facts or fiction

Submitted by myth (Germany), May 17, 2012 at 11:35

Carl, I think the existence of Mohammed is important. His existence as a historical fact allows to measure and evaluate accounts of him against reality. If he was a fiction character there is no such measure. It is not the same thing talking about Star Wars the movie and WW2 as a fact of history. Sure people may disagree on events of WW2. But for everyone there is only one reality. Reality translates into the idea of consistency which supplies indispensable judgement. In the case of a fictitous Mohammed judging by consistency is useless. However the question does arise what would the origin of the mohammed-story be? Given that Islam hinges on the literal purity of the koran both cases are delicate. I imagine that especially a believer in Islam must understand the temptation to change the original writing 1400years ago. The assumed literal truth of the koran makes Islam extremely vulnerable. I believe a scientific inquiry influences muslims profoundly.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".