Islam without political correctness.

The time has come to face the realities of Islam without the constraints of political correctness. This does not imply hatred or prejudice against Islam as a religion or Muslims as individuals. It simply requires that we apply the same standards and techniques of the historical critical method to Islam and the Qur’an as have been applied to Judaism, Christianity and the Bible for over 100 years. Obviously, many in the West as well as committed Muslims find it beneficial to use the tools of political correctness to attack anyone who raises any questions about Islam.

Islam radically opposes all enquiries into the historical origins of the Qur’an and the faith. The great embarrassment of Islam and its Achilles tendon arises from the lack of historical or archaeological evidence to support its claims. It desperately seeks to hide that reality by insisting that the Qur’an and traditions were passed by word of mouth for generations until carefully written down by devoted followers of Muhammad.

Christianity looks to the gospels written approximately 40-70 years after the death of Jesus while Paul’s letters date about 20-30 years from Jesus’ death. The question of faithful transmission of Jesus’ words constitutes a major issue as a result of the generation between spoken and written word. However, this gap pales to insignificance when compared to the Qur’an and Islamic traditions.

Extant writings of the Islamic traditions date from 150-200 years after the supposed death of Muhammad in 632 AD, an enormous period of time for accurate oral transmission. This gap of more than 7 generations may explain the creation of Aisha, the 9 year old bride of a 52 year old Muhammad as a desperate attempt to bridge the vast gap of generations between Muhammad’s death and the writing of the traditions.

Scholars question the accuracy of the oral transmission of Christian traditions across 40-70 years, yet most historians seem to accept as accurate the oral transmission of Islamic traditions across 150-200 years. However, recent scholarship raises serious doubts as to the historical origins of the Qur’an and Islam. Scholars point out that no historical or archaeological evidence supports the existence of either Muhammad or Mecca as described in Islamic traditions.