Soon after 9/11 I decided to read the Koran to see what would inspire believers to pilot a jet into a building. I picked up an English translation and dove in.
My impression of this translated version was that it was stuffed with warlike language about killing the Christians and Jews and infidels whenever they are on your land or otherwise threatening you. I’m no religious scholar (perhaps you’ve noticed) but my reading of the Koran seemed to clearly support Osama’s interpretation. The equation was simple: Christians and Jews were on Muslim land, and the Koran seemed to clearly and repeatedly say that killing them was not only allowed but strongly encouraged.
Indeed, it seemed to me as I read this translated version that killing non-Muslims was the major theme of the book. I wasn’t reassured by the instructions that it’s okay to let non-Muslims live as long as they don’t spend any time on your land and don’t interfere with your affairs. That leaves a lot of wiggle room.
To be fair, I also remember lots of peaceful and positive stuff in the Koran, about helping widows and that sort of thing. But the emphasis seemed to be about defending the religion with force. And to be fair again, it clearly and consistently said not to engage in an offensive war. Any non-Muslims who don’t bother you are allowed to die of natural causes and burn for eternity in the afterlife. That’s more than fair.
Since then I have had numerous discussions, usually via e-mail, with Muslims who are obviously familiar with the non-translated Koran. They assure me that the stuff I read in the translation doesn’t exist in the original.
Huh?
One learned Muslim informed me that translated versions of the Koran are notorious for rewriting the Koran to make it seem evil and warlike. Allegedly many translations have been written by enemies of Islam.
So here is my mystery. I am trying to find out which explanation is closest to reality:
1. The Koran is not especially warlike, but after 9/11 my perceptions were so biased that it seemed that way to me.
Or
2. The Koran is big on killing Christians, Jews and infidels, yet Muslims deny it when speaking to people outside the faith.
Or
3. I happened to read a translated version of the Koran written by an enemy of Islam.
Unfortunately I gave away my translated copy of the Koran and no longer remember the translator or publisher. I am just cynical enough to entertain the notion that malicious translations not only exist but are widespread. I have no reason to believe it, but it falls squarely in the feasible category.
I’ve also searched the Koran using Internet search engines, trying to confirm all the violent stuff I remembered. I couldn’t find any of it. I did find numerous little violent bits, but nothing remotely approaching what I remembered reading.
Does anyone know if there are popular translated versions of the Koran that are fake?