Here is my friend and PJ Media colleague Lincoln Brown’s fine review of my book Muhammad: A Critical Biography:
“A Review of Robert Spencer’s Muhammad: A Critical Biography: Did a man create a religion, or did a religion create a man?,” by Lincoln Brown, American Spectator, December 3, 2024:
Spencer is well-versed in the study of Islam. He is the director of the website Jihad Watch and the author of 28 books. He has also led seminars on Islam and jihad for a veritable constellation of government agencies, including the FBI, U.S. Central Command, the U.S. Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, to name a few.
In this latest book, Spencer takes on the herculean task of separating man from myth in the story of Muhammad. It is worth noting that the Koran itself only mentions the Prophet four times, but the amount of information available about his life is voluminous. Spencer notes that some apologists see a foreshadowing of the Prophet in the Song of Solomon, Proverbs, and the Psalms. Still, much of the material comes from the hadiths or reports about Muhammad’s life. Authentic hadiths are considered on par with Islamic law. Other reports are specifically biographical and referred to as the Sīrah….
It is no small thing to undertake a critical look at Islam and its prophet. There is no doubt that Spencer’s book will offend members of the Muslim community and even its non-Muslim sympathizers. As a student of religion, I have faced criticism for reading other versions of the Bible and not just the King James Version. I have been taken to the proverbial woodshed for suggesting that the message in the opening chapters of Genesis matters more than the issue of a six-day creation. But as Socrates is said to have remarked, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Can the same be said of faith?
Muhammad: A Critical Biography is an excellent companion piece to Spencer’s previous outing, Empire of God: How the Byzantines Saved Civilization. Taken together, they offer the reader a comprehensive look at eras and events that shaped the world.
There is more. Read the rest here.
nicholas tesdorf says
A ruling Group created a religion and a man to go with it to protect the ruling Group’s Empire.
DavidW says
I didn’t realize it until recently that the story about how Mohammed received the first revelation illustrated how unbelievable Islam really is (that an all powerful, all knowing, wise supreme being would pick an illiterate man to receive his important revelation and depend upon the illiterate man’s memory to pass it on correctly? Please.).
somehistory says
Good point.
somehistory says
Atheists will disagree….and that’s okay….but satan the devil invented/created islam. Just as satan the devil created the false god of the Canaanites, ba’al, ashtoroth/ashtoreth, moloch/molech, dagan, the fish ‘god.’ and so many other evil names and ways of worshipping himself.
Jesus told His enemies, “You are from your father the devil.” I’m of the opinion, after much study of the Bible….the Psalms and Proverbs tell those who love God to hate what is bad…that Jesus would likely say the same thing to those who worship the false god of islam and its fake prophet, via their book of demon slime.
Jesus also warned those who pretend to follow His commandments, .telling us He will call them “workers of lawlessness” and rejecting their form of worship.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Next thing to research – was islam fully developed by the time these ostensibly muslim rulers came to power in their turf?
⮞ Abdel Malik/Hajjaj ibn Yousuf
⮞ Harun al Rashid
⮞ Saman Khuda (founder of the Samanids)
⮞ Mahmoud of Ghazni
⮞ Alp Arsalan – Seljuq sultan
⮞ Qutb us din Aibaq – first sultan in India
⮞ Saladin
⮞ Mahmud Ghazan (first Ilhanate ruler who supposedly embraced islam)
⮞ Tamerlane
In fact, from the above, which of them were even muslim, in the way it’s understood today?
Another question: given the major role that Turks played in spreading islam first in Asia and later in Europe, how did islam not morph into a religion endorsing Turkic, rather than Arabic supremacy?
GianCarlo MATTA says
what came first, faith or theology ?
࿗Infidel࿘ says
In islam’s case, theology
Don D'Souza says
Robert has written many good books on Islam, and with the exception of “The Truth of Mohammad” all his books are in printed form. For someone who drives a lot of long distances, may I suggest that your books be available in CD format so that we could listen to them while we drive. Thank you
Robert Spencer says
The Truth About Muhammad is available in printed form also.
Don D'Souza says
All of your books are in printed form, but what I am requesting is that they be made available in CD format too. This is in order they could be listened (rather than read) We spend countless hours in the car. driving around and listening becomes easier than reading.
Jeffrey Miller says
The Koran was written AFTER Muhammad had died. Such a fake and phony.
GianCarlo MATTA says
excellent Dr Spencer, according to your wisdom, which came first, faith or theology ?
Daniel Moore says
Hal Lindsey’s book, “The Everlasting Hatred” examines the roots of the Arabs and Islam. From Ishmael to Esau to Roman “Palestine” to modern Muslims, it helps us to understand modern times. I believe Islam is a Satanic death cult.
Tim gallagher says
I think that a bunch of the most evil human beings ever, say like those scum of the earth from Hamas, got together and made an evil version of god, a god that condones all the evil shit, raping, murdering, etc, that they loved to do. Mo never existed. They made him as someone like them, very degenerate, and bullshityed that their evil God chose Mo as it’s prophet. To me, it is as if,say, Ted Bundy, the green river killer, the UK’s Fred rose and Peter Sutcliffe and Australia’s Ivan milat all got together and made up a god and that evil thing is Allah. Islam is that evil. And Mo never existed and not does Allah. Nothing but bullshit, that’s islam.