The Quran- Misinterpretation?
On Monday night, I settled down to watch the much advertised Channel Four programme “The Koran”-Channel Four had dedicated two hours of prime time TV to examining the issues at stake in what is often perceived by Muslims and non-Muslims as a very controversial and politically charged text.
The producers of the program decided to focus the apparent contradictions in “the most ideologically influential text in the world”. How can a text that preaches tolerance and forgiveness, a text in which Jesus and Moses are revered as prophets no less than Muhammad, also be cited in justification for the jihad, the fatwa, the slaughter of the infidel? How can some Muslim countries have women as heads of state, and others insist on women being treated as chattels?
I was very impressed at how the program asked people from all walks of life as to their interpretation of the Holy Book, from Sheikhs and Ayatollahs, to peasant farmers, Hamas representatives and leading academics and thinkers such as Professor Tariq Ramadan.
Muslims believe the Koran to be the word of God as dictated to the Prophet Muhammad whilst most Christians and Jews understand their holy texts to be authored by man and inspired by God. This distinction means that critical analysis of the Holy texts which has so enlightened Christian and Jewish thinking since the 16th century becomes an extremely sensitive issue when applied to the Koran and it doesn’t help when those scholars who are making the attempt are largely western non Muslims. can their studies really shed new light on the text and its origins?
In 1972, during the restoration of the Great Mosque of Sana, Yemen, workers discovered a mash of old parchments in a loft between the inner and outer rooms. the entire load was stuffed into some twenty potato sacks, where it might have remained where it not for the arrival, seven years later, of Dr Gerhard Puin, German scholar and Koranic expert. Puin immediately grasped the significance of the find, working with a team of local assistants, he carefully prised the layers apart and fired off thousands of photographs. Four fragments immediately caught Puin’s attention, they contained the first and last chapters of the Koran and unlike any other Korans in existence they were illustrated with architectural drawings and mosques, vital clues to their origin.
Because of its drawings, because of its art historical context, you can date this Koran very precisely to the time of al-Waleed, this is the reign between 705 and 715—Dr Gerhard Puin
The oldest datable Koran in the world, created some 70 years after the death of the Prophet. From the potato sacks, Puin identified the fragments of nearly a thousand different Korans, comparisons between them and the standard Cairo text in use today are startling. These early texts are written in a kind of short hand with no vowel markings or distinguishing dots, which means that individual words can have up to thirty different meanings.
Sheer existence of so many different possible readings will suggest that this text wasn’t passed down word for word. The text isn’t as sable as it seems in the Cairo version.–Dr Gerhard Puin
There was another important discovery amongst the Sana fragments. The application of simple forensic techniques revealed earlier texts that had been washed off and over-written. Although the hidden text revealed no contradictory meanings, words had been changed, verses and whole chapters rearranged.
If his researches are correct, particularly upon dating, it suggests in fact that the Koran was not a single product, a single entity that was fixed by 650 but actually developed much much later, hence the overlaying of texts, of written materials. –Dr Patrick Sookhdeo
None of this phases Islamic scholars, past and present, they are adamant that the integrity of the text has been preserved through a strong oral tradition and if differences occurred in written versions, they say this due to regional and colloquial variations of the same words and phrases
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Very interesting Arabista. Thanks for the post.
Greap post. I will prepare a Persian translation of it for my teachers and ask their opinion.
“These early texts are written in a kind of short hand with no vowel markings or distinguishing dots, which means that individual words can have up to thirty different meanings.”
Many scholars believe the dashes/dots indicating short vowels were added in 900/300 as pre classic arabic/koine have no examples extant with said indicators.
The German team took thousands of photo’s of the documents and will publish their findings in due course.
I suspect it will upset many that believe the Koran has been unadulterated thru the centuries.
Great post on MEY. It seems there was a development in Koran. And when something isnt from one source, then there would be controversals in it, I believe! And Koran is book of controversals unfortunately!
for a moment i thought i am reading one of Ali Sina posts
you people are more dangerous than Ali Sina though, at least he make it clear that he want Islam destroyed.
anyway, i am a Muslim….orientalists since the 16th century tried non-stop to invalidate Quran, this is just another try…..will end up in the archive of “how to make a fool of yourself trying to invalidate Islam”
enough with the “damn secularists” mumbo jumbo…i made my point clear…i hate every living secularist in the Arab/Muslim world and i hope they all get deported to the northern pole (preferably after the ice their melt down)
didn’t i say ENOUGH!….damn me….i can’t stop speaking hatred!!
anyway here is an Islamic refutation to the fresh orientalist habra cadabra
http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Text/Mss/soth.html
i am sorry about bursting your secular bubbles…..
