Chris’s “Chris at Speaker’s Corner” YouTube channel can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/@chrisatspeakerscorner/videosMel’s “Islamic Origins” YouTube channel can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/@IslamicOrigins/videosIn this live stream Chris (from “Chris at Speakers Corner” YouTube channel), Mel (from “Islamic Origins” YouTube channel) and Jay (from “Pfanderfilms” YouTube channel) challenge Muslims concerning the historical authenticity of the “Standard Islamic Narrative” (S.I.N.) that Mecca is the birthplace of civilization and an established point of pilgrimage both before Islam, and in the 7th century, when supposedly Islam began.In the two-hour Live-stream they brought forward and answered 20 questions which they have found with the historical authority for Mecca, including:1) What and why are the Muslim’s claims about Mecca (its history, its central place for Islam, etc.) 🕋 now supported by history?2) What are the Geographical problems with Mecca (the Quran places it in Jordan, 600 miles too far north, etc.)?3) if the first historical reference for Mecca isn’t until 741 AD, then why would this fact be so damaging?4) The linguistic problems with Qur’anic Arabic located in Mecca (i.e. The Arabic of the Qur’an, which is Nabataean Aramaic, isn’t from Mecca, where they use Sabaic Arabic, but from about 600 miles further north)5) According to the traditions, between 70-300 prophets are buried in Mecca. With all the construction in Mecca lately, why have none of them been dug up or found?6) Why have none of the 11 civilizations surrounding Mecca ever heard of this city, while 8 more insignificant cities close by are all well known and well documented by these same civilizations?7) What is wrong with the Muslim argument comparing Nazareth with Mecca historically?8) Why do none of the archaic maps of Arabia have Mecca on them, and what other cities do they have instead?9) How was William Montgomery Watt’s ‘Meccan Trade Route Theory’ completely debunked by Dr Patricia Crone in 1987?10) How have we been able to debunk the Muslim’s ‘Red Sea trade route Theory’?11) What is the historical and geographical significance of Mecca being in an inhospitable desert 🐪?12) Why is the Muslim’s claim that Mecca’s ZamZam well provides “inexhaustible water” from Allah himself, not only problematic, but a patent lie, and where then does the ZamZam water actually come from?13) Why has Dan Gibson’s recent Qibla findings proven that Mecca couldn’t have been a sanctuary until after 727 AD?14) What are David King’s weakest Qibla arguments, and why is he now so angry?15) What is the ‘Jerusalem Thesis’, and why does it discredit Mecca?16) How can we prove that the Kaaba, the Safa and Marwah mountains, the Jamarat pillar, and the Black stone are all borrowed from other sources, and are not unique to Mecca?17) Why is the 200 BC ‘Samaritan Asatir’ not an early reference for Mecca?18) Why is the 1st century BC ‘Agatharchides quote by Diodorus’ not an early reference for Mecca?19) Why is the 79 AD “Dabanegoris” reference by Pliny the Younger not an early support for Mecca?20) Why is Ptolemy’s 147 AD reference to “Macoraba” not an early support for Mecca?While the three of them weren’t able to cover all of the 20 questions above, due to time, they were able to respond to other questions asked by those watching the live-stream concerning the problems with the Qur’an’s history, its earliest manuscripts, and certain difficulties with Muhammad’s existence in the 7th century.Chris, as moderator, gave the chance for any Muslims to query any of the responses the three of them were giving, even inviting any Muslims to debate the group, but after 2 hours no Muslims came forward, even though a number of them made their voices heard in the chat section.It seems obvious that the historical problems with Mecca are proving difficult for Muslims to respond to, possibly because in order to respond they are going to have to find evidence for their holy city in the 7th century or before, a task which is proving to be nigh impossible.© Pfander Centre for Apologetics – US, Feb.25, 2023(70,500)

According to the Standard Islamic Narrative, Mecca was not only the oldest city in the history of the world, but it was also a major trade city in that part of the world, controlling trade north, south, east and west.Yet, history is telling us that this simply isn’t true. Mecca isn’t found on any ancient trade maps, nor is anything written about it on any ancient documents, which created a real problem for the Muslims in the last century, because there was nothing available to support the historical underpinnings for their holy city.Fortunately for them a British scholar named William Montgomery Watt came to their rescue by proposing what he termed “The Trade Route Theory”.This theory suggests that the trade in the 7th century originally went from India, across the Arabian Sea and through the Persian Gulf, where it was then unloaded at what is today ‘Basra’, and sent across to what is today Iraq and Syria, to either Lebanon or