ABSTRACT
If intellectual curiosity, a fascination with the orient, or the growing need for experts on the Middle East prompts the decision of high school graduates to apply for the study course Islamic Studies. They will be taught roughly the same outline of a narrative about the origin of this religion as generations of students before them. A man later known as the Prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca around 570 CE, received his first revelation at about the age of 40, founded the religion of Islam and started a new empire, which just one generation after his death had become the dominant power of the whole region due to the relentless war-like efforts of his political and religious successors, the caliphs. Several Inarah authors have spent years investigating some of the oldest manuscripts and especially the variants and different readings. This chapter summarizes the main contributions of Inarah authors and presents the outline of an alternative history of early Islam.
