I just read your book, “Muhammad”, which is a very interesting read, not only because of the powerful story telling skill, but also because of the awareness of the details of the place, the timing, and the way of thinking, coming from someone who was born a Muslim, but now consider myself agnostic. My question is: What was Muhammad’s true motivation? from my point of view, I think he was one of two things: 1- Someone who actually thought he saw Gabriel, God, Buraq…..etc. 2- A selfish leader who has represented the “ultimate” sales and marketing pitch and product (Fear of death and hopes for eternity). However, I might be off here, because, to play the devil’s advocate, in defense of the first motivation, I don’t think someone who saw shadows will be a great leader who people would listen to, I mean, a leader if anything should have some sense of common sense, and logic. And in defense of the second motive, if he was an evil and he knew it, then I don’t think he would have been as successful as he was for that long simply because he knows that he is not doing the right thing! So to conclude, what do you think Muhammad truly believed? I appreciate your input.
