Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion - The Truth About Muhammad

The topic and content of the book is most revealing and disturbing if true. The documentations he cites, particulary the constant recitation of names becomes a bit monotonous and the listener may loose concentration. After listening to the CD's, I bought a copy of the Koran to see if the statements and citations made are correct. So far, his quotes seem to check out.. I have an open mind and will check other sources. If what Mr. Spencer claims turns out to be true about the danger of Islam, the free thinking world is in trouble.

I found this a valuable resource in understanding where the more militant Muslims get their inspiration. It is impossible to find this material in books and articles on comparative religion, or from moderate Islamic friends. Christians and Jews also have intolerant and violent pasts, and it is important to look at these times honestly in order to avoid repeating them. This book is well-written, letting the references speak for themselves. I recommend it as a very valuable reference for anyone puzzled by our present troubld times.

This will easily be a controversial book, for Spencer pulls no punches. He seeks to examine only the primary sources regarding the life of Muhammad: the Qur'an, the Hadith, and the Sira.

From these he extracts that Muhammad pretty much "on the fly" was changing up the revelations he was receiving from Allah about such matters as tolerance of unbelievers, violence and booty, etc. Over the centuries then, this has created, in Spencer's opinion, the current situation where the vast majority of Muslim leaders look to Muhammad's life to imitate in jihad, violence, etc. He provides over five pages of contemporary examples where in the media Muhammad's example was expressed as the inspiration for aggressive, non-tolerant actions. He admits" "most Western government and law enforcement officials would dismiss all this and similar examples as manifestations of the twisting or hijacking of Islam. But we have seen that all the words and deeds of Muhammad to which the jihadists refer are amply attested in early Islamic traditions. Nor is there a wealth of material in those traditions offering a radically different view of Muhammad." He provides a list of what could be done by non-Muslim governments, but this is not a likely path for politicians to ponder implementing.

Luther's analysis here is poignant: Islam is deficient not only theologically, but treatment of two other important areas of living, i.e. family and government.

This book is a well done historiography of Muhammad, but will not sit well with those who wish to whitewash Muhammad's biography and early Islamic history, and thus they point to more liberal sources, such as Karen Armstrong's work. It by comparison draws more from liberal sources than the primary ones Spencer limits himself to. We live in a culture that wants to believe the best about everything, with the possible exception of authentic, historic Christianity. Spencer rightly points out major historical controversial point of was Jesus crucified or an impostor, as Islam purports. Investigation into primary historical sources here is telling.

Spencer should be read and considered by fair, open minds searching for historical Muhammad and early Islam.

People need to learn about this ideology. The more I know and read about Muslims, the better understanding on why they want to kill unbelievers. American people need to wake up, especially if you're a liberal.

I was extremely, and positively, impressed with Mr. Spencer's book.

This book lays out the history of this religion, and its founder, Mohammed, in an objective manner.

It also answered many of the questions that I had previously had about Islam. It also provoked many more, such as where do we go from here in our relations with Islam.

I hope to read more from Mr. Spencer.

Having recently written a book with a similar title ([[ASIN:0736922121 The Truth Behind the New Atheism: Responding to the Emerging Challenges to God and Christianity]), I may be overly indulgent towards Spencer, perhaps out of a desire to justify my own vices. But an astonishing amount of lying goes on when it comes to religion. French literary critic and anthropologist Rene Girard explained a good bit of that dishonesty years ago when he noted that society tends to cover up its origins in collective violence. While Spenser doesn't frame his story of Mohammed and the religion he founded in those terms, Girard's theory (accessible on-line in an article he wrote in First Things magazine) does I think put early Islam in its proper context.

Aside from Spencer's courage in writing it, this book is good for several reasons: (1) He relentlessly examines the acts of Mohammed from early Muslim sources; (2) The book is frank without being sensationalistic; (2) Spenser shows good judgement, overall, in his choice of material and his evaluation of it; (4) He covers the main events in the life of Mohammed clearly; (5) At the same time he also shows how modern cruelties are justified by reference to the practice of The Prophet.

Doctrine does not determine how people act, but this book reveals just how foolish it is to deny (as some do) how deep the influence can be. Spenser recognizes that people of all faiths are capable of both cruelty and kindness; but the example the founder sets does make an enormous difference. (As to those who try to equate the Christian and Muslim records, see my article "Can Jesus Save Islam?" in Touchstone Magazine -- also available on-line.)

I do have a couple criticisms. First, one question Spenser doesn't resolve is whether the very telling hadith he cites are representative. (There seems to be quite a large amount.) Second, I question Spenser's sub-title -- I would describe Communism or Naziism as even more intolerant religions, and there are conventionally supernatural faiths (like the Tai Ping movement in China) quite as violent and intolerant as Islam. Third, I don't think Spenser offers very promising solutions to the problems he outlines. Simply telling Muslims not to rely on Mohammed so much probably won't do it. Might as well go whole hog and suggest they worship God in reference to the teachings of a less problematic prophet -- already tens of thousands of Muslims have come to believe in Jesus in jihad-bit countries like Iran and Algeria.

A great book with loads of Pertinent information. I am sure that Muslims do not value this book highly but it is my opinion that Mr. Spencer did a great unbiased job of writing this book on a very difficult and dangerous subject. Thank you.

Robert Spencer is a brave man. Seemingly the rest of the world insists that Islam is a religion of peace and that terrorists--like those that flew planes into the Pentagon and World Trade Center--have hijacked an essentially peaceful religion, a religion building on centuries of its peaceful Judaic and Christian forerunners. This view is pervasive, and Spencer dares to contradict it.

What Spencer aims to do with his book is outline the theological basis on which groups like Al Qaeda and the Taliban operate. His findings are damning--rather than radical theological hijackers, Spencer shows that terrorist groups have a firm, easily defensible foundation in the example--the sunna--of Muhammad himself. Spencer accomplishes this using solely Muslim sources, including the Koran, the ahadith (the sayings of Muhammad, as opposed to the Koran, which is the divine words of Allah Himself), the sunna, and the corpus of historically authoritative Islamic theologians, the ulema. The portrait of the Prophet that emerges is not a pretty one.

If Spencer skews his view, hammering home the negative examples of the Prophet's life at the expense of Muhammad's good traits, he does so because he is not attempting to write a definitive biography of Muhammad. Rather, he has selectively chosen his material to show that all the terrible actions of modern Islamic terrorists have some solid grounding in the deeds of their supreme example himself. That Muhammad did sometimes preach peace and tolerance (of a sort, provided infidels pay the jizya) goes unsaid. Spencer is proving that Islam is just as much a religion of warfare as it is of peace.

Which is where Raymond Ibrahim's Al Qaeda Reader comes in. I recommend Spencer's book in addition to the former, as the two have a great deal in common. Where Spencer details the less than sterling example Muhammad has provided to today's terrorists, Ibrahim allows today's terrorists to speak for themselves--and they make precisely the arguments for jihad, the subjugation of women and the murder of innocents that can be found in Spencer's book.

Whether or not you read this book along with Ibrahim's, The Truth About Muhammad is a terrible but enlightening look at one of the most important figures of world history.

Highly recommended.

This book was informative for me. While many non-Muslims know a little something about Muhammad, this book provides a lot of historical fact and, more importantly, context. While some have accused the author of taking facts out of context, he repeatedly explains the circumstances and historical backdrop. What's important for us today, is how he connects Muhammad's words (or Allah's)and the hadith to both radical Islam and, to a certain extent, the ambivalence of the Muslim communities who dare not publicly condemn terror attacks committed in the name of Islam.
Most religions have corrupted their founders' teachings over time (Christians, Buddhists,etc.), but the foundations of those religions were not based on violence, assassination and intolerance.
Even if one opines that Muhammad was merely a man of his time, then that time has long passed. There are too many who want to return to that anachronistic historical context; I think that's the point of the book.

This is a very informative and worthwhile book. Mr. Spencer has produced a scholarly and well documented work. I did not get the impression that this book was written for the purpose to be hostile to Islam, but to expose the necessary historical truth, however unflattering it is, so we can better understand the present. It is too bad that Messrs Bush Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz did not get a chance read a book like this before they plunged our nation into a military adventure in the Islamic world. I hope whoever occupies the White House after 2009 takes some the time off the current campaign trail to read it, but that is probably wishful thinking.

