Customer Reviews

What the Koran Really Says: Language, Text and Commentary

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(9)

 

 

Anyone familiar with Ibn Warraq's books readily knows why he is pretty much universally reviled by Muslim polemicists (he has several death fatwas outstanding against him - hence his use of a pseudonym for publishing). This book is no different. In it, Ibn Warraq presents a large collection of articles from scholars who spent their lives investigating the Qur'an and its history. This, in and of itself, will cause most Muslims and "pro-Islam" people in the West to view this book as a "hostile" source. Any collection of articles that deconstruct the Qur'an and which demonstrate flaws, imperfections, and inconsistencies in the Qur'an will be viewed as such.

Bad point: Much of the information in the book is very dated. We're talking about information first presented by the likes of Noldeke, Wellhausen, and Goldziher in the early 20th century.

Good point: Much of this information is still relevant today, if only because of the relative paucity of scholars who are actually willing to critically examine Islam without slavishly seeking to substantiate the Islamic party line. Many of the linguistic arguments still have not been satisfactorily answered by Muslims or Westerners to this day (i.e. rebuttals based on circular reasoning such as relying upon the traditional Islamic view of the Qur'an to SUBSTANTIATE the traditional Islamic view of the Qur'an don't count).

If Muslims think that the essays in Ibn Warraq's book are "hostile", then they should acquaint themselves with the works of more modern researchers from the last thirty years like Crone, Cook, Nevo, Wansbraugh, etc. These and other investigators are even more "hostile" if only because they have a greater base of archaeological, numismatic, epigraphic, etc. data from which to assess the traditional Islamic historiography.

As we can see from some of the previous reviewers, those who don't like this book are generally a bit biased themselves. One from March 20, 2003 (below) barely addresses the actual content of the book, and spends up who-knows how much bandwidth giving us a screed about the "peaceful" aspects of jihad and how the Qur'an really promotes peace, love, harmony, and all that other good stuff. Another review (Edgar Hopida, Nov. 16, 2002) complains about bias in this book, using such objective terminology as "this book represents the one-sided, misleading, and dishonest evidence about the Qur'an, Islam, and its rich history" and "Orientalism, has for centuries attempted to deconstruct Islam, trying to give biased proof that the Occident is superior over the Orient." Would Mr. Hopida care to explain why "Orientalists" have been inclined towards trying to do the exact same thing with the Bible? Perhaps they were trying to give biased proof that the Occident is superior over the *Occident*, too?

Basically, this is a book which the reader will either appreciate for its factual content, or else will despise for its factual content, depending on whether Islamic presuppositions are brought to the table before reading it.

This book is the most difficult I have as yet attempted to read on the topic of Islam. The introduction by Warraq suggests it will be an exposition about the history and structure of the Koran, like those available for general readers about the Bible. What we get instead from Warraq is the unvarnished conversation of scholars with one another. Only Warraq himself attempts to address the general reader.

The book is organized as an anthology, with many entries that read like scholarly papers written for The Society of Biblical Literature. Some of the material requires an acquaintance with classical Arabic, and makes references to loan words from Hebrew, Syriac, and other aancient Semetic languages.

I would recommend that the general reader approach the book by reading Warraq's "Introduction," first, and then skip over to the critical concluding essay by Ibn Rawandi (Section 8.3). (Ibn Rawandi is the pseudonym of another Islamic dissenter like Ibn Warraq. Both these names are derived from 8th and 9th Century Islamic dissenters described in Chapter 10 of Warraq's "Why I Am Not A Muslim.")

After reading Rawandi's critical essay, one should then go back and read (or re-read) the materials to which Rawandi refers. Only then should the naive reader attempt to follow the arguments concerning loan-words found in the Koran from Syriac, Ebionite-Christianity, and other ancient sources.

Why is this all so hard to unravel? It appears to me that the state of critical scholarship about the Koran is much less well developed than is scholarship about the Bible. The attempt to explain the redundancies and contradictions in the Koran is about as well developed today as was Biblical scholarship in the last quarter of the 19th Century. Why is scholarship about the Koran so much less well developed? One reason may be that Western scholars have simply been more interested in the sources of their own religious canon. But another salient factor is the resistance within Islam itself toward any such critical examination of the Koran. Warraq tells us the Encyclopedia of Islam says the Koran plays a role within Islam, like that played by Christ in Christianity. So Muslims are even more allergic to critical examinations of their canon than Christian fundamentalists are of theirs. As Barry Rubin explains in his "The Long War For Freedom," merely proposing to examine the Koran with the tools of critical scholarship can get one imprisoned or even executed in an Islamic country today.

I can understand, in retrospect, why this book was so difficult to read. Warraq simply could not present his case for the Koran being a document with a history of construction from multiple sources, without first leading us through such a dense thicket of evidence and analysis.

