Having finished a series of 37 episodes on the historical problems with the Origins of Islam, Jay now consolidates the 3 primary areas of concern; namely, Mecca, Muhammad and the Qur'an using 3 talks he gave a few weeks ago on these 3 areas to a group of Doctors and Dentists from the "International Christian Medical and Dentistry Association" (ICMDA) an organization with over 60,000 Doctors, Nurses and Dentists.

This first talk, moderated by Dr Peter Saunders, the president of ICMDA , centered on a question he entertained concerning the historical problems with the city of Mecca.

Jay responded by pinpointing 15 historical areas of concern:

1) If this is the oldest city in history, then why is so little known about it before the 8th century?

2) If this city is so central to the Qur'an's narrative, then why is there only 1 reference to it in the entire Qur'an (Surah 48:24)?

3) Why do all the myriad of references in the Traditions of a fertile place with much vegetation and water not fit Mecca?

4) Why do the 65 geographical locations in the Qur'an fit places 600 miles to the north of Mecca, and not the city itself?

5) Why is the Arabic used in the Qur'an not from Mecca at all, but is Nabataean Aramaic, which was used over 600 miles to the north?

6) Why can't we find any remains of the almost 300 prophets who were buried in Mecca, especially considering the enormous buildings which are being constructed there?

7) Why is the earliest documented reference to Mecca not until 741 AD, a good 100 years after Muhammad supposedly lived there?

8) Why do the great geographer Ptolemy's 2nd century maps not have one reference to Mecca on them?

9) Why do all of the 7th century Qiblas face Petra, and don't even begin to face Mecca until after 715 AD, almost 100 years too late?

10) Why has Montgomery Watt's 'Trade Route Theory' about Meccan trade been proven wrong, as all the trade was maritime, and not across Arabia?

11) Why did all the trade go up the Western African coast of the Red Sea, and none of it via the Eastern Arabian coast close to where Mecca is located?

12) Why did none of the 12 civilizations surrounding Mecca know anything about this city prior to the 8th century?

13) Why was Mecca chosen in a desert location with no water or food to support any population of people or trades?

14) Why are the 5 stages of the Hajj (Pilgrimage) currently employed in Mecca not original, but were all borrowed from either Petra or Jerusalem?

15) If Mecca is the oldest city in history, then someone, somewhere, at some time should have known about this city, yet no-one anywhere, nor at any time has, proving that it never existed at the time of Muhammad, nor during early Islam.

Following this talk, Dr Saunders asked a number of brilliant questions which were posed by some of the Doctors and Dentists. Watch how Dr Smith responds to them, as they are probably the same questions you may have.

You can see the original ICMDA seminar with Dr Jay Smith and Dr Peter Saunders at this YouTube site:    • Webinar: Dr Jay Smith - Understanding...  

© Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, July 21, 2023
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