Publication Date
2012
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
David Barr (Committee Member), Awad Halabi (Committee Chair), Mark Verman (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Abstract
Both Western studies of Islam as well as Muslim beliefs assert that the Islamic holy text, the Qur'an, endeavored to inaugurate a new religion, separate and distinct from the Jewish and Christian religions. This study, however, demonstrates that the Qur'an affirms a continuity of beliefs with the earlier revealed texts that suggest that the revelations collected in the Qur'an did not intend to define a distinct and separate religion. By studying the various historical groups named in the Qur'ān-such as the Yahud, Sabi'un, and Nasara-we argue that the use of the term "islam" in the Qur'an relates more to the general action of "submission" to the monotheistic beliefs engaged in by existing Jewish and Nazarene communities within Arabia. To ascertain the religious approach of the Qur'an, this thesis surveys the historical-critical approaches already applied to Historical Jesus Research, and discusses why these methodologies can and should be applied to the study of Islamic Origins. Through this research, a picture emerges of the socio-religious contexts of Muhammad that was consistent with the bulk of the Biblical religious communities named within the Qur'an, rather than in contrast with them. This research situates itself in a broader study of the "Historical Muhammad" and Islamic Origins. Its conclusions lend to some of the Revisionist approaches and theories of the earliest religious orientation of Muhammad's community.
Page Count
114
Department or Program
Humanities
Year Degree Awarded
2012
Copyright
Copyright 2012, all rights reserved. This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.
