Muhammad the Enemy Summary and Analysis

This section examines the hatred of the Prophet Muhammad and looks at how it developed. This was brought to public view when Salman Rushdie published The Satanic Verses with its unfavorable views of the Prophet that caused an uproar in the Muslim world. This wasn't the first denunciation of the Prophet by a Muslim. In 850, the monk Perfectus denounced the Prophet and was put to death by the Qadi. This led to a string of denunciations and deaths of those who became martyrs for their beliefs. Armstrong views these denunciations as the result of a loss of identity due to the encroachment of Western ideas.

The Western view of Muhammad is that he was an impostor who tried to deceive the world by portraying himself as a prophet. He used his sword to force people to convert...