Israel, and from there across the Mediterranean Sea.But there was a problem, because in the 5th century the Sassanians began warring against the Byzantines, and for 200 years the battles between these two empires continued, shutting down the trade through the Persian Gulf.Montgomery Watt introduced the idea that the trade then had to be changed so that the boats went across the Arabian Sea to Aden, where the goods were taken off of the ships and put onto camels which then carried them across 1,250 miles of desert to Petra in the north, and then on to Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea.En route across the desert, they had to stop at Mecca, and thus it was the Meccans who controlled the trade.Dr Patricia Crone, in 1987 wrote a book entitled “Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam”, where she debunked Montgomery Watt’s ‘Trade Route Theory’ with two simple rebuttals.1) If all the trade going across the desert of Western Arabia went through well documented oases such as Sa’na, Najran, Taif, Yathrib, Khaybar, Tabuk, Petra and Gaza, all of which were located on the Western Plateau of Arabia, why would you then take a detour at Taif, and go down off of the plateau 3,000 feet to a desolate hamlet called Mecca, which had no water or food for your camels, and then climb back up 3,000 feet to get to Yathrib, which did have food and water? 2) The Standard Islamic Narrative says that Mecca controlled all of the trade. But how could such a desolate and isolated little hamlet control all of the trade from Aden to Petra?3) The biggest problem comes when you simply look at a map of that area. Notice that there is the Red Sea, which parallels the Western Plateau of Arabia. If you already have all of your goods on boats, why then would you offload them at Adan to go 1,250 miles by land, when you can carry a ton of goods only 50 miles by land for the same price as 1,250 miles by sea. Shipping goods by sea is the cheapest way to transport goods, even today?By land you have to feed and water the camels, protect your goods from robbers who can hide behind rocks, hills and sand dunes.By sea you have nothing to feed or water, as you only need wind to fill your sails to push your boat, and you can see any enemies miles away, as there is nothing to hide behind.So, Dr Crone, who reads and writes 15 languages went to all the trading documents, all written in ancient languages little used today and found out that all the trade in that part of the world from the 1st to the 7th century went by the Red Sea, and very little of it by land, and certainly none of it via the city of Mecca, as there was not one trade document with that name on it, proving that Mecca had nothing to do with the trade of that day.Watch as Al Fadi and Dr. Jay review the evidence that completely debunks the Land Trade Route Theory.© Pfander Centre for Apologetics – US, February 15, 2023(70,390) Music: “Epic Heroic Conquest” by Musiclfiles, from filmmusic-io

According to the Islamic traditions (i.e. the Standard Islamic Narrative = S.I.N.), as well as the Qur’an (Surah 2:146-149), the Qiblas (the direction of prayer) for every mosque was to face the city of Mecca by 624 AD, but was this actually the case? Over a century ago, in 1905 AD, two prominent archaeologists, Dr Creswell and Dr Fehervari, discovered that two of the earliest mosques in Iraq and Egypt had Qiblas which were both facing what they believed was Jerusalem, and certainly not Mecca.Dan Gibson, who did much more extensive research on Quranic geography between 1985 – 2004 AD, visiting over 100 early 7th century and 8th century mosques, and like the two earlier archaeologists found that all of the 7th century mosques as well as more built in the early 8th century had Qiblas facing directly towards Petra, in Jordan, while none of them had Qiblas anywhere close to Mecca.He noticed that this practice continued right up until 727 AD, when the first mosque with a Qibla facing Mecca was built in Banbhore, Pakistan. Yet, 727 AD is almost 100 years after Muhammad supposedly died!How do Muslims explain this away? They simply can’t.Petra, unlike Mecca, was actually an ancient city with a rich history in trade and religious significance, while Mecca had yet to be discovered, suggesting that the Islamic Traditions (i.e. the Standard Islamic Narrative) is once again full of Historical holes. Watch as Al Fadi and Dr. Jay review evidence of example after example of mosques facing Petra, instead of the falsely claimed yet supposedly famous and historical city of Mecca.© Pfander Centre for Apologetics – US, Feb.10, 2023(70,340) Music: “Epic Heroic Conquest” by Musiclfiles, from filmmusic-io

