Assuming that the Muslim account of their sacred history is meaningful is a mistake. The Qu'ran was reduced to writing a generation after Mohamed died, the redaction occurred thereafter. The hadiths are even later.

There is no reason to believe that that any of that material represents anything other than what the theo-political establishment at the time* of its publication wanted it to mean. Want to stop a civil war. Find a peaceful surrah. Rally the troops, find a warlike one. Need a law suit solved, hey, here is a hadith.

* There were severe internal divisions in that leadership that could account for the multiple positions the Qu'ran takes on issues.

Learn more about it.

Thanks Robert. That's a very useful correction. I was aware that, unlike bible criticism in Judaism and Christianity, in Islam there has been relatively little = practically no attempts at creating a field of Koran criticism, to attempt to assign bits of text to historical periods.

The first text of this sort in 2003, huh.

And given the general perception of death threat pandemonium, I can't imagine Koran criticism is going to be a burgeoning field anytime soon. After all, this is quite a bit more dangerous to the entire range of traditional Islam than Mohammedan cartoons in the Western Press.

I wanted to tell you that Qoraan came in the time of the nation who prayed to stones or gold. they were not Christian or Jew. that is why was the Islam law against them, the unbelievers only. but Qoraan loves Israel and you can read all the chapter about Israel.

And Jesus the Lord God loves him and Qoraan wrote one chapter about Mary the Virgin. In fact those people you see them now they had used Qoraan exuises for their crimes and their terror actions which no mind or heart can accept it. I love Jesus and I obey Moses comandments and they are all in Qoraan if they understand but they are fools and barberians and God will burn every terrorist in Hell because they had killed innocent people in the name of his. Just think about it. They never understand what God said about our souls. it is gift from him we have to keep it clean and safe not to suicide children for killing others. God hated revenge.

Trust me they are not Moslem or even believer, They called themselves Jehad but in fact they are merders and greedy and unbelievers.

I had been Christian since 1991 and I had born moslem but I love all the Holly books they are the Unit of us around the world.

Woah.. a Jew attacking Islam.. now thats rare.

Not attacking it. Trying to get a handle on its exegetical system. And an understanding of how interpretation of the Koran relates to various governments around the world and sharia law.

I don't think it is an attack on Islam to say that there will probably be death threats against people who approach the field of Koran criticism - given the state of the world, where people are threatened for less grievous sins, vis-a-vis Islam, that seems like reality. Ultimately, in terms of modernizing the Muslim community, Koran criticism is likely to have a signal effect, just as biblical criticism(s) did for both Judaism and Christianity.

Assuming that the Muslim account of their sacred history is meaningful is a mistake.

Not for trying to understand how Muslims think. That is what the original post was trying to do. It is important to resist the urge to substitute academic questions for practical ones.