User blog comment:LurkerLordB/Religion in a world without Christianity/@comment-1777104-20120424214749/@comment-1777104-20120425021603

For what it's worth, this link gives the background and rise of Islam. Its sources are from major encyclopedias such as Britanica. There seems to have been a large population of Jews in the area as well as Chistians. Three fifths of the confederation at Medina, the army of followers pledged to follow the one God named Allah, was Jewish (3 of five 'tribes'). Christians are mentioned, but some syncronization of all the religions Mohammed had come in contact with is likely.

I base my analysis of the religious history on the religious texts of the three religions, so if I am wrong I guess the experts can sue me. Mohammed claimed descent from Ishmael and he was definitely Semitic and thus probably among those that claimed descent from the patriarch. When you compare the histories in the accepted texts, it is clear that the Quran draws heavily upon the account in the Genesis, a book sacred to both Christians and Jews. The Law as found in Exodus and Leviticus is reflected throughout the Quran as well. Teachings from the New Testament, though are foreign to the Islam. The Quran has stories of Jesus, but only so as to deny what was taught by the Christians.

It is therefore odd that argument should be made that it is based on the Christian religion. Though it is reasonable to assume that Mohammed would use what he knew, to say that his writings and his religion would not exist without Christianity is pressing failing to see the significance of his dedication to Allah, the "first among the gods" in polytheistic and immoral Arabia. Allah had followers that swore he was the only God before Mohammed claimed the message.