[Trapper John]

PRB-I have been doing my homework and although far from complete I think I can draw some tentative conclusions. First, let me explain my methodology. I have come at this from the POV of a secular humanist so please do not take offense at any apparent sacrilege – none is intended. Second, I have chosen to read, first, from the Muslim biographies of Muhammad (Al-sira) because this body of work appears to be the more reliable than the Hadith. I have chosen to begin here because I thought it would be more insightful to understand what Muhammad did rather than what he said (the Qur’an). Also, the question posed by this thread “Are we at war with Islam?” begs a comparison to the life of Jesus of Nazareth to arrive at a tentative answer to the question.

The short answer to that question is YES IMO. My reasoning follows. Muhammad seems to have co-opted the monotheist view first brought forth by Abraham and later espoused by Jesus. So he does not offer anything new in that regard. This view was first espoused by him in Mecca and for some reason, I have not read the Al-sira for his life in Mecca yet, he was exiled. I got the impression, however, that he was from a wealthy merchant class there. He received an appointment as an arbitrator in Medina and it appears that this was perhaps his most formative period.

Muhammad fashioned a political-theology that served his own interests- accretion of power and influence in Medina. Muhammad was also a military leader of sorts. His principle objective in Medina was to cobble together alliances with the Jews and the Christians. All of his actions seemed to be towards that end. Once his ends were met, he would then find a reason to quash the alliance and centralize his control. This was particularly evident in his treatment of the Jews and his marginalizing them by promoting the notion that they were not the children of Abraham and they were not the chosen people and accusing them of treachery and treason against him. Muhammad came to view only himself as the true messenger of God (Allah) thus going one step beyond the collective view of the Jews as the chosen ones. It seems to me that Muhammad was an egoist extraordinaire and a true tyrant.

IMO his views on slavery and women are very telling. He condemned unjustified cruelty towards slaves and women. Thus, I presume there is such a thing as justified cruelty to slaves and women in his mind! It would seem from the Al-sira that is the case as Muhammad was a life-long slave and concubine master.

On the other hand Jesus of Nazarreth never commanded an Army, all of his actions were consistent with his mission – De Oppresso Liber! Unlike Muhammad, Jesus did not espouse the egotistical notion that only he was the true messenger of God, but rather that we all are children of God. Nothing in the life of Jesus or his teachings suggests that he was attempting to accrete power and influence to himself or any single group, sect, or tribe. Had I lived in his time, I like to think that I would have volunteered to be a medical sergeant on his A-team.

Interestingly, I learned that Muhammad was vilified in the Middle Ages as the anti-Christ. Dante’s Inferno graphically depicted a disemboweled Muhammad in the 8th circle of Hell and even in modern day Salvador Dali depicted a disemboweled Muhammad in his Inferno series of lithographs. I actually have a print of this and never realized it was Dali’s depiction of Muhammad. Surprised there was not a Fatwa issued against these two guys.

Although I have not gotten into the subject of Modern Islam, it appears to me that Islam has not evolved since Muhammad. Given that, I can see no room for coexistence or compromise between Islam and Christianity. IMO, any attempt to negotiate, compromise, or appease will meet with abject failure and most probably will hasten the outcome that such efforts were attempting to avoid (eg. Neville Chamberlain’s negotiated agreement with Adolf Hitler)

References:
Aydin, Elif Eryarsoy. "Prophet Muhammad's Attitude Towards Slavery from the Perspective of Human Rights"
Watt in Encyclopedia of Islam, Banu Qurayza Article
Watt, Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman, p. 116
Watt, Muslim-Christian Encounters, p.1