Quran: A Reformist Translation (Koran, Kuran in Modern English) [Paperback]

Edip Yuksel (Translator), Layth Saleh al-Shaiban (Translator), Martha Schulte-Nafeh (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 19, 2010

• The Reformist Translation of the Quran offers a non-sexist and non-sectarian understanding of the divine text; it is the result of collaboration between three translators, two men and a woman. • It explicitly rejects the authority of the clergy to determine the likely meaning of disputed passages. • It uses logic and the language of the Quran itself as the ultimate authority in determining likely meanings, rather than ancient scholarly interpretations rooted in patriarchal hierarchies. • It offers extensive cross-referencing to the Bible and provides arguments on numerous philosophical and scientific issues. • It is God's message for those who prefer reason over blind faith, for those who seek peace and ultimate freedom by submitting themselves to the Truth alone. "A bold and beautiful translation that serves as a timely reminder to all believers that the Qur'an is not a static scripture, but a living, breathing, ever-evolving text whose sacred words are as applicable today as when they were first uttered by the Prophet Muhammad fourteen centuries ago." - Reza Aslan, PhD., CBS News Consult-ant; Author, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam. "A testament to the fact that faith need not suffocate reason. This is bound to be among the smartest of 'smart bombs' in the battle of ideas within Islam." - Irshad Manji, Fellow, Yale University and author, The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith. "I completely agree with you in your rejection of the right of any group to arrogate to themselves the sole interpretation of the Quran.... Your effort is praiseworthy. Well done. Keep it up." - Kassim Ahmad, former president of Malaysian Socialist Party and head of Malaysian Quranic Society who was declared "apostate" by religious authorities for his controversial work on the Prophetic Traditions. "This translation is the best tool for those who want to understand the uncorrupted Message of Islam - justice and peace. This translation shows that the Quran is but the confirmation and continuation of God's system memorialized through Abraham, demonstrated in Torah through numerous prophets, and in the Hebrew Gospel through Ye-shu'a/Jesus, the righteous of God. This translation is a message of peace, justice and judgment..." - Gershom Kibrisli, theologian and communal leader, The Karaim of the Early Hebrew Scriptures, Holy Land & Benelux. "This Reformist Translation of the Quran and its ancillary materials should begin many conversations, between and among Muslims and non-Muslims alike. In many parts of the Muslim world this is a dangerous discussion, and sometimes that danger can reach well into the West, as evidenced by the 1990 fatwa-inspired murder of Rashad Khalifa in Tucson, Arizona. It is an important discussion, however, and the editors of this book have assumed this risk to argue for a perspective that sets violence aside both in discourse and living. One can imagine that a broader adoption of their perspective across the Muslim world would reduce strife and invite greater examination of Islam by non-Muslims as something other than a threat. It would expand the conversation." - Mark V Sykes Ph.D. J.D. Director, Planetary Science Institute. "Very Interesting and Timely" - Riffat Hassan, Ph.D. Professor of Religious Studies and Humanities at the University of Louisville, Kentucky. A pioneer of feminist theology in the context of the Islamic tradition. "Quran: A Reformist Translation is also unique because it is the product of collaboration between two key figures in the pre-sent-day Qur'anist movement: Edip Yuksel and Layth Saleh al-Shaiban." - Aisha Y. Musa, PhD, Professor of Islamic Studies, Florida International University; author of An Examination of Early and Contemporary Muslim Attitudes toward Hadith as Scripture (Doctoral Dissertation, Harvard University, 2004).

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

EDIP YUKSEL is an American-Turkish-Kurdish author and activist who spent four years in Turkish prisons in the 1980's for his political writings and activities promoting an Islamic revolution in Turkey. He experienced a paradigm change in 1986 transforming him from a Sunni Muslim leader to a reformed muslim, a rational monotheist, or a peacemaker. Edip Yuksel has written more than twenty books and hundreds of articles on religion, politics, philosophy and law in Turkish, and numerous articles and books in English. Edip is the founder of 19.org, the Islamic Reform organization, and co-founder of Muslims for Peace, Justice and Progress (MPJP), and the chief editor of the annual anthology, Critical Thinkers for Islamic Reform.His personal site is yuksel.org. After receiving his bachelor degrees from the University of Arizona in Philosophy and Near Eastern Studies, Edip received his law degree from the same university. Edip teaches Philosophy and Law at Pima Community College and Brown Mackie College. He is fluent in Turkish, English and Classic Arabic; proficient in Persian, and barely conversant in Kurdish, his mother tongue.

