As Muhammad gained more followers, his story seemed less like that of a random rambler that you see at a bus station, and more like how matters would play out if that rambler had resources, connections, and a cadre of enablers.

In time, his story would go from concerning to horrifying, and escalate from there.

Though Muhammad gained followers, he was increasingly antagonized by his fellow Quraysh, whose ancestors he has disrespected. It got to the point that they openly antagonized him while he was praying at the Kaaba. Muhammad was so upset by this that he threatened them after he was done praying, then promptly left.

At that point, the Quraysh decided that matters were getting out of hand, so they discussed amongst themselves how they would deal with Muhammad.

What happened after that was an affair that made Muhammad look so bad that Muslims today deal with it by pretending that it didn’t actually happen. This would be the affair that has come to be known as “The Satanic Verses”.

The Quraysh presented Muhammad with a bargain: They would present him with influence, wives, wealth, and treatment for his demons if, and only if, Muhammad would revere Al Lat, Manat, and Al Uzza, the three goddesses that he had previously reviled, for only one year.

Accepting the offer would have amounted to compromising with his professed convictions, in exchange for worldly gain. This would have disqualified Muhammad as a prophet.

The expectation for a prophet would be to reject such a proposal outright. But interestingly, Muhammad thought about it. His hesitation was telling. And whatever his answer would have been, it would have been deliberate, by virtue of the consideration that went into it.

So, consider what it meant when he accepted it. Because he did. After all his talk about being monotheistic, he returned to polytheism, and expressly worshipped the three goddesses he previously described as clothing-challenged. Perhaps their outfits of choice were as Islamic as the burka?

The Quraysh were thrilled, because they wanted peace. However, some of Muhammad’s followers were alienated, because Muhammad went back on his monotheism, after years of being passionate about it. Then, and only then, did Muhammad realize the mistake that he made. So, he broke the treaty that he had previously agreed to.

His excuse was that Satan had cast a spell on his speaking that made him accept the bargain, and subsequently honor the three goddesses. While this is already a ridiculous claim, it has terrible implications for every other teaching that came out of Muhammad’s mouth.

How many prophets have ever made the claim that Satan made them say something? And how many of Muhammad’s other teachings were also Satanic?

Muslims today deal with this scandal by claiming that it was in an “unreliable hadith”, and therefore, they act like it probably didn’t happen. However, this is a very recent notion, in light of the populurization of a novel which brought attention to this incident. Prior to Salman Rushdie, that Muhammad accepted the Quraysh bargain was commonly accepted among Muslims.

But Muhammad actually disqualified himself even worse in light of Islamic teaching. Muhammad himself taught that it was an unforgivable sin to ascribe partners to his own god, Allah. When Muhammad worshipped Allah’s three daughters, he committed a sin that he himself would teach wouldn’t be forgiven. This means that if Islam is true, Muhammad had condemned himself to hell.

That anyone could notice this and still trust Muhammad’s teachings with their salvation is baffling.

In the year 619, Muhammad’s protective uncle, Abu Talib, would die. As he was dying, the Quraysh would approach him for one last attempt to form a treaty with Muhammad through him. The intention was peace. Muhammad would refuse.

Abu Talib protected Muhammad, in spite of all the trouble he caused, though Abu Talib himself wasn’t a Muslim. Muhammad and another Muslim was there as Abu Talib was dying. The Muslim claimed that he heard Abu Talib convert to Islam with his final whispered words. But Muhammad said that because he couldn’t make out what he had said, his conversion didn’t happen, therefore, Abu Talib went to hell.

Such was the respect Muhammad had for the person who did as much as he did to blunt the consequences for Muhammad’s disgraceful behavior.

But there’s a disturbing implication there for Muslims today. If Muhammad had to hear someone’s conversion for it to be accepted, what does that mean for Muslims today? Muhammad is dead, so he couldn’t hear them when they spoke the shahaddah, the expression which a person speaks with sincerity when converting to Islam. Is it impossible for anyone today to become a Muslim?

At around that time, tension was building between Mecca and the nearby city of Medina. With the passing of Abu Talib, Muhammad perceived himself as politically vulnerable.

In light of this, Muhammad decided to try to consolidate political power to himself. By making a treaty with Medina, against his own people, the Meccans. And it was a treaty of war.

Muhammad had committed treason against his own people. What a piece of shit.

When the Meccans discovered this, Muhammad decided that it was time to skip town. To be sure he got away, he left the first person he had converted, Ali, in his own bed as a decoy.

He could have used a bunch of stones as his decoy. But no, he instead used the first person converted by his preaching. Again, what a piece of shit.

Muhammad’s flight to Medina was in 622 AD, which was marked as the first year in the Islamic calendar.

Yep, the Islamic calendar began with despicable acts of treachery and cowardice. What a start that Muhammad’s religion was off to!

But Muhammad wasn’t done. There’s going to be a Part 4.

Back to Part 2

To Part 4