The Hidden Origins of Islam:

Research + Dead-End?
Early in 2010, a collective book directed by Karl-Heinz Ohlig and Gerd-Rudiger Puin was
published in New York under the rather ambitious title: The Hidden Origins of Islam. New Research
into Its Early History (Prometheus Books, 200, !0" pages # # trad$ Die dunklen Anfnge. Neue
orschungen !ur Entstehung und fr"hen #eschichte des Islam, %erlag &ans '(hiler, 200")$
There is no need to present Pin! He is "ell-kno"n #or directing the research arond the
pictres o# #rag$entary pieces o# % Koranic te&ts ' he "as able to bring back #ro$ (anaa )*e$en+
, these pictres, and Pin-s related investigations, have yet to be $ade available in a pblished
"ork! .s #or Karl-Heinz Ohlig, he began to take interest in /sla$ since 2000! He is a 0e"
Testa$ent scholar strongly in#lenced by the theology o# liberal Protestantis$! His positions are
shared by t"o essential contribtors o# the book, na$ely 1olker Popp and, to a lesser e&tent,
Pro#essor 2hristoph 3&enberg!
/n accord "ith the speci#ic otlook o# its three athors, the book develops a
precisely delineated thesis relative to the origins o# /sla$! They contend that #or close to t"o
centries, 4sli$s $ay not have been % 4sli$s, ' bt rather 2hristians having retained a $ore
athentic vision o# the #aith )si$ilar to the vie" in "hich /sla$, still today, sees 5ess+! 6t the
7estion raised here is not one o# designations! 2ertainly, ntil the 8th centry .!9!, the ter$s
% islam ' and % muslimun ' si$ply $eant % sb$ission ' and % sb$itted! ' 6ack then,
% 4sli$s ' called the$selves % muhajirun, ' literally % those "ho $ade the Hegira ' )to 4edina
in :22 "ith 4oha$$ed, bt historically not #ro$ 4ecca , hajr, root hjr, to migrate+! /nterestingly
enogh, 1olker Popp see$s to be ignoring precisely that point o# sel#-na$ing )see p! ;0+! The
7estion rather #ocses on the alleged e&istence o# a pri$itive 2hristian $ove$ent the athors
re#erred to as % pre-0icaea .rabic 2hristianity, ' that is, predating the 2oncil o# 0icaea in <2=
.!9! .ccording to the three athors, "ho rally the$selves to the $anner o# thoghts developed
dring the Aufklrung nder 1oltaire and others, today-s 2hristian #aith "old si$ply be the
#abrication o# that ;th centry 2oncil, "hile a pre-0icaea .rabic $ove$ent "old have
propagated throghot the centries the vision /sla$ "ill precisely have regarding 5ess , their
pre$ise being that /sla$ cold only have been born in an e&clsively .rabic setting! One $ight
i$$ediately retort to the #ace o# sch a shaky hank o# postlates that, "ay back then, there shold
be no reason to #ind the na$e o# 5ess in .rabic altered or $isspelled in the Koran )yet, one
al"ays #inds >ssa instead o# Yass>+! 3et s then proceed by considering their arg$ents!
The Argument Contended by Christoph Luxenberg
O# this spposed .rabic heterodo& 2hristianity, one #inds no concrete indications
"hatsoever , e&cept #or the ones the athors "ant to see in a note inscribed pon the 9o$e o# the
?ock in 5ersale$! /t is here that 2hristoph 3&enberg kicks in! Kno"n #or his book Die syro-
aramische Lesart des Koran )pblished in 200;+, this (yriac scholar )he took a pen na$e+ "anted
to sho" that the te&ts in "hich consists "hat is kno"n today as the Koran are in #act the
translation o# original "ritings in .ra$aic )or (yriac+! .d$ittedly, so$e obscre verses can be
$ade better sense o# once stripped #ro$ their diacritics )"hich the $ost ancient Koranic te&ts are
bere#t o#+, the bare letters that can be read in a variety o# "ays, ths allo"ing a reading in
$eaning#l accord "ith .ra$aic! Hal# o# the e&a$ples pt #or"ard by 3&enberg are geninely
persasive@ the other hal# are not! /n e##ect, "hat he actally de$onstrates is not the e&istence o#
a predating Koranic te&t in .ra$aic, bt si$ply the #act that the athor o# the #olios o# the #tre
Koran )or the athors a$ong "ho$ a preacher e$erges+ "as in#sed "ith .ra$aic cltre! He
sre e&presses hi$sel# in .rabic to "in .rabs, bt he thinks in .ra$aic!
