{"id":45016,"date":"2017-11-24T13:13:51","date_gmt":"2017-11-24T20:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=45016"},"modified":"2017-11-24T14:14:28","modified_gmt":"2017-11-24T21:14:28","slug":"can-latter-day-saint-entertain-possibility-muhammad-might-prophet-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/11\/can-latter-day-saint-entertain-possibility-muhammad-might-prophet-part-one.html","title":{"rendered":"How can a Latter-day Saint entertain the possibility that Muhammad might have been a prophet? (Part One)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Muhammad\" in Arabic<\/a>
A somewhat stylized calligraphic form of the name \u201cMuhammad\u201d
(Wikimedia Commons public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

There have been several negative responses to my blog post of the other day titled \u201cMormonism in the Middle,\u201d<\/a> in which I indicated\u00a0my openness\u00a0to the idea that Muhammad might have been a genuine prophet and my strong sense that, at a minimum, he probably received genuine inspiration.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some of the responses have been mere regurgitations of pretty standard-issue anti-Islamic propaganda. \u00a0Some (I\u2019m thinking of one particular message board) merely\u00a0reflect the usual hostile (and thoroughly unserious) eagerness to misunderstand whatever I write in order to portray me as an idiot. \u00a0In a world of limited time and energy and many competing priorities, such reactions don\u2019t really merit\u00a0reply.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But an intelligent, reflective, honest\u00a0critic can be useful. \u00a0It\u2019s helpful to see where an intellectually serious person might disagree or question. \u00a0Sometimes, points need to be reinforced or clarified. \u00a0Sometimes, positions need to be modified or even abandoned. \u00a0This kind of exchange is profitable. \u00a0This is what substantive<\/em> discussions are about<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit that Richard Giroux\u2019s first comment (on Facebook) didn\u2019t promise much along those lines:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes this mean I can start using the Koran as a primary reference when preparing\/teaching Sunday School lessons?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I replied,<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would you want to do\u00a0that<\/em>?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

With many other Latter-day Saints, I regard the Founding Fathers and the Protestant Reformers as, in some sense, inspired. \u00a0But that doesn\u2019t mean that Sunday School lessons should be taught on the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, let alone on\u00a0The Federalist Papers<\/em> or John Calvin\u2019s\u00a0Institutio Christianae Religionis<\/i> or Martin Luther\u2019s\u00a0Von der Freyheyt eyni\u00df Christen menschen<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Richard Giroux\u00a0improved with his next comment:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy remonstration with the assertion that Mormon doctrine<\/a> embraces the acceptance of truth from any source is that it is somewhat meaningless in application. It may be that Mohammed or others have been revealed and taught great truths, but for a Mormon to embrace such as truth, he\/she must first determine whether such is not contradicted by revealed truth according to LDS scriptural cannon or the teachings of the latterday prophets\/apostles.<\/span>
\nThe point of accepting someone, such as Mohammed, as a prophet is that one may accept his\/her revelations\/teachings even if they happen to contradict previously held beliefs taught by accepted religious doctrinal authority up to that point.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I answered:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve quoted the Qur\u2019an and Muhammad in church before. And I\u2019ve quoted al-Ghazali in Mormon-oriented essays. I\u2019m not sure that I see your problem.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

He has since posted several further comments. \u00a0In another blog post, when I have the time, I\u2019ll respond to those comments. \u00a0And, more fully, to his comment just above.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those who insist, with regard to terrorism and religion-associated violence, that it\u2019s Islam as such that is the problem need to continually keep the fact in mind that the vast majority of the victims of Islamist violence \u2014 e.g., by \u201cISIS\u201d or Daesh \u2014 are themselves Muslims. \u00a0That fact is illustrated, yet again, in this horrific story out of the Middle East:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEgypt: Hundreds dead as mosque attackers gun down worshippers\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And I\u2019m guessing that most if not all of the policemen killed in this separate incident were Muslims:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c16 Egyptian police officers killed in shootout with militants\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 There have been several negative responses to my blog post of the other day titled \u201cMormonism in the Middle,\u201d in which I indicated\u00a0my openness\u00a0to the idea that Muhammad might have been a genuine prophet and my strong sense that, at a minimum, he probably received genuine inspiration. \u00a0 Some of the responses have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHow can a Latter-day Saint entertain the possibility that Muhammad might have been a prophet? 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