What would this small arabic speaking community that understood Surah 2 have looked like? The rogue monastery community?
If you mean this very small circle of literati in the scribal workshop as "the audience", then indeed, you guys are right. The audience understood most.
I understand as "the audience", the wider community of foot-soldiers and women, who realised the conquest and spread Islam through their offspring.
I differentiate between the ideology fueling the conquest (Altara, you yourself say Quran was not at the basis, I agree completely), and this Quran somewhere on a shelf of the scribal workshop, read/ copied by a small group who knew the content.
If it is possible mundi want to solve all the problems in Origins of Islam and Quran And
Altara will say ..
This forum is not the right place to solve that problem specially with those critical questions 
.. the forum is good only for asking questions or reflecting/deflecting questions ..
on those highlighted words of yours mundi let me go in different direction. instead of origin of Islam we go in to Spreading of Islam., here is the question to you .. let us take examples of the countries that are over 30 million population today
where more than 90% of folks living there practice Islam or different type of Islam with one motto
LA ILAHA ILLALLAH Muhammadur RasulullahCountry .................Total population...........Muslim Population ............ % of present Muslim population
Yemen.........................28,036,829 ..........................28,036,829................,.................100
Afghanistan.................34,124,811..........................34,022,437...................................99.7
Iran.................................81,786,900...........................81,500,000 .................................99.4
Algeria.............................40,969,443.........................40,559,748....................................99
Iraq..................................39,339,753...........................38,800,190...................................99
Morocco...........................34,785,200............................33,646,788................................99
Turkey..................................80,810,525...........................79,000,000 ...........................98.6
Saudi Arabia......................33,413,660...........................31,878,000...........................97.1
Uzbekistan.........................32,653,900...........................26,550,000...........................96.5
Pakistan...........................201,993,000...........................198,000,000[.........................96.4
Bangladesh.....................165,188,000...........................148,607,000...........................90.4
Egypt....................................97,553,600...........................87,300,000................................90
Indonesia...........................265,015,300...........................227,000,000..........................87.2
Question now is.,
when in the history of these countries they became Islamic and How?? and If you focus on middle east countries
and see the pattern how year wise population shifted from zero Muslims to 99% of Muslim folks .
If you do that then you will have some answers to many of your questions on origin of Islam .. We need some one like President Donald Trump to inquire in to early Islam... I mean start with ZERO EXPERIENCE ..
It is the first time in the history some one as American President threatened Sand Land snakes.. And only completely inexperienced person in international politics can do that ..
Topic: Qur'anic studies today