religion

The chapter of The Cow in the Qur’an, 2:224, says, “Do not render your oaths in God’s name an obstacle to being pious and godfearing, or to making peace among people. Truly God is All-Hearing, Omniscient.” As with many Qur’an verses, the exact issue here is not clear, since the Prophet Muhammad recited the Muslim […]

An early chapter of the Qur’an is 90, “The City.” It contrasts the wealthy elite of Mecca in western Arabia in the 610s of the Common Era with the small band of Muhammad’s Believers. Verses 12-17 go this way: And how would I make you understand the steep path? It is freeing a slave or […]

Both the Qur’an and later Muslim sources indicate that there were controversies in Muhammad’s home town of Mecca (and perhaps elsewhere in the Near East) that began some three or four years after his initial experience of revelation in 610. If Muhammad did keep his teachings secret 610-613, then it was sometime after he began […]

Collective Interview with Juan Cole about his new book at AskHistorians, Reddit.com (Rearranged for readability.) AMA: I am Juan Cole, author of ‘Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires’ out today. AMA Here is the description from the publisher: “Many observers stereotype Islam and its scripture as inherently extreme or violent-a narrative that […]