LAYTH SALEH AL-SHAIBAN is an author of various books and articles on Islam, founder of Progressive Muslims, and co-founder of Islamic Reform. Layth works in a financial institution as a financial adviser, and lives in Saudi Arabia.

MARTHA SCHULTE-NAFEH is Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Arizona and Language Coordinator of Middle Eastern Languages at the Department of Near Eastern Studies. Martha received her B.S. from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in Economics, received her M.A., in Linguistics from the University of Arizona in 1990, and her Ph.D. from the same university in Near Eastern Studies - Arabic Language and Linguistics 2004. In 1982, she taught English as a Foreign Language at American University in Cairo, Egypt.

Product Details

• Paperback: 684 pages
• Publisher: Brainbow Press; 2nd Revised edition (May 19, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979671507
• ISBN-13: 978-0979671500
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #200,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Children's Books > Religions > Islam

More About the Author

EDIP YUKSEL is an American-Turkish-Kurdish author and activist who spent four years in Turkish prisons in the 1980's for his political writings and activities promoting an Islamic revolution in Turkey. He experienced a paradigm change in 1986 transforming him from a Sunni Muslim leader to a reformed muslim, a rational monotheist, or a peacemaker. Edip Yuksel has written more than twenty books and hundreds of articles on religion, politics, philosophy and law in Turkish, and numerous articles and books in English. Edip is the founder of 19.org, the Islamic Reform organization, and co-founder of Muslims for Peace, Justice and Progress (MPJP). His personal site is yuksel.org. After receiving his bachelor degrees from the University of Arizona in Philosophy and Near Eastern Studies, Edip received his law degree from the same university. Edip is an Adjunct Philosophy professor at Pima Community College, and teaches various classes at Accelerated Learning Lab. He is fluent in Turkish, English and Classic Arabic; pro-ficient in Persian, and barely conversant in Kurdish, his mother tongue.


Edip Yuksel, J.D.
www.19.org
www.yuksel.org
www.islamicreform.org
www.brainbowpress.com
www.mpjp.org
ENGLISH: http://groups.google.com/group/19org
TURKISH: http://groups.google.com/group/edipyuksel
TURKISH: http://groups.google.com/group/yuzondort
Turkish Books: www.ozanyayincilik.com

Each of us must use our own mind in pursuit of truth. (17:36; 10:100; 39:17-18; 41:53; 42:21; 6:114-116; 10:36; 12:111; 20:114; 21:7; 35:28; 38:29).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing work and effort, December 20, 2007

By 

R. Zayed "Reem" (Ottawa, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Quran: A Reformist Translation (Koran, Kuran in Modern English) (Paperback)

This is an excellent work that is not only useful in terms of translation but also is a great material for Arab-speaking or not , Muslims or not to truly understand the core of Islam .

I thank the authors for this great work and I appreciate the amazing and honest effort they put in it.It is simply a genious work that focuses on the Quran 's soul without great noise or pretention.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dare to read and understand the Truth, November 23, 2010

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quran: A Reformist Translation (Koran, Kuran in Modern English) (Paperback)

I learned about the mathematical system of the Quran during early 80's. One of my teachers mentioned it in the class, making a few statements and it was never mentioned again. However, his comments stayed in my head until 2010 when I started reading Rashad Khalifa's and Edip Yuksel's Translation and explanation of the code 19. Generally speaking, many people write about very different topics every day, and after years of practice, eventually it comes naturally to them. However, when one sits to write, the thought of organizing the collection of writing in a way that a mathematical relationship is preserved throughout the writing never crosses any human-wirter's mind. As humans, we are very much focused on the logical flow of what we right, grammar, punctuation. Some care about political correctness of how ideas are expressed, and many other external factors including saying things in a way that would attract a lot attention. The thought of writing any meaningful literal piece and preserving any mathematical relationship is something that is not even considered. Furthermore, and again generally speaking, there are very few people who may have the vast knowledge of both mathematics and literature, let alone the ability to combine these two into a masterpiece. Keep this in mind as I will be coming back to this.

I studied Biochemistry for undergraduate, and then voluntarily took extra physiology and other science courses during years of obtaining my Doctorate in Pharmacy. Aside from learning the science, the recurring theme in my head was that whoever programmed all this must have had the highest level of knowledge in ALL, yes ALL, sciences including physics, chemistry, biology, physiology, kinesiology, medicine, immunology, biochemistry, electronics, engineering and much more that human limited capacity is yet to discover. Sciences that I mentioned above are a small collection that I had superficial exposure to some. Now, combine all this with the literature and mathematics, and you have a picture perfect! Yes there are mysteries in Quran that will be revealed at the right time to the right person. Yes, anyone can raise questions regarding multiple meanings and allegories used therein. What is undeniable is that all signs point in one and only one direction, and that is existence of an omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent being, far beyond our understanding, who takes every opportunity to touch us and communicate with us. Yes, there are repetitions in Quran, guess what, the most efficient way we learn to remember things is through repetition.

