"Unlike Jesus Christ, the Prophet Muhammad was a theologian, a preacher, a warrior and a politician, all at once. He was also the leader and builder of a new state, capturing, holding and governing new territory. Religious and political functions, at least for the believer, were no accident. They were meant to be intertwined in the leadership of one man." I mean, how original is this thesis? I mean, no one beat him to this observation...except every single Western writer and traveler in the Middle East, and almost most Western Orientalists in the last few centuries. He certainly deserves an award for originality.