I was just looking at what the Jewish view on what Mohammed was, especially closer to his time. This is what I have found so far:
In the Middle Ages, it was common for
Jewish writers to claim that Muhammad was
ha-meshuggaʿ ("the
madman"), a term of contempt used in the
Jewish Bible for those who believe themselves to be prophets.
[1][2][3]
Contemporaries[edit]
In the 7th century and during the life of Muhammad himself, many Jewish leaders and individual Jews made public their views on him or those who followed, especially but not limited if it concerned their communities. Among others, the old sage and man of letters
Abu 'Afak from the Ubaeda tribe who wrote a poem which would be indicted by Muhammad himself, as warranting the capital sentence by
assassination. The extant of it was preserved in Islamic biography and it may have been less severe,
Long have I lived but never have I seen
An assembly or collection of people
More faithful to their undertaking
And their allies when called upon
Than the sons of Qayla when they assembled,
Men who overthrew mountains and never submitted.
A rider who came to them split them in two
(saying) "Permitted", "Forbidden", of all sorts of things.
Had you believed in glory or kingship
You would have followed
Tubba.
The apostle [Muhammad] said, "Who will deal with this rascal for me?"
Judaism's views on Muhammad - Wikipedia
Interestingly, Medina also had a sizeable Jewish community, which had probably moved there after being expelled from Palestine by the Romans. Muhammad respected the Jews, and his early teachings appeared to borrow from Jewish tradition. The Jews began to distance themselves from Muhammad, however, when he became critical of their not recognizing him as a prophet.
Once it was clear the Jews would not accept him, Muhammad began to minimize or eliminate the Jewish influence on his beliefs. For example, he shifted the direction of prayers from Jerusalem to Mecca, made Friday his special day of prayer, and renounced the Jewish dietary laws (except for the prohibition on eating pork). Originally, he said the Arabs were descendants of
Abraham through his son Ishmael, but in the Koran Abraham's connection to the Jews is denied, with Muhammad asserting that Abraham is only the patriarch of Islam, not Judaism as well, because he "surrendered himself to Allah."
One of the immediate consequences of Muhammad's frustration was the expulsion of two Jewish tribes from Medina and the murder of all the members of a third Jewish tribe (except for the women and children, who were sold into slavery). But even worse for the long-term treatment of the Jews were a number of inflammatory statements about Jews that Muhammad made that appear in the Koran — which, over the years, stoked
Arab/Islamic anti-Semitism.
Muhammad slowly began to build his power base both by the persuasiveness of his faith and the old-fashioned way: by marrying women from important families to gain political advantage. He came to control the oases and markets, which forced other traders and tribesmen to negotiate with him. When he finally returned to Mecca, it was at the head of an imposing army that forced the residents to capitulate.
I think this supports my point that Mohammed was only appealing to the Jews by initially accepting some of the Jewish beliefs and traditions to win them over to his religion with him as its founder(and hence supreme authority) but when it became clear the Jews were not buying it, he began to minimise the Jewish beliefs that he revealed in the earlier parts of the Quran in the later parts of the Quran --- and according to Islamic doctrine the later verses abrogate the earlier verses. It is well know that the early parts of the Quran were composed in Mecca when Mohammed had a small following and no power, he was rejected by the majority. The later parts were composed his Medina when Mecca had multiplied his followers and grown rich and powerful through camel raids on the people of Mecca. As soon as he had enough power, he laid siege on Mecca.
