I am sure that Muhammad did exist

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Mar 2, 2022 at 11:17

Dear Dr Pipes,

Many people doubt the existence of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Like all historical accounts, Muhammad's story might have been exaggerated and corrupted/modified over time but I have no doubt that most of the early history of Islam must have happened just as it is told to us. Why do I think so follows below.

In my judgment, Islam appears to be a very selfish and self-serving enterprise. Muhammad, as we know it, also played a very selfish, cruel and corrupt role in expanding this enterprise in the early decades of Islam. For me, it is easier to believe that a religious/political zealot of Muhammad's tendencies actually existed and managed to convince/coerce people around him than to believe that some human or group of humans created a fictional character like Muhammad and presented him as an ideal leader (religious or otherwise). The Banu Quraish massacre, for example, is more likely to have actually happened than to be conceived as fiction to serve any good purpose. Similarly, it is more likely that a person produced new Quranic verses to accommodate his additional wives than that some author or authors fancied those episodes to construct these stories to depict a hero.

So, I am sure that Muhammad did exist. Muhammad's genius was to marry religion and sword (aka church and state) inseparably and we are all suffering even today.

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