The Pan-Abrahamic Problem: A New Challenge to Islamic Identity

Introduction

In recent years, historical and philosophical scholarship on early Islam has raised critical questions about the continuity between Prophet Muhammad’s original community and the contemporary Islamic world. A groundbreaking new argument, termed the Pan-Abrahamic Problem (PAP), challenges the long-standing assumption that modern Islam is the direct continuation of the religion founded by Muhammad in the 7th century.

This argument, recently articulated by Dr. Joshua Sijuwade and rooted in the research of Fred Donner and other scholars, presents a major identity crisis for Islam. It asserts that early Islam was not an exclusivist religion—as it is today—but rather an inclusive, interfaith movement that embraced Jews and Christians within a broader "Community of Believers."

This claim directly contradicts the dominant exclusivist interpretation of Islam today, which asserts that only those who believe in the Quran and Muhammad as the final prophet can be considered Muslims. If this new historical and philosophical analysis is correct, then modern Islam is not the same as the original Islam of Muhammad, meaning that today’s Muslims are followers of a different religious tradition, one that was redefined by ‘Abd al-Malik in the late 7th century.

This raises an unsettling question:
Is Islam today really the religion that Muhammad established, or is it something fundamentally different?

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The Pan-Abrahamic Thesis: Was Early Islam Inclusive?

The Pan-Abrahamic Thesis (PAT), first introduced by historian Fred Donner in 2010 and expanded upon by scholars like Stephen Shoemaker, Juan Cole, and Ilkka Lindstedt, argues that Islam, in its earliest form, was not an exclusivist religion but an inclusive Abrahamic movement.

Key historical evidence supporting this thesis includes:

1. The Quran’s Distinction Between “Believers” (Mu’minun) and “Muslims” (Muslimun)

   • The Quran frequently differentiates between Believers (who included monotheists such as Jews and Christians) and Muslims (those who fully submitted to Muhammad’s message).
   • This suggests that early Islam did not require exclusive adherence to Muhammad’s teachings—but rather allowed other Abrahamic faiths within its community.

2. The Constitution of Medina

   • This early Islamic document recognized Jewish tribes as part of the Ummah (community), treating them as equal members of Muhammad’s new religious movement.
   • This contradicts later Islamic traditions that claim Islam has always been strictly separate from Judaism and Christianity.

3. Historical Accounts of Religious Inclusivity

   • Early Muslim armies included Christian and Jewish members.
   • Muhammad himself engaged with Jewish and Christian leaders, treating them as part of the broader monotheistic movement.

4. Early Islamic Inscriptions and Artifacts

   • The earliest known Islamic texts and inscriptions often refer to the "Believers" rather than "Muslims", reinforcing the idea that early Islam was more inclusive than the later Islamic tradition.

5. Hadith Narratives Supporting Inclusivity

   • Some early Hadith accounts depict Muhammad’s acceptance of the Torah and respect for Christian holy sites, which is inconsistent with the later exclusivist Islamic stance.

This evidence suggests that Islam in the 7th century was not a separate, exclusivist faith but rather an extension of existing Abrahamic traditions—an interfaith movement centered around monotheism, not rigid doctrine.

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The Pan-Abrahamic Problem: A Crisis for Islamic Identity

The Pan-Abrahamic Problem (PAP) arises when we compare the inclusive nature of early Islam with the exclusivist Islam that exists today.

Islam today claims to be the same religion that Muhammad founded, but:

• Modern Islam demands exclusivity, insisting that only those who believe in the Quran and Muhammad as the final prophet can be considered Muslims.
• Early Islam accepted Jews and Christians as part of the same religious community without requiring conversion to Muhammad’s specific teachings.

This radical shift in identity, doctrine, and organization means that modern Islam is not the same as Muhammad’s Islam.

This leads to a philosophical dilemma:

1. If modern Islam is the same as Muhammad’s original religion, then why is it exclusivist today when early Islam was inclusive?
2. If Islam has fundamentally changed since Muhammad’s time, then how can Muslims claim to follow the "unchanged" religion of Muhammad?

This dilemma cannot be ignored, as it strikes at the core of Islamic self-understanding. If modern Islam is not identical to Muhammad’s community, then Islam as originally conceived no longer exists.

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Possible Muslim Responses to the PAP

Faced with this dilemma, Muslims have five possible responses—but only one is rationally consistent.

1. Ignore the Problem

   • Muslims could simply dismiss the historical evidence and continue believing Islam has never changed.
   • But this is intellectually dishonest and contradicts the Quran’s command to seek truth.

2. Deny the Criteria of Continuity and Connectedness

   • This would require rejecting common-sense principles about how identities are preserved over time.
   • It would be like arguing that a modern chess club is the same as the Knights Templar—a clearly absurd claim.

3. Deny the Pan-Abrahamic Thesis

   • Some Muslims might try to reject the historical evidence, but this would require dismissing mainstream scholarship without justification.
   • The weight of Quranic, historical, and archaeological evidence makes this approach untenable.

4. Reform Islam Back to Its Inclusive Roots

   • Some might argue that Islam should return to its original inclusive model.
   • But this is impossible due to centuries of theological and legal entrenchment—changing Islamic doctrine would require rejecting the Hadith, Sharia, and scholarly consensus.

5. Acknowledge the Truth: Modern Islam Is Not Muhammad’s Religion

   • The only rational conclusion is that modern Islam is not the same as Muhammad’s religion.
   • Islam as originally conceived ceased to exist after the early Umayyad period.

This last option—though difficult—preserves historical and philosophical integrity.

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Conclusion: A Fundamental Crisis for Islam

The Pan-Abrahamic Problem presents an inescapable challenge to Islamic identity:

• If Islam has fundamentally changed since Muhammad’s time, then the claim that Islam is unchanged and divinely preserved collapses.
• If Muhammad’s original inclusive movement no longer exists, then today’s Muslims are not following Muhammad’s Islam—but a later reinterpretation shaped by political rulers like ‘Abd al-Malik.

This raises serious theological implications:

• Can Muslims still claim to follow the true religion of Muhammad?
• If Islam has changed so much, can it still be considered divine and unaltered?

For those committed to historical truth, this new argument against Islam is one of the most powerful ever formulated. It forces Muslims to confront a crisis of identity—one with no easy escape.

Will Muslims engage with this argument—or will they ignore it?

Only time will tell.

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