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This video features a discussion between Frank Turek and Dr. Jay Smith about the historical and textual foundations of Islam. Dr. Smith argues that the core tenets of Islam – the Quran, the Prophet Muhammad, and Mecca – face significant historical and critical challenges, suggesting these foundations are "crumbling." He contrasts this with Christianity and explains his approach to critiquing Islam, which has evolved from internal critique to an external critique focusing on historical evidence. The conversation also touches upon the historical development of the Quran, the reliability of Islamic traditions, and the perceived challenges faced by Muslims in defending their faith against historical criticism.
Dr. Smith explains that the issue isn't 30 separate books, but rather 30 different Arabic readings or variations of the Quran, known as "getat." These variations arose because early Arabic script lacked vowels and precise diacritics, leading to different ways of pronouncing and thus understanding the same consonantal text.
He highlights that these variations were compiled and canonized over centuries, with the current standardized Quran (the Hafs version) only being officially adopted in Cairo in 1924 and later by Saudi Arabia in 1985 for worldwide use.
The implication for the Islamic claim of textual immutability is significant. Muslims believe the Quran is the literal, unchanged word of God revealed to Muhammad. However, the existence of numerous historical variations, and the fact that the current standardized text is relatively recent, challenges this notion of an eternally preserved, unadulterated text. Dr. Smith argues that this historical development and the existence of these variant readings create a dilemma for Muslims seeking to defend the Quran's claim to divine, unchanging preservation.