No, not the best idea
Reader comment on item: The Canadian Islamic Congress Discusses the Old Testament
in response to reader comment: Yes, read the Koran!

Submitted by rwtw (Australia), Jul 19, 2006 at 06:31

Further to the comment by Carl Goldberg - I agree with what Dr Pipes says - not to read it - particularly remembering that he says not to read it for political insight.

My reasons are two.

Firstly, to do with the nature of the Koran. I don't have the quote to hand, since I am just replying to the blog entry - Thomas Carlyle has an eloquent statement to the effect that the Koran is such a confused, inchoate mess as to be beyond the patience of any educated westerner. The quote is worth looking for. It is not a readable book - you won't get through it.

Secondly, more pertinently : my reading suggests that the sources for modern Islamism are only remotely to be found in the Koran. To be sure people like Qutb, who, I understand, was a vital player in legitimizing political violence in the modern world, find their source in the Koran, but it is their interpretation which is behind the proliferating violence - you won't find it directly in the Koran.

I think the general reader would do well to defer to the scholar in this instance - follow Dr Pipes' advice.

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