Rocco,
Every Muslim on this website is a better Muslim than you can ever dream to be, because they understand and incorporate the true values of Islam, rather than wishing death upon anyone with a different opinion.
Comparing this post to Ali Sina’s drivel proves nothing but your reading comprehension problem.
Seriously, get a life, and maybe a few books to improve your reading and critical thinking skills. With such narrow-mindedness you will never achieve anything in life other than being a slight annoyance to the real Muslims who are progressive enough to fight for uncensored education and true tolerance.
Hmm, well, speaking on behalf of the folks in whose country the “Northern Pole” is located, I certainly welcome immigration of any Arab secularist who wouldn’t mind 2 metres of snow in winter (global warning…yah rite) Entrepreneurs, medical and engineering professionals would be preferred.
This project is an exciting one, and similar ventures have happened in the Christian world over the years, with forensic tests being done on the Shroud of Turin and other relics, etc. Of course, fundamentalist Christians have reacted in pretty much the same fashion, with fear and hatred. What is it about curiosity and rational analysis that causes the virulently dogmatic to freak out?
I’m personally taken with the latest Hollywood explanation of human civilization in the latest Indiana Jones movie where ancient cultures around the world were influenced by crystal skeletoned aliens from another dimension!
(Not enough of course that I’d go to some meeting, help build a structure dedicated to the concept, or give some shiny eyed fellow money to support his cause…that’d be just crazy)
Eric:
What about Iranians? dont you welcome them?
Rocco,
The study of ancient texts is an interesting endeavor and the intent is not to disprove a religion but to scientifically examine the transmission of the documents thru the ages.
This debate actually began within Islam under Caliph al Ma’mun (813-833)and was the orthodox at the time that the Koran was the word of man but the message of God. This was known as Mu’tazilism and was considered the norm until the 10 century when the school that the Koran was the direct word of God, exactly, was established.
Very religious and devout Muslims have had to leave their countries for the west for even studying this subject.
Eric,
I disagree with your synopsis of similarity in this case. Critical study and examination of Christian documents abound and are accepted for the works they are….the ‘Shroud’ is not a document and ‘fundamentalists’ are not Catholic and do not get excited about ‘relics’. As a matter of fact the reformation by Luther was instigated by the wholesale display of supposed relics etc.
Christians believe the Bible to be the Word but written by man and all that entails.
The present, and as I’ve stated prior most recent Islamic position, is different and a Muslim scholar takes the chance of being labeled an apostate for saying or even questioning otherwise.
I wouldn’t take Rocco/Spanky seriously. This is an extreme, troubled, self-hating stalker who has admitted to having a drug and alcoholic issue while claiming to be a gift to Islam. He takes no shame in personally threatening and insulting people here simply for disagreeing with them and the values they stand for, supposedly because they are “un-Islamic.”
The only reason why his comments are occasionally published is to show you all how utterly pathetic and hypocritical many Muslim fundamentalists are and why most Muslims cannot stand living in their intellectually sheltered societies anymore where even bringing up these topics can get you killed or stalked/threatened as this abusive and sickening Spanky character has so widely demonstrated. I was not surprised to see that he comes to us from Egypt, whose religious “leaders” have a habit of burning the best pre-Islamic literature, works of fiction, or controversial Islamic research, as well as get their authors killed or imprisoned. This is the process that the current Egyptian government is promoting.
Not enough people fight against this. Islam praises education, but here in the Muslim world it seems not enough people really want it. They just want to sit on their asses and scream “HERETIC! INFIDEL!” to anything they don’t want to hear and abuse whoever says it. Do not wonder why we do not progress as Muslims, this is exactly the reason. Our brains are in chains.
As Arabista said:
It’s because the other Muslims accept this by staying silent. A lot of Muslims are speaking up but unfortunately most of them are not influential enough to reach out and be heard by the people who need to hear them. On the other hand, the extreme-minded are incredibly well funded, and the Arab media (traditional; TV and newspapers) are operated by such religious monsters.
Esra’a
Dear Esra’a, I’ve never interfered in Rocco/Spanky discussions and never wrote a comment on them. But its not the right way you encounter these guys and it led me to speak out.