This book is a compendium of many well researched papers written in the last century and before. It is a very scholarly book, and not something for the casual reader, which makes it far too detailed for someone not familiar with the languages of the Middle East. It is easy to see why Islamists hate this book since it points out that over 20% of the Koran is indecipherable to even most Islamic scholars. It also shows the probable origins of the Koran from other material and writings available before Mohammed heard the voices which made him a prophet in the minds of some. While there are some interesting tidbits, such as Christoph Luxemberg's theory that the Islamic promise of sexual bliss with numerous virgins at every believer's disposal in the afterlife is probably a misinterpretation of the Syriac word for "white raisins" instead of doe-eyed virgins, this is a tedious book for the regular reader. While I'm sure Luxemberg's theory will not diminish the supply of jihaadist lunatics, it does point out that a religion which condemns to death scholars who try to examine the basic document of this faith is a very scary threat to civilization all over the globe. The book also tells the stories of outrageous threats against some of those so condemned. Ibn Warraq (a pseudonym for a former Muslim who has been condemned to death by fatwas issued by mullahs of the "religion of peace" has done a great job of compiling these papers. I also got to learn that his pseudonym means "son of a stationer (or bookseller)"

of an important topic. Warraq begins with an in-depth introduction of over 100 pages of his own analysis that draws on both Islamic and western scholarship. His is a genuine attempt to provide balance to the quest for the genesis (NPI) of the Koran. He begins with a critical analysis of the vagaries of the Arabic(s), Semitic, Aramaic and other languages that pose so many difficulties in the attempt to understand the passages of the Koran. Naturally, this requires that he pose the question of whether or not it developed directly and immediately as the "modern traditionalists" would have us believe, or whether it came about in some other way. The evidence for the traditionalist view is looked for, but absent. On the other hand, first Warraq and then the other contributing authors, present several hundred pages of analysis of the historic record and a tremendous source list to illuminate both the complexities and contradictions of the Koran and its history. I recommend this book for those interested in learning the historical facts surrounding the evolution of Arabic, the contradictions and abrogations of Koranic passages and the late-appearing evidence for the life of Mohammed. However, I would suggest that the modern traditionalist - who simply accepts the theory of the Koran as the direct word of God through a single man - will find the lack of evidence for this puzzling and the evidence to the contrary, perhaps, disturbing. Any serious Muslim interested in learning the history of their faith should be prepared for a scientific discussion, lots of sources and evidence, and the likelihood that they may either reject it all or face some troubling questions.

A wonderful critique of Islam and the Koran. This is one of the only books by a Muslim that you will find that includes a vast breadth of essays describing the Koran. This is one of the only place you will find Muslims and former Muslims analyzing the birth of Islam and its Christian and Jewish roots as well as the truth behind such customs as the Veil and Female circumcision as the author shows these beliefs to be stolen from other cultures and only adopted by Islam as Islam quickly absorbed all that helped it crush human rights and women while at the same time adopting an intolerant view towards other cultures, races and religions. A very interesting account. The author explodes many myths about the Koran and delves deeply into Arabic scripture, which he is fluent in and was schooled in Egypt, to explain the profound implication o the early Koranic verses. This is a wonderful book, a great companion to anyone in the west who is studying the Koran or taking an Islamic civilization class. A very profound book, Talmudic in its insight, very eye opening for those interested in Islam and its rise and the implications of that rise for Western Civilization. A truly masterful account

Ibn Warraq goes well beyond many other writers that also provide great works about Islam and Muslims. He points out issues and problems that the non-Muslims and some Muslims have in trying to understand the essence of the Qur'an and lays out the origins and the thinking process that gave birth to the interpretations of suras that are not clear. People want to know the Qur'an and to evaluate it with respect to whether they can embrace all are part of it, or to put it away as impossible to comprehend. Ibn clarifies some of these problems and allows a deeper look into the religion.

I got this book from Amazon recently and it has been worth every cent. I am interested in ancient scriptures and comparative religion and found that breadth and depth of this text astounding. It is detailed in its treatment yet covers a broad range of topics. For anyone approaching the Quran or Islam for the first time, this is essential reading.

Some reviews point to "dated" essays in this book. Consider that radical Islam has been waging war on the West in one form or another since at least the 18th century. "Dated" isn't the word. "Startingly relevant despite their vintage" is more applicable.

Ibn Warraq has rendered all scholars a great service in collecting together in one volume over forty essays from eminent scholars , essays difficult to find , and many translated from the German and French for the first time .
In anyone interested in scientific research on Islam and not Islamic apologetics will find these essays indispensable .Particularly helpful are the appendices on the Arabic and Other scripts of Semitic languages .
Highly recommended .

Regardless of what you think of the editor of this book, that this collection of articles will prove to be useful and profitable to anyone interested in Quranic studies is hardly questionable. Fearful Muslims may feel threatened by some of the contents contained therein, but that shouldn't deter anyone from profitting from the materials collected in this book. This is no way a definite guide to the Qur'an, but it does contain interesting glimpses into some of the problems of Quranic studies. Anyone interested in the Quran as literature would profit from reading the contents of articles.
A note to non-specialists, even with attempts to be reader friendly by Ibn Warraq, I have my doubts that much of what is said can be too comprehensible to those with no working knowledge of Arabic whatsoever and the necessary amount of reference to the Arabic texts throughout these article may alienate some as being too technical.