If, as the Qur’an says, Mecca is the oldest and most famous city in the world since it is where Adam and Eve were sent to (see Surah 7:24), and where Abraham lived and built the Kaaba (see Surah 21:51-71), then why is there no reference to it in any documentation until 741 AD, which is over 100 years after Muhammad supposedly died, and why can it not be found on any of the archaic maps until well into the 16th century? It is understandable why most of Arabia would not be on any ancient maps because there simply wasn’t anything worth mentioning in that region. But this cannot be said about Mecca. It is according to Islam the oldest and therefore the most important city in the history of mankind.Yet, we cannot find any references to it, nor any drawings of it, or any map with it placed on it.Europeans were really the first to make any significant maps of Arabia based on the records of the 2nd century geographer Ptolemy.Yet, the only places Ptolemy referred to in his Geography of Arabia were located in northern Arabia, or in southern Arabia – while nothing was noted of importance in central Arabia, where Mecca is located. If he knew so much about Arabia wouldn’t he have recorded the greatest, as well as the most famous, and the most historically significant city of central Arabia in his writings?The fact that he didn’t mention it even once suggests that the city of Mecca simply did not exist that early. Watch as Al Fadi and Dr. Jay discuss the complete lack of historical evidence for Mecca’s existence until the mid 8th century; or not until 741 AD to be precise.© Pfander Centre for Apologetics – US, Feb.6, 2023(70,260) Music: “Epic Heroic Conquest” by Musiclfiles, from filmmusic-io

The Standard Islamic Narrative (S.I.N.) claims that between 70 – 300 prophets died and were buried in Mecca, including Adam and Eve, Seth, Ishmael, Noah, Hud (the great-great grandson of Noah), Salih (the grandfather of Hagar), the Queen of Shebah, and even the prophet Daniel!In order to be buried in Mecca, the prophets would have had to have been living there as well, since Muslims believe anyone who dies must be buried within 24 hours. Thus, all these prophets all lived and died there.What’s more, the Traditions tell us that they were buried in a kneeling position so that they could continue to pray even after death.This means their bodies should still be in the ground around Mecca, and they should still be kneeling. Therefore, all we have to do then is dig around the Kaaba and we should be able to find between 70 – 300 prophet’s all in a kneeling position.Yet, take a look at Mecca today and you will notice that there are many enormous buildings being erected all around the Kaaba, with many cranes poking out above the building sites.In fact the 4th highest building in the world, the Meccan clock-tower has been built directly next to and overlooking the Kaaba. In order to build such tall buildings, deep foundations need to be dug to keep them steady.So, with all the building sites everywhere, each digging deep into the ground to construct deep foundations, what have they been able to find?The answer? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Not one body of any prophet, or of anyone else has been uncovered despite numerous large building projects being carried out immediately around the Kaaba in Mecca.What’s more, if these many prophets had all lived and died in Mecca, this would mean that almost all of the Bible would have to be re-written, and all of the stories be re-directed 600 – 1,000miles further south, away from Israel, and down to Mecca.Yet, there is so much evidence for the Biblical narrative historically, while conversely, there is almost no evidence whatsoever for Islam’s historical claims, including the ridiculous notion that between 70 – 300 prophets were buried there!© Pfander Centre for Apologetics – US, 2023(70,200) Music: “Epic Heroic Conquest” by Musiclfiles, from filmmusic-io

If Islam is absolutely against alcohol, which includes Wine and Beer, than why is the history of Islam imbued with both, and why also is there so much alcohol consumption in the Muslims world, both in the past and even today; so much so that temperance movements have had to be set up to control it?Mel proves this contradiction to be true by turning to another Muslim country, this time Turkey, where he shows that historically beer was a staple for centuries, and still is today.In fact, the Turks favorite beer, called “Boza Beer” is the root word for what later became known as ‘Booze’, the common term used in English slang for alcohol!So, let’s look at the historical record concerning Alcohol in Turkey:In1566 – 1574 AD, Selim II, who loved to drink alcohol himself, and considered himself “an unrepentant hedonist”, overturned his father’s puritanical ban against alcohol.1623 – 1640 AD, Murad IV, a heavy drinker as well, went around his cities executing other drinkers which he found, possibly because he knew he was a hypocrite.1717 AD, Lady Wortley Montague wrote in a letter that Ahmet Bay permitted the drinking of alcohol, providing that it was drunk in moderation; suggesting that only the richer and wiser do so, because the poorer could not control their consumption. This suggests that he had no problem with alcohol per se, just its excess.In the 1800s AD, Ubicini was offered wine by Aga Osman, who believed it was okay to drink wine in private, but not in public.By the 19th – 20th centuries alcohol was consumed so much by