This work presents a putative reconstruction, testing the hypothesis that Islam is historically linked to Jewish Christianity. The argument takes the Qur'anic text to be a valid start-point for historical inquiry and reconstructs from biased views of Jewish Christianity the notion of an enduring Nasorean movement. The effective link between the Nasorean movement and the Meccan religious awakening is the preaching of the Qur'anic Prophet Shu'ayb in Midian, on the border of Arabia.

Contenu

Table of Contents (page 5) LIST OF MAPS (page 7) LIST OF TABLES (page 9) PREFACE (page 11) 1 INTRODUCTION: QUEST FORUNDERSTANDING (page 17) 2 DECONSTRUCTION: ?ROMANZHERESIOLOGY ANDNASOREANWAY (page 51) 3 CULTIC HISTORY: THEMES, NAMES,AND TERMS (page 83) 4 MIDIAN'S LEGACY: ALLEGORY ANDPROPHETS OF ARABIA (page 117) 5 ISLAMIC SCRIPTURE: TYPE, PURPOSE,AND DICTION (page 149) 6 EPILOGUE: BROTHERHOOD,MILITANCY, AND RELIGION (page 179) APPENDICES (page 195)

Appendix A: ARAMAIC LANGUAGE AND SYRIACMYSTIQUE (page 196)
Appendix B: ZOROASTRIANISM AND MONOTHEISM (page 200)
Appendix C: IBN AL-NADÎM ON BAPTISMAL SECTS (page 205)
Appendix D: APOCRYPHAL JEREMIAH (page 211) WORKS CITED (page 215) INDEX (page 231)