Religion of Peace and Debilitating Disease That Causes Hallucinations Update.

The Canton Repository: Psychologist suspects medical reason for Muhammad's visions
The Koran expressly forbids disparagement of the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Clinical neuropsychologist Abbas Sadeghian said his new book, “Sword and Seizure,” is not meant as an offense to the prophet, but is a psychoanalysis of someone whose visions he thinks were caused by epilepsy.

Throughout history, religious figures experiencing visions have been labeled as possible epileptics, including St. Joan of Arc, Mormon church founder Joseph Smith, and St. Terese of Avila.

Ok, now I'm offended.

A Muslim-born native of Tehran, Iran, Sadeghian said he based his findings on his mental-health expertise and five years of researching historical writings and documents detailing the life of Muhammad; even the Koran itself.

“Every religion has a prophet who claims to hear from God,” he said. “During my work at psychiatric hospitals, I often ran into (patients) claiming to be prophets. You see this very commonly in hospitals.”

A licensed neuropsychologist since 1988, he earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from what became Alliant International University in San Diego, and completed his medical residency at the former Massillon State Hospital.

Sadeghian said he doesn’t believe Muhammad was mentally ill, just that he suffered from “complex partial seizures,” which display themselves through excessive sweating and light trembling, olfactory, auditory and visual hallucinations, epigastric sensations (bad taste), excessive perspiration and “hyper-religiosity.”

Heck, that could describe any goat rapist.

Sadeghian’s book is based on a paper he presented at New York University’s Fielding Institute in 2001.

“If you read the book, you’ll notice that I’m not looking to demean him,” he said. “He had a very high IQ. What I’ve tried to do is answer a scientific question, and that’s all.”

I wonder what he would have seen in those inkblot tests...

Asked if the same theory could apply to Jesus, Buddha or other religious figures, Sadeghian said there aren’t nearly as many independent historical documents detailing their lives.

“In order to be able to do proper analysis, you must have documentation independent of what the person wrote,” he said. “Muhammad lived longer and had people around him who were aware they were living in a historic moment. They documented in extreme detail.”

Sadeghian said he asked several neurologists, psychologists and medical physicians to read the book before it was published.

“I knew what I was writing would be very controversial,” he explained. “I didn’t want to go through history as the person who made a mistake. ... Almost everyone told me, it (book) makes sense.”

Reaction from other Muslims, however, has been decidedly mixed.

“When you’re dealing with Muslims, it very much depends on their nationality,” Sadeghian said. “The Iranians were extremely enthusiastic. I think the reason is, that country has been under religious oppression for 20 years. The Egyptians and Palestinians were totally negative.

“Some really tried to persuade me, tried to scare me out of doing it, telling me ‘Remember Salman Rushdie.’ I gave up everything — my family, my inheritance and my friends — to come here, so I can be free. If I don’t do this, why go through all that? What’s the purpose of being free?”

Well, at least the good doctor seems to get the whole American thingee.

Imam Ramez Islambouli, president of the Uqbah Mosque Foundation in Cleveland, said that while Sadeghian’s theory is nothing new, it is flat wrong.

“From a religious perspective, it is matter of faith,” he said. “The response from an Islamic perspective is, ‘What proof do you have?’ ”

Islambouli likens Muhammad’s experience to that of St. Paul, who reported having a vision of Jesus while traveling the road to Damascus. He also noted that some people who visit the Holy Land experience a phenomenon known as the “Jerusalem syndrome.”

“How can you make a diagnosis of someone who lived 1,500 years ago, without meeting that patient?” he asked. “The other thing is, physicians who treat epilepsy would argue that you can have epilepsy and medical problems and still have a sound mind.”

Dostoyevsky, for instance?

“Even throughout his prophetic career, many people questioned and rejected Muhammad’s reports of visions,” Islambouli said. “From the moment Muhammad claimed he was a prophet, he was rejected by some and labeled as delusional.”

“There is no medical evidence to support that he had epilepsy,” said Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin, a physician and president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Ohio Chapter.

Ah, CAIR...the experts on everything mohammedan. I believe their motto is "Speaking and Thinking for Moslems Since 1994."

Mobin-Uddin said people who suffer from epileptic seizures also experience “post-ictal” episodes, meaning they can’t remember what happened during a seizure. In contrast, Muhammad could recall his visions in minute detail.

“These basic things, medically, don’t go along,” she said.

Mobin-Uddin reiterated that Muhammad frequently has been the target of speculation by people who doubted his experiences.
“The charge has been refuted,” she said.

“Sword and Seizure” is available at www.annotationbooks.com and at www.amazon.com