Historian Tom Holland (Credit: Channel 4)
Television historian Tom Holland is receiving a multitude
of criticisms and threats following his in-depth investigation into
Islam. After examining the faith and its early texts, he came to some
fascinating — and apparently enraging — conclusions in a documentary he
produced for British television.
In a program called, “Islam: The Untold Story,” Holland claimed that
there is little evidence written surrounding the life of the Prophet
Muhammad — the central figure in the Islamic faith. Additionally, he
noted that the Koran makes only one reference to Mecca, the religion’s
holiest city. These sentiments, of course, cast doubts upon Islam and
are, thus, controversial to say the least.
For those assuming that Holland is bent on disproving Islam’s beginnings, consider a portion of a review on the film that was written by The Guardian’s John Crace:
Holland is no attention-seeking, neo-Conservative, Niall
Ferguson lookalike. Indeed, I’d guess his heart bleeds liberalism and,
to my western sceptic eyes, his contention that the Arab empire gave
birth to Islam, rather than the traditionally held belief that it was
the other way round, seemed well-argued, fascinating – I learned a lot
of history I didn’t know in a short space of time – and uncontentious. I
would find it a great deal more surprising if a religious text written
1,400 years ago turned out to be wholly accurate. But for those who
believe the Qur’an is the word of God passed directly to man and that
inconvenient lacunae of knowledge are merely events that have yet to be
properly explained, then Holland’s view is almost certainly blasphemous. More>>>>>>>>
