Origins of Islam

by Damien F. Mackey With regard to my interest in the archaeology of Mecca, for example: A funny thing happened on the way to Mecca (2) A funny thing happened on the way to Mecca a Southern Evangelical Seminary Faculty Member has suggested to me: “Check out the Hidden Origins of Islam edited by Karl Heinz-Ohlig, as well as Crossroads to Islam by Yehuda Nevo. These books will get you started”. https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1591026342?ref_=mr_referred_us_au_au Despite Muhammad's exalted place in Islam, even today there is still surpisingly [sic] little actually known about this shadowy figure and the origins of the Qur'an because of an astounding lack of verifiable biographical material. Furthermore, most of the existing biographical traditions that can be used to substantiate the life of Muhammad date to nearly two centuries after his death, a time when a powerful, expansive, and idealized empire had become synonymous with his name and vision - thus resulting in an exaggerated and often artificial characterization of the prophetic figure coupled with many questionable interpretations of the holy book of Islam. On the basis of datable and localizable artifacts from the seventh and eighth centuries of the Christian era, many of the historical developments, misconceptions, and fallacies of Islam can now be seen in a different light. Excavated coins that predate Islam and the old inscription in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem utilize symbols used in a documented Syrian Arabic theology - a theology with Christian roots. Interpreting traditional contexts of historical evidence and rereading passages of the Qur'an, the researchers in this thought-provoking volume unveil a surprising - and highly unconventional - picture of the very foundations of Islamic religious history. [End of quote] My own view is that Mohammed was not a real C7th AD historical figure, at all, but a non-historical fictitious composite. See e.g. my article: Biography of the Prophet Mohammed (Muhammad) Seriously Mangles History https://www.academia.edu/114699777/Biography_of_the_Prophet_Mohammed_Muhammad_Seriously_Mangles_History https://www.google.com/search?num=10&sca_esv=160e23f215d5943b&rlz=1C1RXQR_en-gbAU979AU979&sxsrf=AE3TifO-rBqgpX_cHXyLZS6DnO4Y7Y4IQg:1752095116912&q=Crossroads+to+Islam+by+Yehuda+Nevo.&source=lnms&fbs=AIIjpHwdlVWI4oi2g38E8_BbusNmV4N_PDMDZa8kD6jzfAqHH_e2wpq3bNF0nim2pM6iwiLn2tgcBi6KhLdjbQw7R8Fi7jULpZo01m0UyVnlrVcDlnjKUd6VUEtcUxkKOkJ_ARTEKORVHwkJf2FZXaIYJy120b1nNDaJp1BaVVMduHDgLVzhvfg7TgHnUp7kEhpqmBAphim3QbBp1v-3jrurwJCyytP4-eHZVyf_pirXqJbxa0xLv_k&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjdrbn41rCOAxUcxTgGHZFFFgEQ0pQJKAB6BAgPEAE&biw=1920&bih=945&dpr=1 Crossroads to Islam: The Origins of the Arab Religion and the Arab State is a book by archaeologist Yehuda D. Nevo and researcher Judith Koren. The book presents a radical theory of the origins and development of the Islamic state and religion based on archeological, epigraphical and historiographical research.