The myth and reality of Jesus and Muhammad

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Aug 9, 2014 at 05:28

Dear Dr Pipes,

Your reader Helen raised some very relevant questions about the greatness of Jesus and Muhammad. No matter what your religion, the figure described as Jesus in Christian mythology indeed appears to be worthy of love and respect. Helen is right about Jesus. But Helen's question about Muhammad are also valid. The descriptions of Muhammad available to us paint him as a competent military general and shrewd statesman but he does not appear to be a great religious leader. Are these description correct or they are fabricated? Muslim scholars should not treat questions like Helen's as ignorable ranting by someone; they must try to answer these questions.

And in this scrutiny a listing of hundreds of good things that Muhammad did or said is not enough. What he did or say wrong needs to be explained. Hindus question the correctness and morality of the actions of their deity continuously. There is no dearth of Christians who question aspects of Christian doctrine. Muslims are also obligated to justify Muhammad's actions. Calling ihim a prophet or perfect man without answering questions like Helen's is not right.

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