House of War: Mecca, the Qur'an, and the Propaganda of 675-695

The Islamic second civil war raged across the Near East from 682 until 692. It was the formative event in the religion’s history. Islam before the war is best described as a contract between the Arab amirs and their subjects. The war tested that model to its limit. The combatants’ points of contention included who was to lead the amirate, who could properly call himself a Muslim, and where it was that God had established His House. As they fought, the dueling sides made use of a new weapon, that their Lord had bequeathed to them – the Qur’an. House of War investigates the religion and the people of Islam up to the 670s, and details the progress of the ensuing struggle. In the process, it proposes new interpretations for the Qur’anic chapters 13, 14, 22, 25, and 41.