In early 2004, a book called ‘Crossroads to Islam’ was written by Yehuda Nevo, an amateur archaeologist, and J. Koren, his research assistant. Early Islamic history shares not only some geography with ancient Israel but also a comparable historical and historiographical trajectory, and at least some of Nevo's (and others') views seem to have been informed by the study of ancient Israel itself. In his book, Nevo reaches four principal conclusions: that the Arabs took over the eastern provinces of the Byzantine empire without a struggle; that the Arabs were pagan at the time of the takeover; that Muhammad is not a historical figure, and enters the official religion only c. 71/690; and that the Qur'an is a late compilation. These radical views subvert the narrative of Islamic origins that prevails not only amongst most Muslims, but also amongst most scholars.