The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion by Robert Spencer is a must read for any westerner trying to understand Islam. The strength of this biography of the founder of Islam is in the source material, which is Islamic. The author opened this reader's eyes to the influence of 7th century tribalism in even today's adherents of Islam. This book points out clearly and with good scholarship that the founder of Islam has been elevated to the status of demi-god, in the sense that to criticize Muhammad, the prophet of Islam chosen by God, is therefore to criticize God himself. If anyone has a problem with this biography they are obligated to respond to it with the same level of scholarship. A must read to understand the place of Islam in the 21st century.

Think again! If all you know, about Islam, is that it is the religion of an oppressed people, or that it is a religion that was hijacked by a few loony charismatic jihadists think again. You need to get educated especially in this day in age where we do not expect new Americans to assimilate themselves to our way of life here in the States. They are growing in number and strength...so wake up.

For anyone on a quest to better understand Islam based on the Qur'an, distant historical events, and Muslim thinking outside the west, this work is a good place to start. Yes, the book is an idictment of the founder of the religion and its seventh century history. However, documentation and footnoting are extensive and the author quotes Muslim sources themselves, including the acknowledged principal biographer of the prophet. The quotes used in this book attributed to the prophet are entirely consistent with a translation of the Qur'an which I have also studied.

Having said this, there must be an explanation of what "moderate" Muslims believe and how they got to a place so far removed from the one pictured in this book. If you are looking for "fair and balanced" this is not the book. When I find it, I will review it.

Ever argue with someone re the disgusting violence, sexism, and racism contained in the Koran only to have them say "where does it say THAT?" or "Have you ever read the Koran?" Well, read this book and you can answer them. Although "The Truth about Muhammad" only contains excerpts, they are well CITED and discussed in both ancient and modern context. After reading this book the primary thought I had is that, similar to what Christians did by creating the "New Testament," thus toning down a lot of violent ideas that are not remotely consonant with our era, Muslims NEED to do the same thing ASAP! That is create a "New Koran," toning way down the violence and hate - thus depriving radicals of their toxic justifications for mass murder. Also, at the same time, possibly making the best parts of this book more accessible to non-Muslims. However, I see no hint of this happening, perhaps it will take a mushroom cloud.

Vary informative and using their own books and their history to expose them without political correctness that destroys and distorts the truth in this day and age, a must read.
Thank you Mr Spencer

Islam is a revealed religion that derives exclusively from what Muhammad, Islam's seventh century founder, alleged Allah said were the rules for living and how Muhammad lived his life and instructed others to live. It is impossible to have an accurate understanding about Islam without understanding all that is alleged to have been said and done by Muhammad. Robert Spencer's book titled "The Truth About Muhammad" is a dead-on accurate and concise way to learn the full truth about Muhammad's sordid, violent history. Knowledge of the that history suffices to give most readers all the knowledge they need to know about the World's deadliest, most deceitful, and inherently violent religion. Readers will come to understand that while many Muslims are just like you and I in that they would prefer to live their lives in peace, peaceful Muslims do not become that way because of Islam, but in spite of the religion. Robert Spencer's book is candid and gives no quarter to political correctness or cowardice. He tells it like it is and it is a story you need to know. Know Muhammad and you know Islam. To know Islam is to understand that we must resist its determined, ominous advance in any legitimate way we can.

An important and informative view of the founder of one of the world's important religions. It provides for a better understanding of the radical element and movement worldwide against a background and understanding of the original culture and mores. A must read for anyone wishing to comprehend and become educated in the current war of civilizations.

I was concerned as Robert Spencer is known to have a strong opinion, some would say agenda. My background is that of a Christian who has read a few books on Islam and the Koran. I found this book to be interesting and balanced, providing historical context of the time and circumstances of the Koran and Muhammad. Provides a good foundation for those seeking to better understand.

