All of us have a priori positions

Submitted by Peter Herz (United States), May 17, 2012 at 22:44

I believe that Robert Spencer has never made any bones about being an Antiochene or some similar sort of Eastern Rite Roman Catholic. However, that he may be informed by a Christian standpoint would not invalidate his views of Islam. Indeed, a good education in some Christian tradition (coupled with knowledge of the Arabic and Aramaic languages) might be very useful in studying and interpreting early Islam, which, by its own testimony, claims to carry on the "real message of Jesus and the prophets". I myself am a Protestant Christian who's studied the Bible and Christian history, and tend to suspect that Muhammad's (or whoever's) accounts of biblical figures and events were probably gleaned more from the folklore of the Jews and Christians rather than actual familiarity with the biblical text [in any form], then recast to fit the Islamic founder's own purposes.

So, I hope to see for myself what Spencer proposes.

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".