1. Islam is not a religion, as we understand it... it is a socio-political mass movement, more like socialism or conservatism or Ayn Rands Objectivism, or even the "hippie" or "flower child" movements of the '60's & early '70's. The Koran is a ham-handed rewrite of the Old Testament, with a healthy dash of Arab, pre-Islamic pagan animism (references to "Jinns", "genies" & carnal pleasures in the afterlife, or Paradise).
2. There was no person named "Mohammad" who acted as a 7th century prophet in the Medina/Mecca region... no SECULAR references can be found for the existence of such a person, save for a single reference by the Greek historian Polymeades, who thought he was still alive in 685 AD. Mohamed reputedly died in 638 AD or thereabouts, according to Islamic scholars.
3. I advance the thesis that the content of critical sections of the Qu'ran has been broadly misread by succeeding generations of scholars, through a faulty and exclusive reliance on the assumption that classical Arabic formed the foundation of the Qu'ran, whereas linguistic analysis of the text suggests that the prevalent language of this region was the Syro-Aramic language, up to the 7th century. This suggests that the migration of Islam can be traced (using philological methodology as a basis for analysis) all the way back to Anatolian Turkey (@ 280AD), then on down though northern Saudi Arabia in the 6th century.
4. Despite the insistence to the contrary by Islamic scholars, no complete version of the Qu'ran existed until @ 740 AD, when one popped up in Damascus. By that time, the age of Arab Imperialism was well underway in N. Africa, Spain & southern France, when the Arab (more specifically, Bedouin) forces were stopped by Charles Martel ("The Hammer) in the battle of Tours in 732AD. The word Qur'an itself is derived from 'qeryana', a Syriac term from the Christian liturgy that means ‘lectionary’ a book of liturgical readings. The book, being a Syro-Aramaic lectionary, with hymns and Biblical extracts, created for use in Christian services. This lectionary was translated into Arabic as a missionary effort. It was not meant to start a new religion, but to spread an older one.
5. Islam, as practiced by the Arabs & Persians (Iranians) of the Middle East, is markedly different than the method of practice in Malaysia, Indonesia and other S.E. Asian countries. Therefore, the aggressive, violent and bloodthirsty nature that is the conventional view of Islam in the West, is a unique expression of Middle Eastern culture. BTW, if you lived in that damned desert for millennia, you would be fooked up in the head too.
6. Unlike Christianity & Judaism, Islam has never undergone a revolutionary Reform movement. It has to, in order to integrate into the world community, or it will implode or ex-plode, or... God only knows.
7. I also advance the theory that this movement was encouraged early on by Arab warlords of the region, in order to achieve a more manageable population, united by a strict code of personal conduct, and a feeling of oneness (the Uma) coupled with extreme paranoia and violent attitude toward "the other". or in their parlance. "infidels". This provided the Caliphates of Damascus & Baghdad a pool of willing executioners for their aggressive policies, suitable for rapid conquest of the local region & beyond.
That's just an overview, and remember, my analysis was conducted using SECULAR (non- Qu'ranic) historical sources... there's much more, but I don't have time to expand on it here. But you get the idea. Now, my aim was not to discredit Islam, but figure out where the hell it came from, without all the superstitious rubbish clouding the picture. I sure wish I had a complete copy of the thing, but my goal in attending the War College was to make Major, not become a history professor.
