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A new star was groping with power in the East, Justinian. It may have been only under Justinian that Christianity was declared state religion and not in 381 as is the general consensus, and that it was also Justinian, who lifted Rome to be the seat of the Catholic Papacy as a strategy to secure Rome’s allegiance to Constantinople. The purpose of the respective edict comes across more as an assault on the treasuries of the churches in light of empty imperial vaults than an act of faith. Justinian’s reforms showed success but suffered a heavy blow with a wave of natural calamities culminating in the disastrous Justinian Plague, which prompted civilization to halt and restart. The intellectual decline was now apparent in East and West as evidenced by the arts. The Jews were so seriously disadvantaged that they could no longer hold on to their traditions. The study works through the legal foundations that allowed for the imperial follies. It shows the Jewish stealth strategies for their survival and highlights a Jewish kingdom that had been established in Yemen in the southern Arab Peninsula. The reformations of Emperor Tiberius that re-established a new religious tolerance were too late to reverse the course of history. Much of the world thought that the end had happened. Out of the rubble in Rome rose Pope Gregory the Great, whose mad influence held the Italian society in its grip for centuries to come.
The Jews seem to have regrouped and they were going after Byzantine Christian merchants that believed in Jesus being God. Because they had been pushed around by the Roman Empire, it is here that the Korahite Jews reappear as the masterminds of yet another faith: Islam. It shows how the biblical connections came about, how the various tribes emerged, and it identifies the tribes that were going to be at the side of the Korahites (Saducees). In doing so, the Year of the Elephant, 570 AD, is carefully placed into historical context. Through the biblical accounts, the connection between the fleeing Jews from the Byzantine Empire and the Saracen and Ishmaelite heritage is shown. There were two conflicting royal houses and the Korahite Jews that aspired for supremacy over the territories of the Arab Peninsula. It is defined who exactly the Sunnies, the Shi’ites and the Quraysh are and it examines who was to help them and what their religious foundation was. It shows their policies and traditions and explains their shared but surprising mission statement, which predated the advent of Mohammad. The historicity of the latter is examined as well as the pre-existing faith systems in the area. The Kaaba in Mecca had been built as a temporary replacement for the Holy Temple in Jerusalem during the fifth century. The Black Stone in the Kaaba is examined and its meaning explained. The Jewish mission to recapture Israel predated the advent of Mohammad by centuries. Consequently, the first unsuccessful Arab attacks against the Byzantine Empire started off on the opposite side of the Jordan River near Jerusalem.
Volume II examines how the texts fit into the big picture of the conflicts with the Byzantine and Persian Empires rather than with local events. It is shown that Muhammad was lifted to be a prophet by the Korahite Jews, their Redeemer of Israel, who ended up failing in his mission. The early conflicts are examined for their strategic purpose, which is not what Islamic scholars make believe. It appears as if they buried their history under their ‘traditions’ and legends, with a civilization that is markedly different from anything the West had ever seen short of the Greek Democracy. It is the promise of this civilization that holds the key as to why it was possible that almost all of the Eastern Empire, the Persian Empire, North Africa and Spain literally fell into their laps without much blood shed. The ‘assault’ had been carefully planned and portions of the troops had been purposefully deployed into areas of spiritual friendship. However, success can also come too fast and the stakes could not have been higher. Consequently, the new empire repeatedly fell into civil war. It was the weakness of its neighbors that insured its survival rather than its inner strength. However, it is also shown, that Islam was deployed through the new empire much later than is generally assumed.
The Koran is examined in a similar fashion as was done with the Torah and the Gospel. The doctrines that influence social and economic thinking are evaluated and possible frameworks for terrorism are examined. The timing of the emergence of the Koran is narrowed down to less than a decade and early reports about ‘Moslems’ are examined. Two core messages evolve in the Koran: relative religious freedom restricted to pure monotheism and a mission that the belief in Jesus being God in the Byzantine Empire had to be wiped out at all expense. But it also shows their main mission that they carry in their hearts up until today.
The origin of the Koran from various Christian sects and Jewish thought is explained. It shows who composed the early versions of the Koran, when and why. Finally, it explains the original meaning of Jihad, the holy war. It is laid out that the Koran is impossible to be understood without three additional books, which are examined and the links are made visible such that it becomes clear that this knowledge had to be a cultural prerequisite at the time. The study examines the Koran for similarities between the scriptures of the Jews and the Christians and elaborates on the differences. It explains the relationship of women and also the penal practice of mutilation rather than imprisonment. The Koran was an agreement between parties for religion, government and spiritual leadership.
Changing leadership and constant infighting between the three founding sects, led to continued civil wars. Volume II elaborates on the important and misguided role of Huseyn for the Shi’ites and demonstrates that there was an intermediate Theocracy in place that was led by the Korahite Jews in which context the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem may have been erected and the Kaaba had been destroyed. The chapter elaborates on the economic foundation of the new empire and also on the problems that the dwindling Byzantine Empire faced with its self-imposed Christian doctrines. The emerging Muslims are followed with the goal to establish when the Koran was transformed into Islam, why and by whom. It shows how the occupation in Spain worked out for the ‘natives’, the Goths, the Christians and the Jews to bring forth a long era of prosperity. On the other hand, it was demonstrated how the Byzantine Empire further retreated while the papacy was turned into a kingdom. An unusually high level of education amongst the leaders of the caliphate was shown. In fact, it is suggested that they turned ‘philosopher kings’, shaped on the image of the Greek philosophers’ ideas. It was the spark of a modern civilization that was only put out too soon. They were the leaders of the free world and the Byzantine Empire soon started to emulate its successes, only with the twist that they could not break free from Christianity. The relationships between the caliphate and the Christian areas in the West and the Byzantine Empire continued to degrade. In the latter eyes, the caliphate was the coming of the Antichrist. The Ishmaelites and their Koran were branded heretic by a Christian writer, who held a top position in the court of the caliphate in Damascus. However, it is shown that the social and economic ideas of the caliphate colored off on the Christians within.