Jimbob reads the Qur'an, Pt. 1

Ok, the foks at CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations, were kind enough to send me their English translation of the Qur’an. Of course, since the Qur’an was written in Arabic for arabs, any conclusions drawn from the English text are to be dismissed since it is not in Allah’s tongue of Arabic. Too bad, I’m going to read it, and measure it anyway. So there.

So, it starts off with a nice title plate with “The Message of the Qur’an” at the top, a pretty illustrated box in the middle, and then “For people who think” at the bottom. I imagine that this bit of arrogance insinuates that people who reject the “Message” are not thinking..

The book is marvelously illustrated, a delight to the eyes, and good for food..oh wait, that reminds me of another fruit in a different book. Aesthetics aside , let’s delve, shall we?

The first Surah begins:
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace:
All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace, Lord of the Day of Judgment!

Ok, so the Trinitarians out there should take heed: God is boss, and there is no one else.
Thank you, Arius, for this tidbit of heresy. Otherwise, the texts are full of effluent praise of ‘God’ and all His aspects, as if all the praise were a heavy flavoring that could mask the presence of poison. Onward and upward.

Second Surah:

“Behold, as for those who are bent on denying the truth – it is all one for them whether thou warnest them or dost not warn them: they will not believe. God has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and over their eyes is a veil; and awesome suffering awaits them.”

Wow, ok, that’s standard infidel dismissal. But, who decides if your truth is The Truth? Later, we see this:

“Verily, those who have attained to faith [ in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, and the Sabians – all who believe in God and the Last Day and do good deeds – shall have their reward with their Sustainer; and no fear they have, and neither shall they grieve.”

Ok, so now we’re lumping in Islam with the other “People of the Book”, and co-validating their faith. Well, as long as it’s practiced in accordance to what Mohammed sayeth, right? Why else treat Jews and Christians as dhimmis, unless they refuse to compromise their faith by accepting the Prophet’s testimony.

Here, it gets interesting:
"Say [O Prophet]:”Whoever is an enemy of Gabriel”- Who by God’s leave, has brought down upon thy heart this [divine writ] which confirms the truth of whatever still remains [of earlier revelations], and is a guidance and glad tiding for the Believers: “whosoever is an enemy of God and His Angels and His message-bearers, including Gabriel and Michael, [should know that,] verily, God is the enemy of all who deny the truth.”

The story is that Gabriel dictated the Qur’an to Mohammed. It’s a bit of a twist, considering that God used to communicate directly with the prophets of old. True, angels carried messages to people, but those were more of a personal nature, for specific events. Elizabeth Claire Prophet allegedly channels the spirits of ‘Ascended Masters’ and angels, preaching about many things, like chakras, kundalini, and other spiritual topics from a ‘Father-Mother God’. Prophet and her followers are still collecting guns in their Montana compound. Joseph Smith allegedly got the Book of Mormon from an angel, named Moroni (maroon?). The pseudo epigraphal ‘Book of Enoch’ details how angels came and taught men astrology, witchcraft, herb-lore, and other occult arts. More angelic deceptions?

In the second Surah, there is a lengthy section that contradicts the teachings of Jesus on divorce, as well as denial that God has a Son. More about that in the third Surah, later this week.