Mel investigates how Islam became what it now is!

To understand where Islam came from, Mel believes, we need to go back to Proto-Islamic Abrahamists, as they are the ones who began the Islam which we now know today though they borrowed extensively from Judaism to do so. The pre-Islamic Arabs, who then later became the Muslims we know from the Abbasid era pinched customs and practices from Judaism, imitating them, yet remaining separate from them. Mel points out that they called themselves different names, such as Saracens, Hagarenes, Ishmaelites, Maghrayes, Muhajiroun, all which denote that they are in the line of Abraham; though not through Isaac, but through Ishmael. At times they were close to the Jews, then they fell way, and then came back to them, but always they were separate. Those who finally dominated in the latter 7th century were Arian theologically, and so were adamantly against the Christians, who they considered polytheists. What's interesting is that they were not only interested in retaining many of the Jewish customs (i.e. circumcision, and refraining from eating pork), they retained the importance of the Temple Mount as well (referred to as Mount Moriah by the Jews, but known as Marwah by these proto-Muslims). Thus, first Umar (also nicknamed as 'Muhammad') in 638 AD, followed by Muawiyah in 661 AD, and then followed by Abd al-Malik in 692 AD each built a 'Masjid' or large structure on the Temple Mount. Yet, Islam today, though it has retained many of these traditions and practices has relocated them all away from Jerusalem and down to Mecca and Medina, 1,000 miles further south, where they don't belong, and don't make any sense! © Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, 2021 (54,320) Music: Epic Trailer, by Rafael Krux, from filmmusic-io