Nazarene Islam

Nazarene Christianity As The Origin of Islam
Hardly any Islamic written literary sources exist that can be reliably verified and dated to the seventh and eighth centuries. The standard histories of Muhammad and the early Islam are based on Islamic literature that dates to the ninth century at the earliest - some 200 years after the death of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, in 632 CE.
All that is preserved from the period of Muhammad or the period shortly after, that refer to him, are a few commemorative inscriptions on buildings and some assorted coins.
Based on the premise that reliable history can only be written on the basis of sources that are contemporary with the events described, the origins of Islam are considered of obscure origins.
The name 'Muhammad' first appeared on coins in Syria that were also bearing Christian iconography. In that context, the name is used in its original etymological sense meaning 'praiseworthy' and may refer to Jesus Christ, as Christianity and several off-shoots of Christianity, especially the Nazarenes flourished in this area in that time. This article presents the historical connection between Nazarene Christianity and Islam.
The earliest physical reference to the historical 'Muhammad' is the building inscription of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, built by the caliph 'Abd al-Malik.
Evidence from the Qur'an shows that its central theological tenets were basically the pre-Nicean, Syrian Christianity, known as the Nazarene Christianity.
Linguistic analysis of the Qur'an also indicates that Aramaic, the common language throughout the Near East for many centuries and the language of Nazarene Syrian Christianity, significantly influenced the Arabic script and vocabulary used in the Qur'an.
It was not until the end of the eighth and ninth centuries that Islam formed as a separate religion, and the Qur'an underwent a period of historical development and textual editing of at least 200 years.
Textual Evolution of The Qur'an
The Text of The Qur'an was finalized at a much later time than what Islam doctrine would represent.
The restoration of the San'aa manuscript revealed the great importance of the parchment pages of the codex San'a' DAM 01-27.1. The MSS were palimpsests with "scriptio superior" and "scriptio inferior" texts - i.e. a manuscript with text ("scriptio superior" ) written over an earlier text ("scriptio inferior") that had been washed off or erased. Normally, this is done to re-use the parchments when the "scriptio inferior" is no longer needed. In this case, the earlier text was also the Qur'an, which is atypical for palimpsests.
The readings of the scriptio inferior text of the Qur'an as per the codex San'a' DAM 01-27.1, suggested that they originated from the pre-'Uthmanic times. Some of the readings were of Ibn Mas'ud text as well as some other companions as reported in Islamic tradition
Alba Fedeli, Director of Fondazione Ferni Noja Noseda, confirmed some of the readings were of Ibn Mas'ud as well as some other companions as reported in the Islamic traditions. She is a pupil of The late Sergio Noja Noseda, Professor Emeritus of Arabic Language and Literature at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart.
Alba Fedeli has established no more than what the scribe who washed away this text around fourteen centuries ago already knew: the initial text contained on this parchment was not in accordance with the Qur'anic text collected by 'Uthman.
Dr Gerd R Puin, an expert Semitic philologist, who specializes in Arabic calligraphy and Qur'anic paleography and who has been studying the San'aa manuscripts of Yemen. His findings shed new light on the early development of the Koran as a book with a "textual history", which contradicts the fundamental Muslim belief that it is the unchanging Word of God. He says the Qur'an is not one single work that has survived unchanged through the centuries. It may include stories that were written before Mohammed which have subsequently been inserted into the Qur'an, at latter times. His claim is that the Koran has changed since its supposed standardization under Uthman, and that pre-Islamic texts have crept in.
Puin also noticed textual variations between the two texts, unconventional ordering of the chapters (surahs), as well as rare styles of orthography. These findings led Dr Puin to assert that the Koran had undergone a textual evolution. In other words, the copy of the Koran that we have today is not the exact one at the time of Muhammad.

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