Is the Islamic Allah a social memory complex?

[APeacefulWarrior]

Seth talks about Mohammedanism falling far short, of what though?  It seems to me that Seth is saying that Mohammed's teachings were misunderstood and that rather than being used primarily for the purposes of love and kinship, they were used predominantly for violence.  I don't understand what else he would be referring to when he speaks about projections, in the case of Mohammed's time.  I'm ignorant about the historical context of the foundations of Islam, but from the little I've read (from what you have posted in the past actually), it was a very difficult set of circumstances with much conflict and political drama.  From that, I take that the peoples projections of that time and place were of a predominantly violent nature, which was the lens through which Mohammed's teachings were viewed.

I'd tend to agree. It was a very violent time. One of Mohammed's basic goals appears to have been to try to unify a chunk of land which had basically been nothing but feuding\warring tribes with a handful of relatively safe and civilized cities otherwise. Much different circumstances than, say, Jesus, who was in an area which the Romans controlled and therefore kept fairly peaceful. (As long as one didn't anger the Romans, anyway.)

But yeah, most of the nastier elements of modern Islam aren't in the Quran, they're in stuff that was written later - the various Hadith contributed by other Muslims, which could be roughly compared to the Hebrew Talmud. I haven't read any of them, but I understand that also like the Talmud, they tend to run the gamut from inspired material to rather hateful material.

And that the Muslim community almost immediately fractured after Mohammed died, due to some elements looking to seize power, really put the entire enterprise on its back foot. I'm sometimes a bit surprised at how successful the early Islamic empire was, given how much internal strife existed. For a few hundred years (900-1200CE, give or take) it really was one of the most overall cultured, learned, and successful societies in the world.

My one hope, long-term, is that perhaps the current violence is a "phase" that Islam will eventually grow out of, so to speak. After all, the list of Christian atrocities between 1100-1600CEish are too numerous to mention, but eventually it got its act together and quit launching holy wars and inquisitions. I'd like to think it's possible for the current Middle East to settle down as well, given more time.