I found some interesting information about the context in which the Qur'an was revealed on this site.
http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/islam.htmlThe Quran was written by at least two people. The Quran is divided into two periods, the revelations in Mecca and the revelations in exile, in Medina. The Meccan revelations are peaceful. The Medina revelations are not. The former sounds like a paraphrase of the Christian literature of Syria (not surprising given the similarities between the Syriac script and the early Arabic script). The latter sounds like a manual of war. One wonders whether it is possible that the Quran is nothing but the combination of a book written or inspired by the Christians of Syria and a book written by the Umayyads to justify their imperialist campaign (with possibly an interpolation of a book written by the Jews od Medina to justify their attack on the Arabs of Mecca).
Great link Goldie!
But why would the Jews of Medina suddenly attack the Arabs of Mecca, when they had co existed so peacefully for centuries? For instance, Jewish halacha holds that the child of a Jewish mother is a Jew, & Meccan Arabs respected this belief, thats' why the Jewish leader Kaab ibn al Ashraf's mother was a Jew, father a Muslim & he was raised a Jew. Thats; why we see both Jews & Meccan pagans opposed to this new religion of Islam, pagans as it later forcibly converted them by smashing their gods, & Jews as it enforced restrictions like the jizya tax on them.
As even this article points out-pre Islamic Mecca was extremely religiously tolerant, besides respecting the halacha, conversions to Christianity was clearly allowed, thats' how Khadija's cousin Waraqa ibn Nawfal & Muhammad's cousin Ubaydallah ibn Jahsh had become Christians' without any persecution.
Something happened with Islam that changed all this-maybe Muhammad, maybe ambitious & intolerant Arabs.
Islam cleared the peninsula of all other faiths, a legacy which endures till this day as no other place of worship except mosques are allowed in Saudi.
Thus the suspicions that Islam was hijacked at the very beginning, and that one billion Muslims are praying to a god that their prophet Mohammed wanted to destroy.
After all, Jesus' words were manipulated by the Catholic Church (and still are manipulated by countless Christian priests) to justify all sorts of political schemes. The same fate may have happened to the founder of Islam, who lived in a much more primitive society (i.e., easier to manipulate) than Rome.
Well, Jesus words' might've been manipulated, but the way his character is portrayed remains largely benign, as for eg does the Buddha's character-we don't see them annihilating an entire Jewish(or any other faith) tribe, or forcibly converting people by smashing their idols.
If Prophet Muhammad's words & deeds have been manipulated, then it really makes little sense to hold onto this "manipulated" faith, as it exists currently. After all, we certainly won't meet either Jesus or Muhammad, we have to rely on the way they've been portrayed, its impossible to travel back to their time in a time machine & check out for ourselves.
Jesus did little we would consider unpalatable in todays' world, Muhammad has been called an insaan i kamil, the role model for all times, but he doesn't quite seem to merit that title.
For one thing, even the Meccan surahs, while not preaching physical violence, uses language we would consider hate speech against various religions today, calling non believers in Islam the
worst creatures.
?Those who disbelieve, among the People of the Book (Christians & Jews) and among the Polytheists, will be in Hell-Fire, to dwell therein for ever. They are the worst of creatures.? (98.6)
Then again the Quran itself contains the doctrine of abrogation, to help resolve the apparent contradiction between relatively peaceful Mecca surahs & belligerent Medina ones, & the doctrine gives primacy to the Medina surahs.
"None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: Knowest thou not that Allah hath power over all things?" (Qur'an 2:106)
"When We substitute one revelation for another, ? and Allah knows best what He reveals (in stages), ? they say, ?Thou art but a forger?: but most of them understand not." (Qur'an 16:101)
Thus all the peace in the Meccan surahs seem to be abrogated by the Medina surahs, & by Prophet Muhammad's conduct.
For instance, we read in Surah 9.5, "Then when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolators wherever ye find them, seige them, beseige them & lie in ambush for them everywhere,
but if they repent, take to prayer & render the alms levy, allow them to go their way.God is forgiving & merciful."
This is exactly how Muhammad behaved, according to Islamic sources, he marched into Mecca, smashed the polytheists idols, threatening to kill anyone who came out to protect their idols & them converted them to Islam.
Thus they're allowed to go only if they convert to Islam, the Catholic Church might've manipulated Jesus words, but they never portray him smashing others' idols, & forcibly converting people.
We'll never meet the historical Buddha, Jesus or Muhammad, but Muhammad's portrayal isn't very impressive or conducive to religious tolerance.
Topic: Why was the Quran Revealed in Arabic?