This is a very good point. I'm drawing on a few cues here that raise my antennae, e.g. the conflict with scholars of Islam, the strength of the assertions comp

This is a very good point. I'm drawing on a few cues here that raise my antennae, e.g. the conflict with scholars of Islam, the strength of the assertions compared to the shoddiness of the evidence, the promotion by a particular source (News Corp., which has an unabashed record of Islamophobia), the prolific use of A.D. vs C.E., etc. Particularly, the assertion that the Quran predates Muhammad seems absurd given the evidence, and leads me to believe that this is part of a pattern of anti-Islamic articles I've noticed recently. Take my comment for what it's worth. Your conclusions may vary.