This analysis actally leads s astray #ro$ the postlate o# an e&clsively .rabic birth
setting #or Islam )or first Islam+! *et, 3&enberg-s sbse7ent investigations take on another
direction on accont o# a gra##ito, #ond on the 9o$e o# the ?ock )in"ard side+, "hich $akes
$ention o# the "ord % muhammad! ' Ho"ever, this shold not be read, according to 3&enberg,
as a proper na$e )Mohammed in English+! ?ather, it shold be nderstood as a verbal #or$
signi#ying % praised ' and addressed toA 5ess! This 5ess "old only be recognized to be a
% prophet ' and % $essenger, ' as the inscription indicates )see elo!+, obviosly agreeing "ith
the Koranic te&t itsel#! Ho"ever, this thesis i$plies the neglect o# a s$all detailB the Koran re#ers to
5ess eleven ti$es as Messiah, a title "hose $eaning signi#icantly di##ers #ro$ the #nction and
de#inition o# a messenger or a "ro"het! Chy then o$it to $ention itD /s it becase it actally trns
ot to be i$possible to e&plain sch a title in the reconstrcted #ra$e"ork o# a % pri$itive .rabic
2hristianity 'D
Here is ho" 3&enberg translates the inscription EMuhammad#un$ *adu Llahi !a-
rasuluhuFB EPraised be the (ervant o# God HI 5essJ and HI he also isJ His $essengerF )p! 12K+!
Ho"ever, this rendition is hardly patent , the e&pression E!a-rasuluhuF sort o# gets in the "ay!
The sal rendering si$ply goes asB E4oha$$ed is the servant o# God and His $essenger!F The
#act that % (ervant o# God ' happens to be a biblical e&pression applicable to 5ess )o"ing to its
signi#ication in /saiah =2-=<+ is not an arg$ent in #avor o# the #irst interpretation! This title "as in
no "ay a novelty #or 2hristian .rabs! /t has inspired the 2hristian na$e >Adallah, "hich "as very
co$$on a$ong the$ be#ore /sla$!
.d$ittedly, to read % muhammad ' as a participle $ay 7ite "ell agree "ith "hat $ay
have been its csto$ary se in .rabic be#ore it beca$e a proper na$e! 6t #ro$ there, to psh
back the creation o# this na$e to $ore than a centry, is to take too #ar o# a stepL .ll the $ore i#
one considers the #act that conte$porary non-4sli$ sorces already $ake $ention o# it, "hich
begs the 7estionB "here do they hold that % 4ah$et ' "as a leader o# .rabic "ar #ro$D The
note"orthy absence o# that na$e in /sla$ic $ilies ntil the years :80 actally trns ot to $ake
per#ect sense "ithot resort to the hypothesis o# a creationB obvios reasons led the #irst 2aliphs to
% #orget ' the period o# their dependence to 5deo-0azarenes and "ith it, the $e$ory o# their "ar
leader "ho died in :<2!
6esides, ho" cold the hypothesis o# a pre-0icaea Arabic 2hristianity not be in evident
contradiction "ith the $any indications pointing to connections "ith the Aramaic 2hristian "orld,
ele$ents o# "hich Pro#essor 3&enberg gives hi$sel# credentialsD .nd there is another $aMor
di##iclty, relative to the 9o$e o# the ?ock itsel#, "hich .l#red-3ois de PrN$are )O 200:+ actally
addresses and lays open in his o"n contribtion to the book! On page 1P1, "ithot appearing to do
so and "ith his sal kindness and erdition, he calls attention to another inscription o# the 9o$e
along the ot"ard side by the northern doorB
+Ce believe in God and in "hat has co$e do"n pon muhammad, and in that "hich the
prophets have received #ro$ their 3ord@
"e $ake no distinction, and to Hi$, "e are indebted!F
/n this te&t )"hich appears today as a co$pond o# verses 1<: and 18= in sra 2, Al-
%a&arah+, the ter$ % muhammad ' can only be $ade sense o# as a proper na$e! Hence#orth, "e
can reasonably "onder abot the actal credibility o# a di##erent $eaning attribted to the sa$e
ter$ )% muhammad '+ as #ond in the other inscription on the in"ard #ace o# the sa$e 9o$eL .re
there any credible reasons to think that the inscriptions #ond along the ot"ard #ace o# the sa$e
9o$e $ay have been altered )e&cept #or the na$e o# >.bd al-4alik, "hich really "as replaced "ith
that o# a sccessor, .l-4a$n+D
The ther Arguments
/n the #ace o# these $aMor obMections, ho" $ch is actally le#t to spport the thesis o# a
% pri$itive .rabic 2hristianity 'D One $ight "ish to appeal to the theological discssions debated
prior to the Kth centry, and "hich dealt "ith the de#initions o# canonical #or$lations and "ays o#
e&pressing )in varios langages+ the 4ystery o# 5ess the 2hrist and (avior a$idst the rising, on
the one hand, o# % 4onophysite ' tendencies )$ini$izing the reality o# 2hrist-s h$an natre+@
and, on the other, o# % 9iophysite ' or % 0estorian ' tendencies )insisting on the t"o % natres
Q Hypostases ' "ithot kno"ing ho" they coe&ist in 2hrist+! Ho"ever, never did these debates pt
in 7estion the general recognition o# the historical #igre o# 5ess as (avior evincing God-s visit
and revelation to His people! To see therein antagonistic conceptions o# the 2hristian #aith is as
#ritless as conceiving o# the $any Mridical schools in /sla$ as thogh they reslted in varios
/sla$ic % #aiths ' or antagonistic interpretations o# the Koran!
