Jesus and Islam

In verses 157 and 158 of Surah IV, the Qur’an tells the story of the crucifixion of Jesus very differently from the Christian tradition. In it, Jesus is crucified, “or so it appears”. Might those who witnessed the scene have been victims of an illusion? Might someone else have been crucified in his place? Did Jesus really die on the cross?

According to Surah IV of the Qur’an, “the People of the Book” —in this context, the Jews— claim that they have put Jesus to death. Contrary to historical fact, they contend that they have crucified him. Why this implausible claim? Why this self-accusation? Why does the Qur’an polemicize so much against the Jews of Arabia and yet all the while appear to remain faithful to the biblical tradition?

The Qur’an accords a place of great prominence to Mary, the only woman it mentions by name. Why is Jesus always presented as the “son of Mary”? What are the implications of this expression, which seems to further convey the “terrible calumny” Mary is accused of? Why is she said to be the sister of Aaron and Moses, though they are separated by a thousand years?

Do his calls for monotheism, his announcements of the End Times and of divine judgment explain his exile from Mecca to Medina? Why is this event - the Hegira - the foundation of the Muslim era? Does it make it possible to distinguish between the Meccan Surahs and the Medinian Surahs? Can the chronology of the Qur’an be established?

The Qur’an makes numerous references to the Hebrew Bible and Christian texts, especially the apocryphal gospels. Where did Muhammad glean this knowledge? Did he have one or several informers, as the Qur’an suggests? While the Islamic tradition insists that Islam came to be within a pagan context, is Jesus’ presence in the Qur’an the trace of Judeo-Christian influences?

Did Muhammad want to create a new religion? Why does Islam purport to be the religion of Abraham? Why does Muhammad situate himself in the long line of prophets, just after Jesus? Is this the reason the names of Muhammad and Jesus appear together on the inscription on the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem? Why has Islam been considered a heresy of Christianity?

In the Qur’an, Muhammad is depicted as being illiterate, as a pure messenger of the divine word revealed by the angel Gabriel. How then did the text take form? How was it transmitted orally, then fixed in writing? How can Muhammad be considered the author of the Qur’an, this first monumental work of Arab literature?