Mikhail A. Reisner (Michael von Reusner, 1868–1928), ethnic German historian of law and publicist produced a detailed Marxist analysis of the Koran from the perspective of social studies. His interpretation of Islam can be found in two articles on “The Koran and Its Social Ideology”, published in 1926 in a Soviet literary journal.M. Reisner, “Koran i ego sotsial’naia ideologiia”, part I, in: Krasnaia nov’, 1926, vol.8, 134-149; continuation as part II in: Krasnaia nov’, 1926, vol. 9, 146-164. were later included in his comparative book on “Eastern Ideologies”: M. Reisner, Ideologii vostoka: Ocherki vostochnoi teokratii (Moscow; Leningrad, 1927). In these studies Reisner maintained that Islam was the religion of the Arab merchants of Mecca. He distinguished between the big merchants, that is, the rich families of Mecca, and the less affluent and poor merchant families. Due to the disunion of the Arab tribes, trade caravans were constantly running the risk of being raided by nomads. These caravans were organized as joint ventures of rich and less affluent trade families of the Quraysh tribe, but the poorer merchants invested, and therefore risked, a higher percentage of their capital than the rich families. For this reason the idea of a union of the Arab tribes under one monotheistic religion was developed by the poorer families of the Quraysh, for only such a union would eliminate the raids. Their speaker became Muhammad, who himself hailed from one of the less privileged Quraysh clans.Reisner, “Koran”, part I, 135f.
