Islam FAQ
Introduction & Methodology
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Of necessity, this FAQ on Islam does not paint a complete picture of the full breadth and depth
of Islamic history and theology. More complete works on the subject can fill numerous bookcases,
but there is not room for that much information here. This is only supposed to be a basic
overview in an effort to introduce people to new concepts. Because of that, a great deal has to
be skipped or explained only briefly.
In the scholarship of Islam, there are two general paths. One is called "traditionalist" and the
other is called "revisionist." The former tends to confine itself to Muslim sources and takes
them at face value, accepting as true whatever they claim to be true. The premises of Islam, as
a religion, are accepted and inform what is written.
The basic method is, in a word, ascription - the entire body of literature which emerged during
the second and third centuries are believed to faithfully transmit historical events, including
the life and sayings of Muhammad.
The "revisionist" path for Islam, on the other hand, makes use of a variety of critical and
scholarly methods which have been used in the West for decades in the study of history and
religion. Evidence from archaeology, epigraphy (changes in Arabic letterforms), numismatics (the
study of coins), and non-Muslim sources are researched and compared.
Scholars who work from the revisionist perspective are not part of a monolithic school - they
offer conflicting accounts of Muslim history and often disagree on many issues. What they do not
disagree on, however, is the importance of scholarly methods: the standard tools used in the West.
Those who support the traditionalist method with Islam do not, in general, make direct criticism
of the methods used by "revisionists" or the evidence which those revisionists offer. Instead,
what is attacked is the conclusions drawn from those methods and evidence - and whenever
possible, they simply ignore what the revisionists have to say.
The documents in this Islam FAQ generally provide information from both the traditionalist and
revisionist perspectives. Sympathy lies with the skeptical and critical methods offered by
revisionists, but it would be a mistake not to also include the basic beliefs held by Muslims
which they have adopted through Muslim tradition.
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