We need to talk about the Koran

William Page tries to convince readers of the peaceful character of the Koran. In the absence of stronger arguments, I am convinced that Mr Page’s conviction is based on a wrong understanding. 

Muslims believe the Koran is a verbatim report of the words of Allah. I repeat: the text is a literal record of the spoken words of God. Muslims also believe the Koran is a complete guide for how to live your life. All the rules, the do’s and don’ts, necessary to living a good life are to be found in the Koran. Independent thinking and interpretation are not allowed, some chapters tell us. Instead, Muslims must submit (the word Islam means “submission”) unconditionally to the word of God. 

Page points out that each chapter (except one) begins with the invocation “In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful”, and says this demonstrates that Islam is basically a compassionate religion. 

However, nowhere in the Koran (the words of God) have I read a chapter that instructs believers themselves to be gracious or merciful. On the contrary, Chapter 2 instructs Muslims not to marry unbelievers, Chapter 4 says fighting in the cause of Allah will bring great rewards, and Chapter 5 tells Muslims not to take Jews and Christians as friends. Thus it appears that grace and mercy are virtues limited to Allah himself and do not extend to His followers. 

That impression is reinforced by the lack of Muslim protests against atrocities carried out by militant jihadists, which suggests the attacks are more or less condoned by the great majority of believers.

Some Islamic scholars, such as Egypt’s Hasan Hanafi, believe the Koran should be interpreted according to the modern context we live in, but in fact this is not allowed, since the Koran contains the literal words of Allah. 

I thank Mr Page for his letter, even if I don’t agree with him, since the topic of the Koran and those who adhere to its teachings should be of the highest interest to us all.

Egon