Reading the Qur'an in the dark

by generaldecay | August 30, 2009 at 08:03 am

214 views | 18 Recommendations | 14 comments

Alas, poor Sebastian Faulks! First he annoys the Muslims by declaring, in a Sunday Times interview, that the Qur'an is "the rantings of a schizophrenic" with "no ethical dimension". Then he upsets the Islamophobes by apologising. The poor sod has been hit by a self-inflicted double whammy.

I had not heard of Faulks' regrettable remarks about the Quran but I can certainly see how they got him into trouble. I have long thought along the same lines as the author of this Guardian piece. He claims, essentially, that many people in the UK are disparaging about, and disbelieving of, the Quran not because they are so dedicated to the Bible as their religious text but because they are so absolutely convinced there can be no other way than the 'Western way'.

What concerns me is the monumental arrogance on which such judgments are made. They assume there must be only one – the western – way for things to be. If the Qur'an is a religious text then it must be like the Bible; otherwise it is worthless. If it is a literary text then it must resemble the work of a western novelist, otherwise it is "very disappointing" and "one-dimensional". The complex, multilayered religious and literary texts of other cultures can only be viewed through a single, monochromatic lens.

Is that we in the West are frightened of what we do not know? Or are we as arrogant as the author claims we are as we sit comfortably in our 'Western ways'? (I have read reports from many Westerners for many years about how wrong/ awful/ sinful/ incorrect/ untenable the Quran is, even if they have not read so much as a page.) Or is that there is so much intolerance for Islam in the West now that the Quran will never be accepted as a viable religious text? I don't know the answers to these questions but I do feel that they are important.

I am also rather of the opinion that, unlike Faulks, if you are going to reject any religious text and its teachings, you should at least read and understand it first. But perhaps that is not [another] Western way.

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Sputnic

at 08:20 on August 30th, 2009

So what aspect of the western way is actually in the Bible ?

What rules of the Quran are different to those of the Bible ?

Interesting Guardian cut, generaldecay, thanks

generaldecay

at 08:41 on August 30th, 2009

I think the author's point was rather more about how Westerners may be inclined to think that the Bible is the religious text for the West because it always has been the text for the West and it always will be the text for the West. Irrespective of what's in the Bible. I would question the amount that Westerners have read the Bible, myself.

What rules of the Quran are different to those of the Bible ?

No idea. I haven't read the Quran.

Grace H

at 11:13 on August 30th, 2009

No idea as well as for differences. I would like to study other religious texts such as the Quran but languages barriers etc I fear will make such difficult. I believe, though I admit my belief is based on limited knowledge, there are not too many literal differneces in the rules. I simply believe aspects such as who was the Messiah hold the major discrepancies. I also believe that various readers interpretation of the texts are a large factor in most any and all discrepancies.

Rhonda J Mangus

at 11:24 on August 30th, 2009

Thanks for this, generaldecay. As for language barriers, An Authorized English Version, translated from the original by Dr. Rashad Khalifa, Ph.D. He was assassinated in 1990.

Grace H

at 11:26 on August 30th, 2009

Thanks I look forward to exploring this further.

Roy C

at 11:46 on August 30th, 2009

And wasn't he assassinated for that translation?

I know that publishers of Koranic texts who publish without the original "classical" Arabic, have had problems.

Rhonda J Mangus

at 11:51 on August 30th, 2009

Roy, Dr. Rashad Khalifa - the man, the issues, and the truth.

rng

at 11:35 on August 30th, 2009

I have read the Quran in English, but in Arabic is was too much of a challenge for my puny language skills. I think, that many Muslims believe that it can only be truly understood in the original language, and that a translation dilutes and misrepresents the message

Grace H

at 11:45 on August 30th, 2009

My belief on it is that it is preferable to read any religious text in its native language. Then a fullre understanding of the message can be acheived as nothing is lost in translation. There in no need to worry about words with multiple meanings as the original context aids in choosing the correct meaning. Nor is there bias or misrepresentation due to the feelings of the translator. Ex. bible was written in greek and aramaic/hebrew, torah in hebrew, Qu'ran in arabic.

Rhonda J Mangus

at 11:37 on August 30th, 2009

You are very welcome, Grace H. I think you will find through searching that most, if not all, non-English religious texts offer translations to English. I also want to thank you for your willingness to explore other religions. In fact, I commend you for it:)!

Sputnic

at 13:46 on August 30th, 2009

It says in the Quran that God will always protect the Quran from being altered, you should be able to trust what you read in the translation of the Quran as being as acurate as possible. The translation of the Quran I have at home was a gift from prince al saud of saudi arabia. We never even met either. No apparently he does a lot of that sort of thing.

Babel-Fish

at 17:43 on August 30th, 2009

All the real difference is the poetry is lost in translation of the Koran. The argument is given only to those that question the Koran concerning flaws such as contradictions that the Koran can only be understood in Arabic.

I have read Koran and have wrote many articles concerning it and Islam, also I have read the Torah and the Bible of which I may add there are many translations and versions of the later. These translations are mostly outrageous and aimed at suiting religious group or organizations. The King James Old Testaments being the only correct translation that tallies nearer to the Torah.

I would confirm that most Christians do not read the bible all the way through and many have not read it at all especially here in the Philippines where I did a survey 5 years ago 90% had not read the bible, 8% only verses in bible study, 2% had read the bible all the way through. Survey set on 400 people.

I personal do not look at the Koran as being a evil book, it is a book of law and indoctrination. Seeing that I am an atheist I could not have any other fairer view, I must add the book that does worry more is the bible in its content of two separate religions. Placed together that shroud the real path that Jesus Christ advised people to take. Its a very contradictory text that could be construed as being the work of the devil by its deceptive path of overriding the wishes of Jesus that can only be found in two of its chapters. The real Christian path.