Muhammad

Audio transcript:

>>STEVE ST. GEORGE: Hello. I'm Steve St. George. And this is your crash course in Islam. Today we consider the Prophet Mohammed. Many people think Muslims worship Mohammed. But that's not true. Mohammed is not a deity. Instead Muslims believe he is the last in a line of prophets that includes Abraham and Jesus. And like many of his predecessors Mohammed came to his role reluctantly. His prophetic nature was revealed by the angel Gabriel as Mohammed was meditating in a cave not far from Mecca. But Mohammed at first refused to believe he could be a prophet. Eventually with the support of his wife Mohammed accepted his role and began transcribing the Quran, The Muslim holy book as it was revealed to him. He was persecuted for his teachings, eventually fleeing to Medina where he founded a monotheistic Islamic State. This set up a series of battles between Mecca and Medina, battles Muhammed and his followers would eventually win. With their victory over Mecca and the old beliefs, these first Muslims set up Islam as the dominant faith in the region.

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