The Civilizational Myth Of Adam And Eve

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 15 November 2022 Adam And Eve Were Neither Biological Nor Spiritual Parents Of Mankind ----- While I admire T O Shanavas' erudition, I can't digest his overweening statement that, "Adam was the first prophet preaching Islam to human species drawing them out of animality to humanity." This sounds haughtily supercilious and I compare it to Rudyard Kipling's highly racist and disparaging, ' White man's burden.' The myth of Adam and Eve is integral to all three Semitic faiths, viz, Judaism, Christianity and Islam and the followers of these three faiths claim that Adam preached Judaism, Christianity and Islam depending upon the Semitic faiths followers belong to. But the Muslims are most vocal in their claim as Adam being the first prophet to preach Islam. I'm sorry, this claim holds no water. Let me dissect this claim before detonating it. If Adam was the first prophet preaching Islam, what was the role of Eve? Doesn't this spurious claim further buttress the fact that out of 1 lakh 24 thousand messengers sent down by a fictional Allah, none has been a woman? Is your Allah or god as gender-biased as you're ? Why hasn't there been a female prophet or messenger thus far? Isn't your Islam like all other faiths rabidly misogynistic? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also Read: Adam and Eve: The Spiritual, Not Biological, Parents of Human Species ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Islam and Semitic faiths believe that Adam and Eve existed roughly 10 to 12 thousand years ago. But evolutionary and archaeological findings point out that Homo Sapien Erectus (early humans like us) existed nearly 50 thousand years ago. Before that Neanderthals existed. Agrarian Human civilization started roughly 15 to 20 thousand years ago. Cults, sub-cults and animism groups existed prior to organized faiths and the first monotheistic faith came into existence nearly 4 thousand years ago in the form of Zoroastrianism. Even before Islam, there were Judaism and Christianity. But Adam chose to preach Islam! Allah hu Akbar! This sounds like Zakir Naik's most goatish thinking that every child is born with Islam as Islam is an individual's faith by default. Coming back to Adam and Eve, they were neither biological nor spiritual parents of mankind. These characters just didn't exist. Concocting them and weaving a cobweb of lies and myths will not help your Islam or mankind surge ahead. Thomas Tweed considered the story of Adam and Eve as an Ethnic or Civilizational Myth to be debunked for the intellectual and non-denominational progress of mankind. See, " Thomas Tweed, " Between the living and the dead: Fieldwork, history, and the interpreter's position " (NY University Press, 2002). ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/civilizational-myth-adam-eve/d/128400 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism