapped both by the resistance of Muslim societies to Western analysis of their sacred traditions and by the apologetic approaches of many Western scholars, who have compromised their investigations for fear of offending Muslim sensibilities. It is in this context that Ibn Warraq presents this important anthology of the best studies of Muhammad and early Islam ranging from the very beginnings of Islamic Studies in the nineteenth century to contemporary research. In his selection and in an introductory essay, Warraq makes it clear that some very serious scholarly controversies lie at the heart of Islam. First, the Koran itself, the Muslim sacred scripture and the foundation of Islamic culture, is called into question as the basis for objective historical knowledge of Muhammad. Some scholars have also questioned the reliability of most of the other early Arabic documents that supposedly attest to events in the life of Muhammad and his followers. Was the Koran dictated by Muhammad at all? Was it actually compiled any earlier than a hundred years after the Prophet's death? How much of Muslim sacred tradition, in the light of objective historical analysis, must be dismissed as unreliable hearsay? Were the motives of the first Muslim conquerors during the Jihad truly religious in nature or largely mercenary? These disturbing questions, long suppressed throughout the history of Islamic scholarship, are here raised again in these erudite and thoroughly researched essays by noted scholars. | ||
Reviews | ||
The True Muhammad Warraq talks about the origin of Islam, its pagan background and the influence of Judaism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism on Muhammad. He talks about the origin of Allah in Arab culture, about the early days of Muhammad as a preacher and his rivalry with another storyteller "Al Nadir" and his revenge against him. Warraq traces back the origin of many Islamic rituals to Arab superstitions and Muhammad's strange belief in jinns, demons and other shadowy beings. He also describes how Muhammad rehashed the biblical nonsense about creation, Noah's Ark, birth of Christ etc. while misunderstanding a lot of it, like confusing Mary the mother of Christ with Miriam sister of Aaron, or the Christian belief in Trinity. You will learn about Muhammad's bizarre view of cosmology, science, history, and medicine. He prescribed drinking the urine of camel as a remedy against stomachache! Then you will learn about Muhammad's metamorphosis from preacher to despot. How his call for tolerance, when he was still in Mecca and weak changed to the cry of killing and looting when he became powerful in Medina. You will learn how Muhammad encouraged his handful of followers to attack the caravans, kill the men, rape the women and bring the booty (20% for himself) to please Allah, while assuring them that if they are killed their rewards will be pedophelia with young boys, rivers of wine, and many hurries in the other world. All what Warraq says is backed by Quran and Ahadith. The reader becomes familiar with Muhammad's favorite way of eliminating his opponents, namely assassination. Asma Bint Marwan a poetess who wrote against the prophet was assassinated by his order in the middle of the night while nursing her infant. Her five small children where forced to convert to Islam. Muhammad's hit list also included Ka'b Ibn al-Ashraf and Abu Rafi who spoke against him and had to be taken out traitorously. This policy was adopted by Muslims throughout the history and is being practiced up to this day. What we call terrorism, to a Muslim is Jihad (holy war). The much-publicized fetwa against Rushdi is an example. Among other things we learn about Muhammad's preference for young girls (Ayesha was 9 years old when he consummated his "marriage" with her) rather at an advanced age and how he is unabashed to make Allah reveal Quranic verses to justify his lust for women and his sexual appetite. The Virgins.... Warraq makes a thorough study of the totalitarian nature of Islam. He even goes as far as to compare the impact of monotheism on human rights versus polytheism and atheism. For all those who still wonder why Muslims hate so much the west I recommend reading this book. There is a whole chapter dedicated to this subject. Warraq talks about "Arab Imperialism and Islamic Colonialism". He explains eloquently how through Islam, many civilized nations lost their identity, their dignity and humanity to bow in front of a savage god of a bunch of uncultured Arabs and follow the wimps of a fanatic and schizophrenic bloodthirsty madman of Arabia. Islam is the enemy of science, of freethinking, of reason and of human rights. It acts as a powerful break on the advancement of civilization. Warraq keenly points out that "Islamic Civilization" is a contradiction in terms. You can either be Islamic or civilized. In another place he argues that also "Islamic Philosophy" is a contradiction in terms, because philosophy was regarded as a "foreign science, which led to heresy, doubt, and total unbelief". Brilliant minds like Zacharia Razi and Avicena never believed in Islam and were attacked by Muslims. More recent intellectuals and freethinkers don't fare better. For example Ali Dashti, the brilliant scholar and the author of "23 years"; a book written about Muhammad and his 23 years of prophetic life, was incarcerated while in his 80s during Khomeni's rule and died in prison. In Warraq's own words: "Thus we had the spectacle of periodic persecution of various group considered either doctrinally suspect or politically subversive; individuals (philosophers, poets, theologians, scientists, rationalists, dualists, freethinkers, and mystics) were imprisoned, tortured, crucified, mutilated, and hanged; their writings burned. Significantly, none of the heretical works of Ibn Rawandi, Ibn Warraq, Ibn al-Muqaffa, and al-Razi has survived. Other individuals are forced to flee from one ruler to another more tolerant ruler (e.g. al-Amidi). Some were exiled or banished (Averroes). Many were forced to disguise their true views and opinions by difficult or ambiguous language. Those who managed to get away with blasphemy were those protected by the powerful and influential." from a Former Muslim.... | ||