.re the #e" other arg$ents $ore convincingD .ppeal is $ade to the #act that .rab
invaders "ere decently "elco$ed in Egypt, "here the 6yzantines had, #or a variety o# reasons,
broght en$ity pon the$selves! The de#iciency o# the arg$ent appears all the $ore pon
considering other key historical #acts, starting "ay back to year :;0 .!9! )dring "hich the #irst
#orti#ied .rabo-4sli$ $ilitary posts settled in the region+, as does 4agdi Raki in his 'istoire des
(o"tes )Paris, 200=+! He re$arks thatB E.ccording to 5ohn, bishop o# 0ikio and "itness o# the
.rab invasion, >.$r perpetated the slaghter o# a large n$ber o# people in 6ehnasa, Say$,
.le&andriaA inclding civilians "ho did not take part in any co$bat!F The savage killings o# $any
people by 4sli$ troops and sbse7ent anti-.rab prisings that colored in blood the #irst centries
o# /sla$ic occpation do not 7ite spport the book-s thesis!
/n a si$ilar #ashion, Popp tries to avoid the obMection o# the recrrent ca$paigns against
6yzanti$ co$$issioned by the #irst 2aliphsB "hy "old spposed (hristians go and attack other
2hristiansD To Msti#y the deter$ination )#or hi$ ine&plicable+ to destroy 6yzanti$, he appeals
several ti$es to the desire #or revenge Eborro"ed #ro$ the PersiansF by the ne" .rab $asters o#
the 0ear-East!
/n the sa$e "ay, the .rab-driven characteristic o# /sla$ co$es as a proble$ in so #ar as it
asserted itsel# very early on )at least, since the end o# >T$ar-s reign+! Or Ger$an athors do not
see$ to nderstand "hy did the proMect o# an Arab spre$acy appear so early and there#ore take
as a late #actor the co$ing into play o# this ethnic di$ension! 6t, have they recognized the
4essianic idea o# a % people chosen to rle the "orld in the na$e o# God, ' "hich is #nda$ental in
the KoranD /t is tre that at the ti$e o# the Koranic predications, the .rabs "ere not yet designated
as the ones chosen by God in vie" o# the #l#ill$ent o# sch an end! They "ere then only assigned
to assist the tre % sons o# /srael ' as their cosins, the % sons o# /sh$ael! '
!nescapab"e Dead-Ends
Sinally, again according to 1olker Popp, the n$is$atic "old spport his thesis! (o$e
.#rican 8th centry crrencies indicate the #ollo"ingB )on est Deus nisi unus cui non socius alius
similis! Sor hi$, sch an inscription "old be the sign o# % the presence o# 4onophysites,
4onarchians Ha variation o# the #or$erJ, 0estorians H"ho share in the Trinitarian #aith o# both
#or$ersJ and .rians H"ho deny the Trinity and stand in opposition to all othersJ a$ong the
inhabitants o# Hnorthern ro$anJ .#rica ' )p!80+! 0o lessL .nd "hy not a cople e&traterrestrial
aliens tooD 2ertainly, the "ord % trinity ' is not #ond in the 0e" Testa$ent! /t co$es abot as a
conceptalized and, by de#inition, later e&pression! 6t, even so, e&pressions o# Trinitarian #aith
are plenti#l therein! .nd this sa$e 0e" Testa$ent, co$$on to all 2hristians, has never been the
obMect o# dissensions bet"een diverse ecclesial co$$nities! .rians, on the other hand, do not
accept #aith in the Trinity!
.s #or the te&t above 7oted #ro$ the $entioned coinage )there is no *od ut one and 'e
has no associate+, it clearly stands as the "rimiti+e version o# the /sla$ic (hahadah, that is, efore
it incorporated the a##ir$ation o# 4oha$$ed as God-s prophet in place o# % 'e has no associate! '
The #or$er "as rid o# to avoid giving the % /sla$ic creed ' a trinitarian )I < ter$s+ #lavor! 1arios
archeological evidence o# these pri$itive and binary creeds have been #ond , one o# "hich
actally ternary, "ith the $ention o# 4oha$$ed as God-s prophet occrring as the third ter$
)% ,here is no *od ut one and 'e has no associate and 4ha$$ad is 'is messenger - , see Le messie et son "ro"h.te/
200=, t! /, p! ;8P-=00+!