The reformist translation was done at a much needed time. A time, that many volumes of Hadith and other types of religious manuals were written that were far longer and voluminous than Quran itself. These were written without much thought and careful verification of sources and credibility of such sources, and what is far worse is that it never occurred to the authors and publishers to read the Quran and see if their product is contradicting Quran or insulting anyone. Furthermore, If we agree that the author of Quran possesses all knowledge that there is, then Quran must remain a timeless masterpiece. The reformist translation took time to link many of the recent scientific discoveries to what was written over 1400 years ago. This link is highly significant; since it, yet again, proves that Quran is a living and timeless document far beyond our current and future discoveries. Furthermore, many things written in Quran became hot button for various groups (e.g. beating women). The reformist translation took a fresh look at the topic and took time to clarify some of the inadvertent misconceptions of previous translations.

Quran repeatedly states that "we made Quran easy to learn. Do any of you wish to learn?" (54:40), this is yet another dimension of this book, where anyone with any level of literacy can read and be (God willing) guided to countless signs that exist in us and around us.

As for the Code 19, it is something that it is rather impossible to imitate, yet it should not be considered the end of the miracles that Quran offers. One can easily be amazed by it, admire it, and stop right there, but an open mind sees far beyond the words on the paper.

Peace to all those who have successfully killed their ego and are open-minded and fearless enough to acknowledge truth when they are exposed to it.

Ali Seyed, Pharmacist, 43, PA

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing and insightful new translation of the Qur'an, October 1, 2007

By 

Jeffrey Garrison "Earthyman" (Colorado Springs, C(O) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quran: A Reformist Translation (Koran, Kuran in Modern English) (Paperback)

The most cogent advice I received when I started

reading the Qur'an (several translations/transliterations and many years ago) was to understand and absorb it, through a humble, open HEART AND MIND, as a whole, all-at-once message and not through extracted excerpts. Many critics of Islam, as presented by the Qur'an, are unlikely to have approached it with this spirit, in my experience. I wonder how many Muslims have experienced the Qur'an in this way. Reality is not linear but the written word is necessarily so.

I strongly suggest that this English representation of the Qur'an can only be fully appreciated by slowly absorbing it, cover to cover. As well, I suggest that the most integrated understanding of the Qur'an can only be realized by synthesizing the full message in one's heart first, as a single experience. With this in mind, this Reformist Version does an unusually fine job in clarifying

those elements (such as gender imbalance) which have been perceived as dissonant within the whole message in the "standard" translations. This version, which is not revisionistic, presents an integrated consistency rarely found in other translations and it elucidates issues not commonly grasped by modern readers (in any language). Those with an open mind and heart, who only understand modern Arabic and not the dialect in which it was originally revealed, have the opportunity to experience comfort and inner peace by absorbing this clean, Reformist translation. With this in mind, this version can only be judged following a thoughtful read of the entire volume. The issue of the number "19" has been commonly misunderstood. The number does NOT contribute to new understanding of the textual meaning and message; it reveals an extraordinary symmetry which would not be found in the product of a human being.

In addition, the analyses within the commentaries can shed the light of new understandings, which might be a relief for many open-minded, humble readers, Muslim and non-Muslim alike. This work also offers the possibility of beginning to open the door to the resolution of the conflicts, among the Abrahamic religions, including among the Islamic peoples, so common over past centuries. This can only work through peaceful, thoughtful contemplation and discussion among those with varying views and sincere hearts. To my understanding, there is a consensus within the broad, thoughtful Islamic community, that on the "final day," we are all alone before our Creator, taking personal responsibility for our life. If there are errors within the translation or my understandings, they are owned by whoever created the errors. This important new English version is a well-intended effort and a positive contribution to the ancient and honorable Islamic principle of ijtihad. For those who disagree, at the deepest levels within their "hearts," they should remember that there really can be "no compulsion in religion." Looking more deeply into the Qur'an, with additional analyses, with the Message best understood as a whole, is not, in any way, a reflection of a sect division. Indeed, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) vigorously cautioned against the development of ANY sect divisions in Islam.