Until the publication of Robert Spencer's, "The Truth About Muhammad," most people in the west have had no easy access to an understanding of the basic constructs of the Koran or the origins of Muslim faith. Spencer provides a singularly useful primer for the uninformed. He not only offers a concise overview of key elements of the Muslim holy book but provides context through a variety of other sources, including Muslim history and Muhammad's biography. While Spencer's detractors offer a variety of other writings offering quotes suggesting that Muhammad was a man of peace and compassion, the strong contradictory evidence which emerges from Spencer's research shows that Muhammad was a misogynist, thug and brutal warlord who advocated death or dhimmitude as the only acceptable alternatives to his beliefs. A few "moderate" Muslim organizations have come out with milk-toast condemnations of jihad and misogyny but actions speak much louder than words. Until the majority of the world's 1.9 billion "peaceful" Muslim faithful protest in the streets against the violence done to kafirs, apostates, women and innocent Muslims in the name of Allah, Spencer cannot modify his conclusions. The death sentence pronounced against Spencer and other authors needs to be lifted. In addition, a general fatwa proclaimed by the highest Sunni and Shiite authorities, advocating free speech in all its forms, is necessary before the rest of the world can consider the idea that Spencer is wrong when he states, "The words and deeds of Muhammad have been moving Muslims to commit acts of violence for fourteen hundred years now. They are not going to disappear in our lifetimes; nor can they be negotiated away." "The Truth About Muhammad" convinces me that only Muslims can bring an end to the continuation of their centuries of violence by re-interpreting and condemning some of their most basic and violent beliefs.

Robert Spencer manages to stay above those who revert to emotional rages for or against Muhammad by staying very close the the Qu'ran and the Hadith in his arguments. He uses extensive quotations rather generalities as he reveals Mohammad was a warrior who in the main gave no quarter to non muslims. Time and again he points out that when Mohammad acted in a manner contrary to his previous statements he would dismiss the discrepancy by claiming that he had a "revelation." The arguments are logicall laid out but the end result is a picture of Muhammad as one who can not be broadly imitated without disasterous results for those of other religions, atheists, and eventually for Muslims themselves. Despite the calm logic and rational approach to the study of Muhammad, the book is very alarming. In the main Muhammad led a very violent life, advocated violence toward infidels and saw women as property. I think it is impossible to read this book and think of Islam as a religion of peace if Muhammad is taken as the model.

Too bad bill maher and ol' christingle in my leg" matthews and others like them aren't forced via waterboarding to read this and acknowledge just what a sewer religion they're defending (or not attacking as they do Christians and all other religions). Mohammed was a piece of ship and here's his picture.

I found this book to be extremely well-researched, intelligently presented, and surprisingly readable for such a weighty subject. He also offers intelligent solutions at the end of the book.

I was particularly interested in this book because I am an American Jew living in Israel for thirteen years, and feel the effect of Islam on my life. While a tiny minority of my interactions with Muslim-Arabs have been negative (and even those have been relatively minor), such as the time a pre-teen Arab-Muslim pretended to shoot me with his toy machine gun in the middle of downtown Jerusalem while his parents looked me in the eye and snickered, the vast majority of interactions ranged from neutral to friendly.

So what does that have to do with Spencer's book?

The neutral and friendly actions were almost always with not-very-committed Muslims. (To contrast, in my negative experience, the mother of the boy was wearing a head veil, so I assume she's a committed Muslim.)This fits in with Spencer's research. Countless times, I've encountered Arab-Muslims who would truly like to live in peace. None of them were particularly religious--according to the standards of Islam. (For example, one attended the sunrise prayer religiously, but ignored the other four daily prayers. Or others fast during Ramadan, but rarely pray or do anything else religious.) Several of these Arab-Muslims even stated that if the so-called Palestinians would ever get their own state, they would still choose to stay in Israel, even ruled by a Jewish government (against Sharia law)! These moderate Arab-Muslims just want to work and have enough to support their families comfortably, have the access (which they have in Israel) to quality health care and education. In other words, they want a normal life. Many of them have aims similiar to those in the West. Who is preventing these Arab-Muslims from living a normal life?
The Arab-Muslim leaders who DO religiously follow the Koran. This is Spencer's point.

