1 Jimmy Cason RE512: History of Islam Project #1: Critique on a Biography of Muhammad March 9, 2013 A Critique on Spencer s Muhammad This paper will critique Robert Spencer s The Truth about Muhammad: Founder of the World s Most Intolerant Religion including a summary of the author s view of Muhammad, as well as stating and analyzing both the strengths and weaknesses of the ideas/viewpoints using criteria from Donner s Four Categories; and my personal reflections of the book. Summary of the Author s View of Muhammad The title of Spencer s book has a lot to say about his view of Muhammad i.e., he is the founder of the world s most intolerant religion. Spencer, using Muslim holy writings as his sources, records the evolution of Muhammad s life from a suspicious beginning as a prophet through his final days as the victorious warlord of Arabia. Muhammad declared himself to be the prophet of Allah the one true God when he was about forty years old. At the very beginning, however, he was much less clear than he ultimately became about what was happening to him (40). According to tradition, he was chosen to be a prophet after longs periods of secluded prayer. He would receive visions and dreams and at first could not be sure of the source, but later confirmed that the angel Gabriel was visiting him. The angel began giving him revelations and messages from Allah (41). These messages from the one true God would continue for the next twenty-three years the rest of his life (42). At first, Muhammad wondered if he had been possessed by a demon and even contemplated suicide. His wife, Khadija, having more confidence in Muhammad than he did
2 himself, along with her Christian cousin, convinced him that these messages were from Allah. Spencer says, obviously he does not believe that Muhammad is a prophet, that without the help of these two the world might never have known Islam (44). Spencer s view of Muhammad s Qur an is that it borrowed and is apparently dependent on Jewish, Christian, and other sources for some of its material (47). Muhammad no doubt had extensive contact as a young merchant, as well as later as a fledgling prophet, with the powerful Jewish tribes in and around Mecca. Muhammad respected them and sought their approval of his prophetic mission (47-48). That Muhammad sought the Jews approval of him as a prophet is linked to his later intolerance and hatred of them. Spencer says, As we shall see, Muhammad was often frustrated by skeptics of his preaching, with eventual dire results (46). Spencer paints the picture that Muhammad s revelations came as conveniences of the Prophet. Muhammad would receive revelations that answered his critics, or solved [a] disputed question (59). On more than a few occasions the circumstances of these revelations seemed to manifest Allah s anxiety to grant his prophet his heart s desires even marry his adopted son s wife (59). At first Muhammad began speaking privately about his new religion concerning simple monotheism there is no God but Allah, and his judgment. The people of Mecca were polytheistic and they, including his own tribe the Quraysh, ridiculed and rejected the prophet. Muhammad warned them of Allah s dreadful punishment for their unbelief. Allah gives Muhammad a revelation, right on time, concerning his unbelieving uncle, May the hands of Abu Lahab perish! May he himself perish! Nothing shall his wealth and gains avail him. He shall be burnt in a flaming fire, and his wife, laden with faggots, shall have a rope of fibre around her neck (Qur an 111:1-5)! Spencer continues to paint the picture of these convenient revelations
3 throughout his book. Later, when Muhammad moves to Medina, these revelations will turn violent against the un-believers as they incur the wrath of Allah (and Muhammad). Thirteen years after he was called to be a prophet, Muhammad and his followers fled to Yathrib later re-named Medina. This was a major turning point for the community of believers. It is here that Spencer gives Muhammad the title of warlord (89). As stated earlier Muhammad is influenced by and sought the respect of the Jews. Spencer informs his readers, From nearly the beginning of his prophetic career Muhammad was strongly influenced by Judaism situating himself within the roster of Jewish prophets. Now he began to try to gain their acceptance of his prophet status. For the first year and a half after the Muslims arrival in Medina he even has them face Jerusalem for their prayers (90). The Jews could not accept the idea that Muhammad was a prophet in the line of Abraham and Moses. Spencer relates tales (95) of jealousy of the prophet and that the Jews and Christians had removed all references from their Scriptures that told of the coming of Muhammad. The idea of Jews and Christians as sinful renegades from the truth of Islam would become a cornerstone of Islamic thought regarding non-muslims (95). Of course Gabriel gave Muhammad a message about this time He [Gabriel] among the angels is the enemy of the Jews (93). Spencer says the interpretation of the cornerstone Muslim s prayer (Qur an 1:17) is that Allah s anger [is] with the Jews and those who have gone astray with the Christians (96). Muhammad and his men began raiding caravans from Mecca. (98). These raids were the beginnings of Muhammad s reign as warlord. From here until his death the prophet gets his revenge on all who reject him as the prophet of Allah. Spencer projects Muhammad, using the Muslim s sacred writings and their understanding of them, as an excellent example of conduct (194). He says that Muslims have found justice
