Among Armstrong’s recent work is a re-writing of her biography of the Prophet Muhammad, newly titled “Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time.” She said on New York public radio in 2006, that “I have rewritten my biography of the Prophet Muhammad, based on the latest research — he was not a warrior, but he found himself, like many of the Axial Age sages, in a violent society and he eventually brought peace to the region by practicing a daring policy of nonviolence worthy of Gandhi. He stopped the violence and went into Mecca unarmed and forced the Meccans to negotiate with him, accepting terms that his followers thought were disgraceful.” She has just completed work on her latest book, “The Bible: A Biography,” due out in November.

Bravo - it is so hard for anti-religious people to see what many scholars see: that historic excesses have been excesses of the times, and often not excesses of religion itself. Often, the truly spiritual suffered with other victims in opposition to cultural/religious excess.
Good post, arifsali!