4oreover, to ignore )or at least to avoid $entioning+ "hat the Sathers o# the 2hrch
actally have to say abot the % 0azarenes QEbionites ' is another serios lack o# insight on the
part o# scholars "ho shold trly kno" better! /# one kno"s these te&ts, the idea o# a % pri$itive
.rabic 2hristianity ' beco$es pointless! .nd so it is, i# one analyses "hat is said o# these
% 0azarenes ' in the Koranic te&t, "here so$e $aniplations in their respect cannot be concealed
)an article "as pblished on this sbMect in a Ger$an Mornal #$%+! Cith reason )see p! 1P1+,
.l#red-3ois de PrN$are recalls that )according to the original $eaning in the Koran+, the
designation o# 2hristians is that o# % associates ' )mushrikun+!
/t is also necessary to $ention the contribtion o# (ergio 0oseda relative to the (assanid
in#lence on the .rabic "riting syste$! .t one point, he $akes $ention o# the #irst #or verses o#
sra <0 ar-0m )p! 288+, bt does so #ro$ a non-e&egetical perspective! 4ore than #i#ty years ago
in his translation o# the Koran, ?Ngis 6lachUre had already shed light pon the de#ective and
intentional vo"elization o# these verses in order to divert the attention #ro$ 4oha$$ed-s real
history centered on 5ersale$, and redirect it to"ards 4ecca and its #orged origins o# /sla$ #&%! .s
#or (ergio 0oseda, he is #ocalized on (oth .rabia "here the /sla$ic #iction locates /sla$-s origins,
"hich is 7ite proble$atical! Chy "old 4sli$s have abandoned their )spposed to have been+
(oth-.rabic script and s"itched it "ith the one "e kno" to be 0orth-.rabic #ro$ ancient copies o#
the KoranD He postlates the action o#
+a sel#-proclai$ed co$$ittee o# sages $et "ith the intention o# creating a trly .rabic script, and
"ith $ch good"ill, to provide their o"n people and langage "ith a di##erent script to that o#
nearby peoples!F )p! <01+
E&cept that this .rabic script "as not inventedB it already e&istedL E&a$ples )engravings
and gra##iti+ have been #ond in northern .rabia )(yria, 0egev, etc!+! .nd these archeological
doc$ents clearly predate the /sla$ic era! Chy then shold "e keep pretending, against a
plethora o# over"hel$ing evidence at hand, that the .rabs behind the rising o# proto-/sla$ )or at
least associated "ith it+ ca$e #ro$ sothern .rabiaD Chy so, "hen everything clearly indicates
that their genine li#e setting belongs in northern .rabia, "hich intersects the (yrian region and
s7eezes itsel# in to the .ra$aic "orldD
/n the end, "ith the e&ception o# a cople o# re$arkable contribtions )in particlar, that o#
.!-3! de PrN$are , see here a revie" co$ing p soon+, this collective "ork gives the i$pression o#
developing "hat $ay sond like scienti#ic hypotheses, "hile, in #act, it #ails to rationally accont #or
the$! This state o# a##airs is all the $ore botherso$e that the calling in 7estion o# /sla$ic
rhetorical talks regarding the origins o# /sla$ and o# the Koran needs to be stressed on even $ore,
and so along the lines o# the re$arkable scholarly e##ort pshed #or"ards by several athors! The
pro$ises are not kept! The "orst o# all "old be to bring discredit thereby pon the scholarly vale
o# serios isla$ologic research! 3et s si$ply hope that this "ork "ill not contribte in creating
sch a conterprodctive e##ect in .$erican acade$ic circles!
.s a "hole, one $ay dra" the #ollo"ing t"o conclsionsB
, Even i# the % .rabic ' hall$ark o# the internationalist clai$s pt #or"ard in the na$e o# "hat is
not yet kno"n as % /sla$ ' at the ti$e appear very early )as early as the end o# >T$ar-s reign+,
this % proto-/sla$ ' trns ot to have no .rabic origins!
, 0ever cold this so-called % proto-/sla$ ' have set itsel# in (oth .rabia be#ore circ$stances
actally co$pelled it to #ind re#ge in *athrib-4edina in :22!
Ed-4 Gallez
Translated by (Nbastien ?enalt

Ho$e Page
-. 1 *ens du Li+re - et )a2ar3ens dans le (oran 4 &ui sont les "remiers et 5 &uel titre
les seconds en font-ils "artie 6/ in 7riens (hristianus, 6and P2, 2008 z! 1K;-18:! (ee
also here Hco$ing p soonJ!
-2. 6lachUre ?Ngis, Le (oran, Paris, 1P=K, p! ;2P-;<0! The 7estion is discssed here
Hco$ing p soonJ!