4 in Muhammad, and only in him. His words and deeds exemplify their highest pattern of conduct forming the only absolute standard within Islam: anything sanctioned by the example of the prophet is good (152). This, in Spencer s view, is what makes Muhammad and Islam so dangerous even in our day. For Muhammad condoned and sanctioned, with revelations from Allah: stealing, martyrdom (promising luridly physical delights in paradise ), the hatred and murder of non-believers (including Jews and Christians), forced conversions, or subjugation as second class citizens, or death (his intolerance for unbelief), polygamy, basically no rights for women (including beating them and setting the legal standards that make it virtually impossible to prove rape), jihad and terrorism, etc. and etc. Muslims looking to Muhammad as their supreme example are still following these revelations, in Spencer s view, today. Spencer s view is that Muhammad was not a man of peace and Islam is not, following its founder, a religion of peace. I will now, using the criteria from Donner s Four Categories, state and analyze both the strengths and weaknesses of the ideas/viewpoints presented by Spencer. Donner s Four Categories Spencer uses to the Descriptive Approach to write his book. He says his sources are the Qur an, the Hadith, and the Sira (186). Spencer says, By examining the Islamic texts and what they say about the religion s founding prophet, we can learn something of Muhammad (9). Spencer is quick, however, to criticize Karen Armstrong (Descriptive Approach) for her sympathy towards Muhammad and defending his (often violent and immoral) actions on every side (70-71, 132, 170). The obvious difficulty with the Descriptive Approach is that none of the events in these texts can be validated because they were not written down until 150-200 years later. Spencer, however, is not concerned that his sources cannot be verified. The strength of his method is that he uses the Muslim s sacred writings to prove his point that Islam is not a religion
5 of peace and it is the world s most intolerant religion. His point is that Muslims will continue to use Muhammad s example as found in these writings to continue their violence today. He says, Ultimately the quest for the historical Muhammad, while fascinating and important, is not what will determine the course the Islamic world will take in the coming decades. For any such investigations are extremely unlikely to gain any significant audience in the Islamic world. What is certain to be influential, however, is the figure of Muhammad as he appears in the Qur an and other accepted Islamic sources (9). The weakness of his view/idea is that he does not know the effect a significant breakthrough in archaeology or other scientific investigations would have on the Islamic community it could be significant. Personal Reflections of the Book There are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims in the world today. Do the majority of these Muslims reject the views of only a few extremists that are preaching violence and destruction on the West and Israel? Is Islam really a religion of peace? Spencer has opened my eyes on these issues. Spencer says, Five years into the war on terror, it is still commonplace to hear Islam called a religion of peace (1). He quotes George Bush as saying it [liberty and democratic principles] doesn t necessarily run contrary to what Muhammad said (3). Spencer is accusing the president of being ignorant of what Muhammad and the sacred writings of Islam really say. President Obama said in his speech to the Muslim world from Cairo in 2009, Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam. Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam
6 as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights (Italics mine). 1 It seems that president of the free world believes (Tony Blair after a jihadist bombing in London in 2005 says basically the same thing page seven) that Islam is a religion of peace and that only a few violent extremist exploit the tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. Is this really the case? Spencer says no. A tiny minority of extremists has supposedly hijacked the religion, but jihadist Muslims won elections in the Palestinian Authority and elsewhere. The new, American-backed Iraqi and Afghan constitutions have enshrined Sharia, Islamic law, (which includes the death penalty for Christian converts) as the highest law of the land. And the vast majority of peaceful Muslims show no signs of resisting or condemning the global Islamic jihad that is being fought in their name (1-2). When you look at the famous Danish cartoons of Muhammad outrage in 2006 that erupted worldwide, which seemed ridiculous to most non-muslims (in the U.S. we have something called freedom of speech), that was a crisis in the Muslim world that provoked diplomatic responses, official United Nations discussions, international boycotts, and the threatening of utterly innocent businesspeople and embassy personnel (11-12), Spenser provokes serious thought. I think he may have it right; and this subject is definitely worthy of further research. 1 http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/10/20/2009-transcript-president-obama-delivers-speech-to-muslim-worldin-cairo-egypt/
BIBLIOGRAPHY Spencer, Robert. The Truth about Muhammad: Founder of the Worlds Most Intolerant Religion. Washington DC: Regnery, 2006.