First came archæological and linguistic analyses of the Christian
apocrypha and Gospels, and the resulting theories of their authorship,
and now a new generation of scholars are turning their attention to
analysing the
origins of the Koran and the Islamic religion using similar methods.
Their research has shown a number of things at odds with the official line
(for one, they claim that the Koran was written over several centuries, and
probably somewhere with more Jews and Christians than Mecca; and also, the
thing about the 72 virgins is apparently an error of translation).
However, many of them write under pseudonyms, as their occupation is a
dangerous one; some unorthodox scholars have already been attacked or
threatened with death by fundamentalist groups.
(via Plastic)