the Turks that a Temperance Movement, borrowed from the Europeans, was initiated to deal with wholesale drunkenness.In 1903 AD, around 3.7 million liters of alcohol was consumed in Turkey in just that year, some of it by Westerners who lived there as well, proving just how popular alcohol was.Later in the 20th century Henry H. Jessup, who lived in Turkey, wrote that Turks equaled Europeans in their consumption of alcohol, both wine and beer.But are all of these not simply aberrations of what Islam believed and practiced, and not representative of what the common Muslim in Turkey believed, or practiced?Mel responds by pointing to Boza Beer, a fermented cereal flour (made from millet) which has been famous all over Turkey since the 9th millennia B.C., though it only has a 1% alcoholic content.In fact the great Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul was funded by the taxation imposed on beer in Turkey.The famous Janissary corps, the elite group of soldiers, taken as boys from Christian families and forced to convert to Islam, and then used to protect the Sultan as his private guards, all drank Boza Beer.The Turkish scholar, Evliya Celebi writes that Boza beer was used by all of the Turkish military historically, and was readily permitted, providing it was not drunk in excess.Then in the 16th – 17th centuries Boza beer was mixed with opium, forcing through a complete change of heart towards alcohol in Turkey.In 1648 – 1687, the Sultan Mehmed IV prohibited the sale of beer because of the opium which was mixed with it.In the 19th century a sweetener was added, which brought it back into popularity again, so that today Turkey is a world leader in beer production.In fact the Anadolu Efes Turkish beer is the 5th largest beer company in Europe and the 9th largest in the world in terms of production volume. It has 3 Breweries in Turkey, including 2 Malt Production plants and 1 Malt plant. According to modern statistics, Turks drink on average 11 liters of beer per person per year. And Turkey is not alone. Take for instance North African Muslim countries. Just prior to the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962), Algerian wine (along with that of Morocco and Tunisia) accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total international wine trade, thus more so than all of Europe.Today, Algeria has as much land under vineyards as the countries of Germany and South Africa combined, Algeria continues to maintain a wine industry with over 70 wineries in operation. Algerian wines are characterized by their overripe fruit, high alcohol and low acidity. What this all proves is that when you go to the Standard Islamic Narrative, the picture you get is that alcohol has always been prohibited in Islam since its very inception. It is also prohibited in the Qur’an. Yet, when one looks at Islamic history, one finds a large disconnect with what is said publicly by Muslims, and what we read in their SIN.It seems that alcohol, in the form of wine and beer have not only been, but continue to be popular and in demand all over the Muslim world, suggesting that what Muslims say in public is not what they practice in private.Once again we find that the Standard Islamic Narrative is full of holes, and Mel has just opened up yet another one; and he’ll drink to that!© Pfander Centre for Apologetics – US, Jan.25, 2023(70,100) Music: “Epic Heroic Conquest” by Musiclfiles, from filmmusic-io

Alcohol (including wine and beer) is prohibited in Islam, and every Muslim knows it today, because, as they say, it is forbidden by the Qur’an itself. Take, for instance:(Quran, Al-Baqarah, 2:219) They ask you ˹O Prophet˺ about intoxicants and gambling. Say, “There is great evil in both, as well as some benefit for people—but the evil outweighs the benefit.” .(Quran, Al-Maidah, 5:90) O believers! Intoxicants, gambling, idols, and drawing lots for decisions are all evil of Satan’s handiwork. So shun them so you may be successful. (Quran, 5:91) Satan’s plan is to stir up hostility and hatred between you with intoxicants and gambling and to prevent you from remembering Allah and praying. Will you not then abstain? Or the Hadith”(Al-Bukhari, 69:481) Ibn ‘Umar narrated: Allah’s Apostle said, “Whoever drinks alcoholic drinks in the world and does not repent (before dying), will be deprived of it in the Hereafter.”So, why is Shiraz Wine, which originated in Persia, so popular today, if it originally came from a country which prohibits wine…or was that always the case?Mel has done some research and has found that historically wine was quite popular in Persia (modern day Iran), and was indeed very popular amongst Muslims for nearly 700 years following the demise of Muhammad.To be sure, it was the Zoroastrians who introduced wine to Persia way back in 2,500 BC, and they believed that wine, in moderation, was good for you as it gave you wisdom and intellectual ability; so it’s been around and used quite frequently for quite a while.What about after Islam took over in the 8th or 9th centuries?716 – 717 AD: The Umayyads liked