The hidden origins of Islam : new research into its early history

"The standard histories of Muhammad and the early development of Islam are based on Islamic literature that dates to the ninth and tenth centuries-some two centuries or more after the death of Muhammad in 632. Islamic literary sources do not exist for the seventh and eighth centuries, when, according to tradition, Muhammad and his immediate followers lived. All that is preserved from this time period are a few commemorative building inscriptions and assorted coins. Based on the premise that reliable history can only be written on the basis of sources that are contemporary with the events described, the contributors to this in-depth investigation present research that reveals the obscure origins of Islam in a completely new light. As the authors meticulously show, the name "Muhammad" first appears on coins in Syria bearing Christian iconography. In this context the name is used as an honorific meaning "revered" or "praiseworthy" and can only refer to Jesus Christ, as Christianity was the predominant religion of the area at this time. This same reference exists in the building inscription of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, built by the caliph 'Abd al-Malik. The implication of these and other findings here presented is that the early Arab rulers adhered to a sect of Christianity. Indeed, evidence from the Koran, finalized at a much later time, shows that its central theological tenets were influenced by a pre-Nicean, Syrian Christianity. Linguistic analysis also indicates that Aramaic, the common language throughout the Near East for many centuries and the language of Syrian Christianity, significantly influenced the Arabic script and vocabulary used in the Koran. Finally, it wasnot until the end of the eighth and ninth centuries that Islam formed as a separate religion, and the Koran underwent a period of historical development of at least 200 years"--Publisher's description Despite Muhammad's exalted place in Islam, even today there is still surpisingly 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. The standard histories of Muhammad and the early development of Islam are based on Islamic literature that dates to the ninth and tenth centuries - some two centuries or more after the death of Muhammad in 632. Islamic literary sources do not exist for the seventh and eighth centuries, when, according to tradition, Muhammad and his immediate followers lived. All that is preserved from this time period are a few commemorative building inscriptions and assorted coins. Based on the premise that reliable history can only be written on the basis of sources that are contemporary with the events described, the contributors to this in-depth investigation present research that reveals the obscure origins of Islam in a completely new light. As the authors meticulously show, the name 'Muhammad' first appears on coins in Syria bearing Christian iconography. In this context the name is used as an honorific meaning 'revered' or 'praiseworthy' and can only refer to Jesus Christ, as Christianity was the predominant religion of the area at this time. This same reference exists in the building inscription of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, built by the caliph 'Abd al-Malik "Why 'shadowy beginnings' of Islam?" / Karl-Heinz Ohlig The early history of islam: The early history of Islam, following inscriptional and numismatic testimony / Volker Popp A new interpretation of the Arabic inscription in Jerusalem's Dome of the Rrock / Christoph Luxenberg On the origin of the informants of the Prophet / Claude Gilliot Abd al-Malik v. Marwan and the process of the Qur'an's composition / Alfred-Louis de Prémare New aspects for the emergence and characteristic of Islam : A personal look at some aspects of the history of Koranic criticism in 19th and 20th centuries / Ibn Warraq Pre-islamic Arabic-Koranic Arabic-classical Arabic: a continuum? / Pierre Larcher From Syriac to Pahlavi: the contribution of the Sassanian Iraq to the beginning of the Arabic writing / Sergio Noja Noseda Early evidences of variant readings in Qurʼānic manuscripts / Alba Fedeli Leuke kome / Laykah, the "Arsians" / Gerd-R. Puin Raisons d'espérer / Mondher Sfar Syriac and Arabic Christianity and the Qurʼān Karl-Heinz Ohlig.