Mohammed stayed in Mecca for thirteen years after
declaring himself a prophet. The first half of the Koran was written during
this time and is known as the Koran of Mecca. The revelations in the Meccan
Koran tell repeatedly that Mohammed is the Messenger of God and that all those
who disbelieve him will burn in hell.
There are also stories of people from the
past who rejected their prophets. These people were consequently destroyed and
are now burning in hell.
According to Mohammed, many of the biblical characters
such as Abraham, Moses and even Jesus (who he claimed was not the Son of God
but a prophet) were Muslims. No mention of the Islamic religion has ever been
found which pre-dates Mohammed however. He further claimed that he was the last
in the line of these prophets and that the Koran was God’s final message.
The Koran takes a number of stories from the Bible and
retells them quite differently, in order to make a different point. In this
retelling, the message is always about how the Jews ignored their prophets and
were then punished by God.
This is the religious part of the Koran, which contains
the biblical stories and religious themes. Mohammed used these basic themes
quite skilfully to answer most of the questions his critics put to him.
Mohammed was obviously quite charismatic and very
self-confident. He also had the ability to package his message in a quite
beautifully poetic form. The first half of the Koran is written poetically,
which also makes it easier to memorize.
Consequently he attracted quite a
number of followers and as his power grew, so did his desire for it. He was
extremely narcissistic and seemed to care only for the adoration of others. The
fact that he tore apart his home town and even his own family did not seem to
bother him.
When his uncle lay dying he went to his bedside and
asked him to accept Islam. His uncle muttered something and then died.
Mohammed's companion said that he thought his uncle had accepted Islam.
Mohammed did not hear him clearly however and declared therefore that his uncle
would burn in hell.
Abu Talib had raised him from being a child. He then secured
him his first job which led to his successful marriage. Later, he protected Mohammed
from all the trouble which he had created himself. Because he had refused to
submit to Islam however, Mohammed declared that he was burning in hell.
That year his wife Khadija also died. He married a
widow named Sauda and was betrothed to a six-year-old girl named Aisha who was
the daughter of his most ardent follower.
Important facts:
Muslims obviously believe that Mohammed was the final
Prophet of Allah. From a non-Muslim viewpoint however, he was simply a genius
who designed and defined Islam for a singular purpose; to make the whole world
worship him (or to worship Allah through him which is pretty much the same
thing).
To do this, he made sure that Islam could never be
changed. Mohammed insisted that to be a Muslim, a person must declare that
there is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet (there are four other
“pillars” of Islam but this is the most important by far).
This is the definition
of what it means to be a Muslim. Mohammed also declared himself to be the last
prophet of Islam. In doing so, he cleverly prevented anyone from hijacking his
religion down the track.
Despite claiming to be the last in the line of Jewish
prophets he also ensured that the Jews could have no claim on his religion.
Mohammed insisted that the Jews (and Christians) had falsified their Bible.
He
said that this was to hide the fact that he had been prophesied in the real Bible
(there is no evidence to support this claim). He also forbade Muslims from
reading the Bible or the Torah (Jewish Bible). Muslims therefore can only read
about Biblical prophets such as Abraham or Moses through Mohammed’s retelling.
This is often quite different, sometimes illogically so, from the original
Bible stories.
The point to all this is that Mohammed is not just a
central figure in Islam, Mohammed IS Islam. In Churchill’s day, Muslims were referred
to as Mohammedans, (people who follow Mohammed) which is a fairly accurate
description.
To be a Muslim is to believe that Mohammed is the perfect man and
that the Koran, as revealed to Mohammed only, is the perfect (and only) word of
Allah. A true Muslim therefore follows the words of Allah (as found in the
Koran) and the example, or traditions of Mohammed (which are recorded in his
biographies).
This clever design of Islam means that it can never be
changed. The Koran can’t be changed because it is the perfect word of Allah.
Mohammed’s life can’t be changed because he’s dead.
Muslims are incredibly serious about how perfect the
Koran is. To give an example of this, several chapters of the Koran start with
three Arabic letters. No one knows what this means but they will never be
removed because the Koran is perfect and unalterable.
To summarize then; Islam is Mohammed, Islam has never
changed, Islam will never change. To change Islam, you would have to take
Mohammed out of it and then it wouldn’t be Islam any more.
As Barry Sheene so
eloquently put it,
“If my uncle was
a woman he’d be my [word deleted] Aunty.” It is a logical absurdity.
Christianity changed and evolved because it is based on broad principles, such
as the golden rule, which can be debated and interpreted.
There isn’t much to
debate with Mohammed, he either did something or he didn’t. People who think
that Islam should, or even could change are therefore likely to be
disappointed.
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