re: #374 pre-Boomer Marine brat

(agreed, “not a good idea” … but with that said)

Later, yes, after he became a successful warlord. But it’s a chicken-and-egg thing. What led him to bail out of Mecca? What led him to turn to military measures. All that happened after Khadijah died, and as the nature of the Revelations began to change.

She was a strong woman, and exerted a great influence over him. What happened after her influence was gone?

*biting tongue*

Without looking it up, as I recall it was a relatively gradual shift that began after he was kicked out of Mecca … or left to escape persecution … the point being that he was starting to piss people off, which didn’t exactly improve his mood. Don’t mean to be flip about this but since way back in college (Stone Age) I have always seen Mo’s spiritual journey as a series of reactions to snubs by people he felt should have embraced and followed him, the crowning insult being the failure of the Jewish tribes to recognize his revelations as Truth.

It’s unclear to me what specifically Khadijah’s influence was, so hard to say where the loss of it might have lead. Maybe she helped him keep his temper in check? But I do get the impression that his dishonor in Mecca was the catalyst. Honor is and always has been an extremely important value in Arab culture, both before Mohammed and certainly after. The influence of women … not so much.