My point is this: the average Muslim moderate is one who anyways picks and chooses what to believe from the Koran. If he frees himself to ignore the call to prayer five times a day, or to fast during Ramadan, etc., he automatically frees himself to ignore Islamic dictates to hate, harm, or kill non-Muslims. Up until the time I read this book, I wasn't sure whether this was simply my own (and therefore, limited) experience, or whether Islam is inherently incompatible with values such as tolerance and mercy. Spencer shows that the only way for a Muslim to be a merciful, tolerant person is for the Muslim to ignore a significant amount of Mohammed's teachings and to ignore Mohammed's personal example, essentially preventing that Muslim from being a totally dedicated Muslim.

Pre-Mohammed: Jewish sources relate how wandering Jews were sometimes received very nicely by nomadic Arabs because the Arabs viewed the Jews as distant relatives, commenting on how Ishmael and Isaac were brothers. This desire to find a common bond regardless of religious differences was changed by Mohammed. Spencer clearly shows this transition, although he doesn't give this particular example of pre-Islamic friendly relations.

By the way, to those who accuse Spencer of bigotry, please note that had he wanted to simply bash Islam, he could've thrown in a lot about present-day Islamic practice, such as female genital mutilation or "honor" killings. Yet he totally ignored these horrors due to his focus on original documents (presumably, they didn't mention these horrors, or else he would've included them). He could also have said quite a bit about the harrassment Christian-Arabs presently undergo from Muslim-Arabs, something rarely addressed in Western media. I think his avoidance of easy emotional incitement shows integrity and sincerity.

To further illustrate Spencer's conclusions, look at fundamentalists in other religions as opposed to Muslim fundamentalists: In Israel, when a Jewish girl marries a Muslim-Arab, she is sought out and rescued (IF she indicates a desire to be rescued). She's given free counseling, housing, food, and legal services. (One Jewish girl sought rescue after seeing two of her Muslim-Arab sisters-in-law punished by being burned alive. She didn't say what their alledged sin was.) The people organizing these rescues are Jewish "fundamentalists", usually labelled as ultra-Orthodox, Haredi, or Hassidic. For Orthodox Jews, intermarriage is a big sin, yet they obviously treat these girls with a lot of understanding. (You may not agree with their views on intermarriage, but the point is, THEY think she's done something terrible, yet they still treat her with a great deal of kindness, as according to the dictates of their religion and their fundamentalist leaders.) I believe Christian (and Mormon, and Bahai, and Buddhist, etc.) fundamentalists would also behave as compassionately. When a Muslim girl marries a Jew, or even if she marries a Muslim whom her family thinks is the wrong kind of Muslim, she is sought out and killed--by Muslim fundamentalists following the dictates of their religion and their fundamentalist leaders.

That is Spencer's point. There's something inherently imbalanced in Islam itself. And if we want to stop Arab terror and human rights abuse, we need to deal with the root of the problem: Islam.

Much of history tries to whitewash the history of muhammad, painting him as a loving, tolerant man, a man who bestowed the first constitution upon the people of the world. The truth of muhammad is far more bloody, violent, and tyrannical, and the "constitution" he created favored him and his followers over everyone else. Muhammad was a man who took what he wanted, then created justification for it from his personal god, and a man who slaughtered hordes of people for merely rejecting his self-proclaimed prophethood. He then lionized himself as the "perfect example" for all of islam, which is why we have the problems with islam that we see today. This book couldn't be any more timely.

What an excellent historical analysis of Muhammad and the origins of Islam. Interestingly, this "prophet" conquered many other tribes and started those traditions (i.e. beheading, forced conversion, etc.) that are so evident in today's Islamic world. The fact that this is sourced exclusively from Moslem sources makes it even more credible. Most importantly, it provides a powerful explanation for current day Moslem's, and their intolerance toward "unbelievers."

Very informative book about the founder of Islam. With politicians and the media constantly repeating that Islam is a religion of peace but constantly seeing acts of violence in the name of Islam, I decided to learn more about the religion. This book delivers the facts about Islam from it's most reliable sources.

Just finished reading this book. I find the book extremely useful especially since almost any and every claim made in the book about Muhammad has been backed by the most trusted and oldest of the Islamic sources and traditions. And above all, Robert Spencer tries to relate modern events and happenings/speeches committed by devout Muslim followers as being supported by doing or by speech of Muhammad himself or one of his earliest disciples. Read this book if not for any other reason but to understand the worldview of the Islamic countries and crimes perpetrated by radical Islamists.