If one believes that the Islamic Prophet “Muhammad” actually existed, and over a billion do, it becomes unconscionable that this person would be chosen as a role model for a peaceful existence. He is credited with raiding merchants and looted innocent people. He is supposed to have murdered entire male populations and enslaved the women and children. It is said that he raped female prisoners of war, and after killing their husbands, allowed his followers to have sex with them as their “right hand possessions” (Koran 33:50) He is revered for assassinating those who criticized him. How could such a character inspire such reverence and devotion?
You are probably wondering why I wrote “If someone believes that Muhammad actually existed” . Many people are under the impression that the life of Muhammad is an historical and well-documented fact. This is patently incorrect. In fact, much like the complete lack of extra-biblical proof of the existence of the mythical character known as Jesus, there exist no non-Islamic accounts of the life of Muhammad. As well, much of what is written was done so at least a hundred years after his alleged death. There are no contemporary documents to support the claim that an individual named Mohammad, who was the source of the Koran, existed.
Before the Islamic prophet Mohammad appeared, the word “Muhammad” was what Arabian Christians called the Christian messiah, Jesus. Originally, Jesus was Muhammad. Coins in Arabia were commonly stamped with the Muhammad title for Jesus, and sometimes included symbols such as a cross or two. Thus, the most likely explanation for Muhammad is that it is similar to the Jesus myth. There will undoubtedly be angry Muslims writing in to tell me that there is ‘documentation’ about Muhammad, but as far as the documentation goes, we must keep in mind that we have the same kind of documentation for the lives of Hercules, Harry Potter, Bilbo Baggins, Moses, William Tell and Sherlock Holmes. As is true about the claims for the existence of Jesus, all claims about the existence of Muhammad are just that, claims, and religious ones, at that.
The jump from Muhammad Jesus to Muhammad the prophet from that point was a short one. Muslims avow that only Allah is God, but they regard Mohammad exactly like Christians regard their Jesus. When Muslims hear Muhammad’s voice, it is the same as hearing Allah’s voice. Muslims can not see Allah, but they look to Muhammad as the perfect example. As Christians view the life of Christ as the life of Yahweh, Muslims view the life of Muhammad as the life of Allah. Action for action. The Muslim submission to Mohammad is nearly indistinguishable from the Christian submission to Jesus. Muslims are committed to the inerrancy of the Koran and their committment to this doctrine is far and beyond that of the average Christian’s reverence to the words that are attributed to Jesus Christ in the Bible. But just because something is widely believed does not give it any more truth than any other lie. There is a long history of things that are believed to be true but are now known to have been fallacies.
- People believed in Osiris – he never existed.
- People believed in Hercules – he never existed.
- People believe in Moses – he never existed.
- People believed in William Tell – he never existed.
- People believed in Ebion – he never existed.
- People believed in Bacchus – he never existed.
- People believe in Krishna – he never existed.
- People believed in Xenu – he never existed.
And some people even believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. The fact is that Mohammed and Islam were likely created to compete with other existing religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, etc.
As N.A Morozov says, “…until the Crusades, Islam was indistinguishable from Judaism and only then did it receive its independent character, while Muhammad and the first Caliphs are mythical figures.”
But I digress…
Back to the character of Muhammad.
Muhammad is supposed to be the penultimate example of the perfect man, and thus his example becomes one in which Muslim men are to strive for and what Muslim women should hope for in a husband. But what the figure of Muhammad actually reflects is not a peaceful, caring, kind and compassionate man, but the base carnal desires combined with the misogyny that is common in the revealed religions based on the patriarchy of the Old Testament.
As is commonly believed, Muhammad is credited with authoring the Koran. This, of course, is impossible and that subject will be the fodder for a future article. However, the atrocities carried out by Muslim men only prove their goal to become more like Muhammad. The Koran tells us, “not to make friendship with Jews and Christians” (5:51), “kill the disbelievers wherever we find them” (2:191), “murder them and treat them harshly” (9:123), “fight and slay the Pagans, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem” (9:5). The Koran demands that Muslims fight the unbelievers, and promises “If there are twenty amongst you, you will vanquish two hundred: if a hundred, you will vanquish a thousand of them” (8:65). As far as women are concerned, under Islamic law they are not entitled to equal rights because they are viewed as “deficient in intelligence and religion” (Hadiths, vol. 2, # 541 & vol. 3, # 826). In fact, the figure of Muhammad is credited with having 16 wives and six slave concubines, this includes the six-year-old child-bride Aishah, of which marriage is said to have been consummated when she was 9. Rounding all of this out is the Islamic conception of Heaven, which involves sexual indulgence with both human and half-human women. Clearly, women are seen as chattel, property, playthings and rewards for a variety of things. Islam may be one of the world’s fastest growing religions, but their growth is primarily through reproduction.
Religions are superstitions, at best, and religious belief is a neurological disorder. Therefore, discussing and addressing the problems inherent in any delusional religion is bound to cause a bit of a stir. When addressing Christianity, Hindi, Judaism and the like, harsh letters, rebukes and condemnations are commonplace for those of us who make a career out of lambasting religion. We are admonished for ridiculing an individual’s beliefs. Our apt reply is usually along the lines that if one does not want their beliefs ridiculed, then they should stop believing in ridiculous things. Things may occasionally heat up a bit more and include some salty insults and threats of eternal damnation and impending smite that is inevitably coming our way by the deity-du-jour for our words of infidelity.
However, when addressing the problems inherent with Islam, there comes a special set of circumstances because the crazed Islamic fanatics do not respond with harsh letters, rebukes and condemnations, but in executions, bombings and acts of terrorism. Their goal is to strikes fear in the hearts of both non-Muslims and those Muslims who are not following whatever brand of Islam that is contradictory to the particular Muslim who is holding the RPG at the moment. With some 270 million people dead in its name, Islam, as a whole, historically represents one of the bloodiest and most repressive ideologies in the history of our species.
As an interesting side note, the “Allah” of Islam is more than likely a late Islamic masculinization of the Arabian Goddess, Al-Lat or Al-Ilat, the Allatu of the Babylonians, who was formerly worshipped at the Kaaba in Mecca. The Allah of Islam was a male transformation of the female primitive lunar deity of Arabia and her ancient symbol the crescent moon still appears on Islamic flags. This is highly ironic since Muslims acknowledge no feminine symbolism whatsoever connected with the patriarchal Allah.
In closing, I will leave you with these encouraging words of peace:
Fa’idhā Laqītumu Al-Ladhīna Kafarū Fađarba Ar-Riqābi Ĥattaá ‘Idhā ‘Athkhantumūhum Fashuddū Al-Wathāqa Fa’immā Mannāan Ba`du Wa ‘Immā Fidā’an Ĥattaá Tađa`a Al-Ĥarbu ‘Awzārahā Dhālika Wa Law Yashā’u Allāhu Lāntaşara Minhum Wa Lakin Liyabluwa Ba`đakum Biba`đin Wa Al-Ladhīna Qutilū Fī Sabīli Allāhi Falan Yuđilla ‘A`mālahum – Surah 47:4
Translated:
Therefore, when you meet the unbelievers, smite at their necks; At length, when ye have thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly (on them): thereafter (is the time for) either generosity or ransom: Until the war lays down its burdens. Thus (are ye commanded): but if it had been Allah’s Will, He could certainly have exacted retribution from them (Himself); but (He lets you fight) in order to test you, some with others. But those who are slain in the Way of Allah,- He will never let their deeds be lost.