These people as you may know and also as Eric mentioned, exist in our world and its a undeniable truth! Extremes are among us and we were and could be extremes in some ways!
Have you ever wondered if there is no extremes, then why there are many conflicts all around the World and has been in history? We cant kill or omit them. They really exist and I believe we should accept this as a fact.
There’s no such a thing, maybe he is more muslim in practice than me or you (excuse me here). We cant judge people because of a comment or an idea. And I dont think he is far from Islam here.
He is a true muslim, I think. If you are a great muslim too, then you should believe in Quran as a complete book to have all explanations for all the phenomena in the universe:
Let’s re-judge ourselves and respect the others; they may seem extremists, but arent we heretics in Quranic views?
Good question Eric.
There are quite a few people out there who believe what they want to believe, and for whom the truth is just a side issue. Why would that be?
Perhaps their beliefs give them a sense of comfort in not having to question the things that have been handed down. Or perhaps their beliefs give them a certain sense of power, in that they can put down anyone who dares to question. Or perhaps, their beliefs give them a sense of identity, in that they can distinguish themselves from non-believers. Or perhaps a sense of superiority in that they can think of themselves as the chosen few who know the truth and who will be rewarded as such.
There are all sorts of reasons for holding on to your deeply help beliefs, even in the face of concrete evidence to the contrary. But as Shakespeare might have put it, “The truth will out.”
In the final anlysis, you can’t hide the truth. People are naturally curious, and sooner or later, all beliefs are filtered through the screen of common sense. And I believe, for what it’s worth, that God intended it that way.
When God created us, He gave us life, which was one hell of a gift, but He did not give us scripture. To my mind, God did not write Holy Scripture. God wrote the universe, and gave us the common sense to decifer its meaning.
It’s scary to think that a lot of what we believe may not be true. That’s a very uncomfortable place for many of us to find ourselves. And it’s OK to believe certain things, even if they make no sense, if they are not harmful to us or others. But if our beliefs cause suffering, then we owe it to ourselves, and to God, for that matter, to have the courage to let them go.
Unless we are willing to let go of false belief, we will have no chance of righting this world, a world which has seriously gone out of kilter, and not at all in keeping with God’s intent.
You are wrong. Anyone who wishes death upon another person that they do not agree with, is FAR from a Muslim, especially since they go against the very basics of Islam. He has admitted to having pre-marital sex with what he calls “whores,” drinking alcohol, doing drugs, and these things alone just prevents him from being any kind of a Muslim. He’s an abusive, sexist, self-hating bigot who takes no shame in stalking other people. He’s an embarrassment to Islam and it is embarrassing that decent Muslims have to share a religion with such a hypocritical, uneducated extremist.
These are the criminals that the real Islam warns us against. These are the people who ruined our faith. And now it is time for us to re-claim it.
Why don’t you tell us what you really think, Esra’a?
Just kidding. But I do think that you make a very powerful point.
When the vast majority of adherents of a religion come to believe that their faith is being taken in a wrong direction, it is their right, and duty, as you say, to re-claim their faith. And we’re not just talking about Islam, but rather any religion that goes astray.
And it’s not enough to say “it is written here, or it is written there,” and it’s also not enough to say “it is God’s will.” God is the creative energy of the universe. We can see that He has created a universe that is capable of all things. And as part of that universe, He created us with the ability to choose the life we want for ourselves. So if we choose to make a better life for ourselves, by ending the suffering in the world, by protecting our environment, and by bringing to our world a greater sense of justice, if we choose to do all that and more, we owe it to ourselves to be true to what we know is right, and not to allow the fanatics to call the shots.
The extremists have their own agenda, God bless them, but their agenda does not have to become our destiny.
Dear Esra’a
I accept I was wrong here by stating that he is a true muslim. But I still insist on the other things: We suppose he have pre-marital sex, drinks alcohol, and many other things against Islamic laws. Then, can we ignore his opinions because of his abusive life which is not related to us? He can drink, but I cant ignore his ideas by saying that he sometimes drink, then his arguments are false! Then, I’m not logical here.
I believe in what you say and know why you say, but he has as an extremist, his ideas and I believe, we should respect everyone’s view points; without mentioning his private life. Its my belief, if it seems to you that I’m wrong, please tell me!
Respecting people’s viewpoints doesn’t mean that we should accept comments that are disgustingly hateful. We tolerated him for many months, and people tried to reason with him respectfully, but this hate-filled spamming has gone overboard.