Cariad said:We can agree on this point that anything is better written in its original language
Like I said, if you read the transl of Quran in any language, you'll get the message ... although reading and understanding arabic is better. Muslims are taught to aim high, hence its highly encouraged for everyone to learn arabic so they can get the best. Hope that cleared your misconception about the quran and arabic
Cariad said:I do not see how the Arabs were in any way special in this way at this time in history. Gods word had been spread thousand years before the Arabs even knew it.
You have to know about it to see that. Probably reading the seerah as Abu Loren suggested is a good start. I recommend 'the sealed nectar' ... sorry, Im being lazy ...
Cariad said:Many historical accounts do claim that Islam was spread by the sword and indeed there were many battles fought
its just a claim, battles were fought and places were conquered but it is well known in Islam that religion is not forced upon people. Other places were not conquered but people accepted the message like indonesia and area, and Sri Lanka
Cariad said:making them more in keeping with the Muslim view of Prophets being perfect. On that points the Quran itself does not make this claim, it is said that Moses had an anger and killed a person, David lied
'prophets being perfect' is not an islamic view. Our view is that they are human beings and thus make mistakes, but they are not just any human ... they are the best among the people because they lead people and are models... so their mistakes are minimal and God corrects them. I dont know about david's lie .. plz give me ref. About Moses, that was prior to his prophethood and he did so defending someone. He didnt know his strenght and didnt expect one punch to cause that much damage. Can you imagine a prophet, someone chosen by God to bring mankind to success being immoral and doing indecent acts (i.e big sins that bring God's anger)?? Thts equal to saying God made the wrong choice!
Cariad said:True prophets exalt Christ alone, but never their own abilities
These criteria dont seem to be universal but for Israelites only. Also, I don't know about Noah, Lot, Abraham and previous prophets exalting the christ, plz give me refs where they did this. But still, Muhammad peace be upon him passes the test .. really!