Quote:
Originally Posted by Skybird
Never forget where the Quran comes from: it is the collection of speeches that Muhammad made to justify himself and to motivate and fire up his followers to follow him into the fights and battles he brought upon others (almost 70 wars and predatory raids he waged in his life as prohet) to subjugate them, and make himself unavailable to criticism of follwers who would risk death since criticism of the leader was equal to religious heresy.
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You're half right. The Koran is indeed a collection of Muhammad's justifications for his own actions, but he was much more than a military leader.
He got his start as the peaceful arbiter of disputes in Medina. He unified the Arab tribes that had constantly fought among themselves before he came along. He was a brilliant political leader. And yes, he was a military leader as well - quite an effective one too.
The variety of roles he played in his life is the reason behind one of the Koran's most defining features - it's inconsistency. All religious texts contradict themselves every once in a while, but the Koran does it more than most. As Muhammad's life, his role in his society, and his needs changed, his teachings changed. Sometimes peaceful coexistence and tolerance were the order of the day, sometimes all-out war was the order of the day. As a result, the teachings in the Koran can be used to justify a wide variety of actions, many of which are contradictory.