wine. According to the Chinese diplomat Cefu Yuangui who visited the Umayyad court in 717 AD gave wine cups as a gift to the caliph Suleyman because he loved his wine.Abbasids (upto the 14th century): the 14th century Persian poet named Khwaje shams-od-Din Mohammad Hafez-e Shirazi referred to the love of wine and women in much of his poetry, even mocking those who were against it. His one caution was that wine should be drunk in moderation, and those who drink to excess were bringing disrepute against those who were able to control their habits.1680s: During the rule of Shah Abbas there were records of wine usage, and a famous painting from his court shows him and a whole company of dignitaries and guests drinking wine at one of his banquets.20th century: Prior to the takeover of Iran by the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 wine was grown in large vineyards, and drunk by all echelons of society.Mel showed a famous photograph of the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi providing wine to a large entourage of dignitaries in his palace in 1971.So, like so much of Islam today, much of what we are told is proper Islam by the Qur’an, and by most modern Muslims is not what was initially practiced by the earliest Muslims, at least not for the first 700 years. It seems that many of the restrictions and practices we find in Islam today were not the case in the earliest years of its creation, which once again confronts the Standard Islamic Narrative (SIN).Moving from Iran to another Muslim country Mel will show you in the next episode that this prohibition against Alcohol is also confronted by that countries love for beer; so stay tuned…© Pfander Centre for Apologetics – US, Jan.20, 2023(70,030) Music: “Epic Heroic Conquest” by Musiclfiles, from filmmusic-io

Why do Muslims, or for that matter, everyone not hold Islam to the same standards they require from Christianity and other religions?Christians have always had to back up what they claim with hard evidence, especially historical evidence for the things the Bible says concerning people, places and events.Yet, no one demands the same of Islam!Take for instance the 65 geographical places listed in the Qur’an, yet only 9 of which are named. Of those 9 we find that the Qur’an refers 23 times to the prophet of Islam speaking to or making contact with people who were from AD (which is the Biblical Uz), and 24 times that the prophet had contact with the people from Thamud (which is the Biblical Nabataeans), and 7 times with the Midianites (the same name used in the Bible).But look on a map where the people of AD, Thamud and Midian lived and you will quickly see that they were all up in the north, in the area which is known as Jordan, and northern Arabia today, a good 600 – 1,000 miles away from the city of Mecca where Muslims tell us “the prophet” lived.So, if the prophet was Muhammad, as Muslims say he was, and he lived in Mecca, as they insist he did, then he would have had to travel 600 – 1,000 miles to have these constant meetings with these three groups of people, and then return the same distance, many times within the same day!That is geographical impossible, unless you had a plane or a helicopter (which my informants tell me they didn’t have back in the 7th century)Islam is riddled with issues like these, yet no one seems to either notice, or even care. These places and these people did not exist anywhere near where the Qur’an wants to place them, and thus the evidence in the Qur’an does not support the cold hard facts of history and geography. Instead it seems to be completely based on desire – not fact. Watch as Al Fadi and Dr. Jay discuss the works of Dan Gibson who journeyed throughout the Middle East searching for geographical evidence to support these Qur’anic claims, but soon realized that they simply could not be found.© Pfander Centre for Apologetics – US, Jan.16, 2023(69,950) Music: “Joy at Work” by Musiclfiles, from filmmusic-io

The more we look for references for Mecca from any time before the 8th century, the more we come up with absolutely nothing.In fact, did you know that Mecca is only mentioned by name once in the entire Qur’an, in Sura 48:24? Isn’t that odd? Don’t you think a city that is supposed to be the oldest city in history and at the center and foundation of Islam itself would be mentioned many times over the course of history? Yet, it’s not mentioned at all until the mid 8th century, nearly 100 years after Muhammad supposedly died.This is the place where Adam and Eve, Abraham and Ishmael, and the prophet Muhammad lived, as well as the home of the Qibla (the direction of prayer for all Muslims since the time of Adam and Eve. It’s described as a place of lush foliage, and has rich enough soil to accommodate olive and fruit groves, fed by streams running through it, yet where are these items in Mecca? There is no evidence this type of ecology was ever supported in the area where the city of Mecca is. It has always been an arid desert land. Watch as Al Fadi and Dr. Jay continue with the many historical and geographical problems with Mecca.© Pfander Centre for Apologetics – US, 2023(69,880) Music: “Joy at Work” by Musiclfiles, from filmmusic-io

