Short summary of the creation of Islam
« on: January 20, 2021, 09:00:42 PM »

About 20 years ago (do the math) I decided to read the Qur'an to see just how much 'Islam' there is in 'Islamic terrorism'. The short answer is - a lot. For those who have no idea what Islam is or where it came from, here is a my bare-bones summary:


Overview:

In 610 CE, a 40-year-old illiterate merchant named Mohamed announced to the pagans of the Arabian Peninsula city of Mecca that he had received a message from God, via the angel Gabriel, stating he had been chosen to become God's final prophet.

He began exhorting the pagans to abandon their gods and to follow him in submission (Islam) to the "one true god".

He claimed to receive such revelations, collectively called the Qur'an, for the remaining 23 years of his life and preached them from memory.

Therefore, to be a Muslim is to believe that the Qur'an is a verbatim sermon from God that created and defined a new religion called Islam.  

The first 86 surahs (chapters) were revealed from 610 to 622 while Mohamed lived in Mecca.

The remaining 28 surahs came from 622 to 632 when he lived in Medina.

By the time of Mohamed's death the Qur'an had grown to 6,236 verses.

It was not compiled into written form until after his death. It was compiled roughly by order of size of surah rather than chronologically.

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Mecca:

These surahs are little more than repetitions of Old Testament stories of Moses, Adam, Noah, Lot, etc. The story of Jesus and Mary is told, but while denying Jesus is the son of God.

The five pillars were defined - faith, prayer, fasting, alms, pilgrimage.

The only other discernable difference between Islam and Judaism in terms of theology to that point was that Mohamed was to be the Abrahamic world's new spiritual leader.
  
No mention of fighting (armed jihad as opposed to personal jihad) appeared during this period.

The greatest sin/crime was defined as disbelief in God.

The oneness of God, the promise of Heaven for believers, and the threat of a literal Hell for unbelievers were the primary tenets of the Meccan period. They were repeated hundreds of times.

This period can be summarized by the following verses":

39:62 - "Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Guardian and Disposer of all affairs".
17:111 - "He has not begotten a son and has no partner in His Kingdom".
41:30 - "Those who have said, 'Our Lord is God.' ... rejoice in Paradise that you were promised'".
29:68 - "Who does more wrong than he who invents a lie against Allah or rejects the Truth when it reaches him? Is there not a home in Hell for those who reject Faith?".    

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Medina:

Mohamed claimed to have uncovered a plot to kill him, so he and the few followers he had managed to attract sought refuge in the largely Jewish city of Yathrib. This migration is known as the Hijrah, and is the start of the Islamic calendar.

The tone and message of the Qur'an changed immediately.

All rules regarding daily life (diet, marriage, inheritance, etc.) in the Islamic community were introduced.

Fighting "in the cause of God" was introduced.

Hostilities began against the pagans of Mecca when Mohamed began raiding their caravans.

Three major battles were fought against the pagans resulting in the Muslims claiming final victory.

Two of the three major Jewish tribes were expelled from Yathrib and their property confiscated.
   
The men and youths of the third Jewish tribe were beheaded, and the women and children were taken as slaves.

Mohamed renamed Yathrib to Al Medinat Al Nabi (The City of The Prophet), and became known as Medina.

Control of Mecca and the Kaaba were ceded to Mohamed.

The Arabian Peninsula steadily came under Mohamed's control via military conquest and bloodless capitulation.

He initiated military campaigns against Yemen and the Byzantine empire.

The last verses of the Qur'an were revealed.

Mohamed died in 632.His successors continued the military campaigns he started, resulting in the creation of a vast Islamic empire.

One of the last verses revealed describes the final, militaristic turn that Islam took in its evolution:

9:111 - "Allah hath bought from the believers their lives and their wealth because the Garden will be theirs: they shall fight in the way of Allah and shall slay and be slain".
Devout and strictly adherent Atheist.