Understanding Muhammad | csmonitor.com

To compare Muhammad to Moses or Jesus, or against some contemporary standard, is meaningless and anachronistic. The world that Moses and Muhammad lived in was lawless and violent, different from even the Roman dominated world in which Jesus lived. Strong vested interests opposed the monotheism each preached, genocide was commonplace, slavery was taken for granted. Women had few rights, and might was the only law.

In this context Muhammad and Moses and all the other Biblical figures sought to create a new society based on justice and on the belief in a compassionate God. Their achievements in accomplishing this in lasting ways form the only relevant contemporary standard by which they can be truly judged.

A co-producer of the upcoming PBS documentary defends Islam as opposed to political organizations.