Pure drivel, What else would you expect from a well known Islamophopic "Author" The author has a hate-filled Islamophopic agenda and he does not hide it. This is what made him famous in the west through people like Daniel Pipes who's "review" is being pushed on top of all other reviews. Pipes is his biggest cheerleader (and probably financier), that alone should shed a little light on what type of HATE-filled group this is. It has never been easier to make a living spreading hate and propaganda and against Islam than now. Were I to come out tomorrow as a Muslim and proclaim that I hate and want to expose Islam, I will quickly become the darling of the sick group of hate-peddlers... Stay away from this sorry excuse for "author" I recommend that you look into a serious author's scholarly account of the Life and Time of Prophet Muhammad I recommend 1-Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet By Karen Armstrong (Light, easy to read and geared more towards non-Muslims) 2- Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. by Martin Lings (for an advanced and serious look at the Life of Muhammad ) | ||
Higher Criticism of Islam This book is full of articles written by different authors, and full of phrases like: I suggest... I propose... My conclusions... etc. Actually it is a collection of like-minded scholars, all encouraging one another that their view is the right view. If you are looking for a serious review of pre-Islamic or early Islamic sources, this is not the book. I did find a couple of good references, but most of the references given are to the various authors, all giving their expert opinions. Many of the articles tell us who is for or against the opinions of someone else's opinions of what happened. In the end, the authors seem to all agree that since early Islamic history cannot be accurately pinned down, then all of it should be thrown out as lies and myths. This 'all or nothing' attitude prevails throughout the entire book. Some will find this book to be a splendid example of how modern scholarship can tear anything apart. I prefer being shown the source material, provided with various interpretations, and allowed to make my own conclusion. | ||
Scholastic Activism This book is written by folks for whom Islam has had an all too easy ride. They feel that Islam should be subjected to the hard critique and rigour that pretty much wrecked Christinity's claim to historical veracity. In aid of this, often just to make a point and to push the boat out in an exhibitionist bout of free-thinking it makes wild and sweeping pronouncements which it fails to back up with facts or new insights. In the spirit of the Late great radical orientalist John Wansbrough (whose influence is discussed in this book), the authors forward the claim that the Quran and much of the Islamic doctrine is a piece-meal construct gradually built up after Muhammad's death in accordance with the whims, passions and political expediencies of the Hijaji Arabs. This claim is advanced on the basis of trying to demonstrate the character and detail of Muhammad's life as being different from the details rendered in the conventional Islamic 'doctrine-formative' accounts. The book opens with the usual polemics of Mr Warraq who tries to feign scholarly neutrality with a few cheesy-one liners about freedom of speech and then proceeds to hurl a frenzied barrage of anti-Islamic acrimony mostly based on old anecdotal accounts of how beastly some Muslims can be. After the prologue, the introduction and other bits of preliminary B.S - the first few chapters are a translation (from the French) of Henri Lammens's early 20th century work on Muhammad and the sirats (bio's of Mo). It's not strictly correct to refer to Henri Lammens's contribution as 'work' as he didn't really do any work in the sense of new research and reading hitherto neglected scripts. Mr Lammens's contribution is merely a speculative re-hashing of old narratives with a new skeptical spin put on it. Lammens was a Jesuit who learnt Arabic while living in Lebabnon for a few years and after doing a bit DIY history he took up a post teaching young Jesuit priests how to convert Muslims. Make of that what you will - but it hardly smacks of great scholarly integrity. The next portion of the book marginally features the late Joseph Schacht who contributes a chapter entitled 'A revaluation of Islamic traditions' which makes several reasonable and unobjectionable points about the applicability of old religions to modern life. The remainder of the book is dominated by intellectual light-weights with a tedious and inelegant writing style who spend too long clumsily arguing spurious points that seem to hint at a different Muhammad from the conventional but never amount to anything significant or interesting. In general this book is very poor - it doesn't search for the Historical Muhammad at all. | ||
Propaganda Please disregard this joke -- I mean book. It's not hard to distort sources to fit your own agenda... anyone can negatively portray any religion or individual using historical sources. | ||