Ali Sina, the knowledgeable and unflappable ex-Muslim who runs the superb Faith Freedom site, has just published Understanding Muhammad: A Psychobiography of Allâh’s Prophet. Order your copy now by clicking on the title.
The book description:
This is not a biography, but a psychobiography. Psychobiography focuses on the “why” rather than the “what”. It explains the motivations and impulses of the person it analyzes. Historians tell us Muhammad used to withdraw to a cave and spend days alone wrapped in his thoughts, where he heard voices and had ghostly visions. He thought he had become demon-possessed, but his wife reassured him he was chosen as a prophet. Convinced of his own status, he was intolerant of those who rejected him, assassinated those who criticized him, raided and looted those who did not believe in him, and massacred entire populations. He reduced thousands into slavery, raped and allowed his men to rape female captives. He was generous to those who accepted him, but vengeful towards those who didn’t. Muhammad was no ordinary man. This book goes beyond the stories and explores the motives. It explains what made Muhammad tick and where he drew his strength, and conviction.