That is definitely an interesting ayah, but we know of course that any rivals of the Prophet were destroyed, such as in the case of the Yemeni Ka'ba and Musaylimah. Who dare produced a sura like it if they know they will be killed for it? The Muslims spent 13 years as pacifists and by the time that they began to conquer the tribes the Quran and the new religion were well under way. Someone off the top of their head is supposed to compete with 13 years of work while under threat of death?

"And if you are in doubt with what We have revealed to Our Servant (Muhammad), then bring a surah like it and call your witnesses besides Allah, if you are truthful. And if you cannot do it, and you can never do it, then fear the fire whose fuel is men and stones prepared for the disbelievers."
-Qur'an, surah baqarah

Many thanks for subscribing. Take care.

I think Joseph Campbell basically got it right. See his books, such as "The Power of Myths" and "The Hero with a Thousand Faces". If your interested in religion make sure you study Anthropology - it will help you build the larger picture of what is happening here. Orientalists who study Islam and the Near East (usually they'll have a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies or Near Eastern Studies) have done a lot of great work and ask a lot of important questions so be on the look out for those texts as well (often published under a University Press).

Salaam. I find you to be a very interesting person. A Muslim Agnostic, eh? To you your religion, to me mine ;). I'm really interested in what you say. I, like you, have been studying Islam a lot more deeply, and there are some things that many Muslims take for granted, which are not based upon Islam. Can you recommend any books?

yah i know..now its going to take awhile maybe for em to be renewed ...for like the 2nd time!ugh it pisses me off.but w.e..

damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.haha

I don't believe what the religion claims to be literally true. So I do not follow some of the religious concepts about whi is covering the truth (kaafir) and who is not. In my eyes many religious Muslims, believers, are in fact the kuffar (covering the truth) because they refuse to deal with reality in favor of dogma. That is betrayal of the truth and it really ends up to be a betrayal of mankind. I think these sorts of issues are probably over your head right now, but hopefully one day you will understand.

Go learn the definition of a Hypocrite first and then use it.
I am not the one wavering between truth and falsehood. You either are muslim or not...there is no such thing as in between.

Looks like shaytaan go the better of you. Good luck.

Noone is hiding behind anyone. I've paid my dues as a believing Sunni Muslim for more than a decade. I know the religion better than most Muslims I come across, as I studied it traditionally and academically. It was heartbreaking to realize that the religion is plagued with myths, contradictions, and immoral propositions. Noone has the right to piegon hole me to the truth as THEY see it and demand that I deny the truth as I haved worked to see it. If you can't even fathom that religion MIGHT not be true then you are definitely not committed to the truth and that makes you a hypocrite. Peace.