Рет қаралды 9,811
We have been tracing all of the succession of Muhammads which existed from the time of the Ugarites in 1400 BC, right up to the 7th and 8th centuries. But now we look even further, into the 12th and 13th centuries to discover this title still being used in that same area of the world.
Benjamin of Tuleda, from Spain, was a great Jewish traveler between the years 1165-1173 AD.
He traveled around the peninsula of Arabia, even up the Red Sea, passing all of the known towns and cities and writing about them.
Curiously, while traveling through the Red Sea, he never stopped nor mentioned the city of Mecca, which by the 12th century should have been at the center of the world, according to what Muslims tell us. Yet, he didn't seem to know about it.
Nonetheless, he continued all around the Arab world, including Syria, Iraq and Jordan, and went throughout the Mediterranean world as well.
When he visited Baghdad, he met the Caliph Al-Abbasi, who not only knew all about Israel, but knew how to read and speak Hebrew as well, and befriended him.
This strong relationship with the Jews and with Israel goes against everything we know about Islam and the Jews from within the Islamic Traditions.
Benjamin mentions that Al-Abbasi was regarded by the men of Islam as "Mohammed", and when they came to Baghdad to do the Haj, they kissed his robe, believing that he was Allah's holy presence on earth, much like the earlier Jewish Exilarchs.
So, it seemed that in the 12th century, this caliph, Al-Abbasi, was the focus of their pilgrimage, and was their "Mohammed".
He mentioned that the Jews and the "Mohammedans" (notice that he doesn't use the word "Muslims" here) were to pay allegiance to the Caliph Al-Abbasi, or they would receive 100 lashes.
At this time the Jewish Exilarch, Ali, was the Vice-regent (the administrative deputy) to the Caliph Al-Abbasi, who came out once a year as Mohammad.
Consequently, the vice-regent Ali, who ruled all year long, actually had more power than Mohammed the caliph, since he ruled only for one day.
This relationship between Ali and Mohammed, it seems, continued right up until the Mongols came and conquered that whole area of Iraq and Syria in 1219-1221, and usurped their power.
So, the major question we need to ask is when then did Islam as we know it really begin? Did it begin with the Abbasids after the 8th century, as we have assumed up to now, or did it begin much later, sometime after the 12th century, or even as late as the Ottoman dynasty, and then redacted back to the 7th century?
You decide....
© Pfander Centre for Apologetics & Polemics - US, 2024
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