Dispersion across languages made scriptural falsification impossible

Evidence

All the books discovered were difficult to decipher and translate. An extreme example of the ambiguities inherent in this form of writing is that the same consonant outline, when unpointed (i.e., without nuqat), could represent either b, t, th, n, or y. The permutations of uncertainty in 5. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 1263 (#complicates, via linked claim)

The debate encouraged the view that dialectical victory could be fairly easily achieved. But it also showed that dialectic must be supported by a knowledge of languages if it was to be effective at the level of world affairs. — R. W. Southern, Western Views of Islam in the Middle…, 316 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Unpointed Arabic script makes single consonant outlines ambiguous across five readings — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 1263; Effective world-level disputation required languages, not just dialectic — R. W. Southern, Western Views of Islam in the Middle…, 316; Judaism permitted scripture translation while other scriptural religions resisted it (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Unpointed Arabic script makes single consonant outlines ambiguous across five readings #complicates (0.95) — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 1263
• Effective world-level disputation required languages, not just dialectic #complicates (0.85) — R. W. Southern, Western Views of Islam in the Middle…, 316
• Claims that the Quran borrowed from Scripture were linguistically unserious #complicates (0.85)
• Judaism permitted scripture translation while other scriptural religions resisted it #complicates (0.80)