We now introduce the 4th and most important of our ten MAPI courses for our ‘Master’s Degree in Apologetics and Polemics to Islam’ program (MAPI). This course is entitled IS504 “The Origins of Islam”, taught by Dr Jay Smith, every Monday night from January 30 – March 20, 2023.This course, using only 7th-8th century material, confronts the ‘Standard Islamic Narrative’ at its very foundations, suggesting that there never was a man named Muhammad who lived in a city called Mecca, who received a book called the Qur’an in the 7th century at all.Beginning on Monday the 30th of January (beginning at 8:00 p.m. – Eastern Time) Jay will be lecturing for 8 weeks, followed by a live discussion and Q&A between the students and him on the material introduced in each lecture.To register for the course just e-mail before January 30th to: info@ves.eduJay will be introducing each lecture ‘live’, via Zoom Webinar, every Monday evening, from 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time – USA), from January 30 – March 20 (inclusive). You can also watch the lectures from the comfort of your own home, anywhere in the world, or at any time, as they will be recorded and the URL will be sent to you the next day by email.But you need to be a Christian to take this course, due to the fact that it is being taught at the ‘Veritas International University’ (VIU) which is a Christian seminary, and, therefore, can only permit Christian students to participate.Every lecture will be recorded, and the URL along with the PowerPoint and PDFs for every lecture will be sent to every registered student, so that those who are asleep in another part of the world and therefore cannot be at the ‘live lectures’ (via the Zoom Webinar), can still watch them wherever they are in the world, and at any time they choose.As we have in the past, we are offering this course for 3 categories of students:1) Full-TIme Master’s or Doctoral Degree Students: The first category are those students who want to take this course for a Master’s or a Doctorate academic credit. This is a 3-credit course, so the fee for each credit is $330, which makes the cost for the whole course around $1,000 (depending on whether you are a returning or a new student). For these full-time students, the full course itself continues for 15 weeks, stretching from January 30 – May 1 (though there are only 8 weeks of lecture). This will give you ample time to read and then write logs of the books required for the course, participate in the discussions, write your Research papers, and write your final ‘open book’ exam.2) Audit Students: The second category are those students who want to simply audit the course. The fee for this 8-week course is $280. An Audit student will have access to the Populi site where the discussions and assignments are found (like the Full-time academic students), and will have access to the lectures and will be sent the PowerPoints and PDFs to download.3) Personal Enrichment Students: The third category are those students who simply want to take this course for their ‘Personal Enrichment’. Their fee for the 8-week course is $200. Unlike the Full-time students or the Audit students, they will not have access to the Populi site, but will still have “live access” to all of the lectures and will be sent the PowerPoints and PDFs to download.To underline the distinctions, while all of the students in all 3 categories will have access to all of the lectures and to all of the PowerPoints and PDFs for the entire course, the full-time Academic as well as the Audit students will also have admission to the Populi site to participate in the ongoing weekly discussions, and will have access to the reading lists and assignments, though the full-time students will only be required to fulfill them.If you are interested in any of these 3 levels, simply e-mail the registrar ‘Noelle’ or ‘Peter’ at: info@ves.eduBut you need to hurry, as the first lecture begins on Monday, January the 30th, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (US).Just e-mail: info@ves.eduLecture Topics: Lecture 1: Introduction (What Muslims Claim, Late Dates, and the Revisionists) Lecture 2: Mecca 1 (Geography, Trade Routes, Water, and Debunking False Theories)Lecture 3: Mecca 2 (Qibla, & Gibson vs King) Lecture 4: Muhammad 1 (Claims for Muhammad, Coins, Inscriptions)Lecture 5: Muhammad 2 (7th c. People, The ‘Jerusalem Thesis’, Muhammad Claims debunked)Lecture 6: The Qur’an 1 (Muslim Claims, Early Compilations, Qira’ats) Lecture 7: The Qur’an 2 (Anachronisms, Source Criticism, Manuscripts, Canon, & Shoemaker’s Conclusions)Lecture 8: Conclusion – A Review, “Putting it all Together”, and why we should use it in ministryI’m looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Monday, January 30th, but you need to register first at: info@ves.edu© Pfander Centre for Apologetics – US, Jan.10, 2023(69,830) Music: “New Beginning” by Rafael Krux, from filmmusic-io