Qur'aan today: Does Islam need a Reform or we just need new interpreters?

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Does Islam need a Reform or we just need new interpreters?

Published at www.WorldMuslimCongress.com

International Conference
"Intellectual Crises of the Muslim Ummah: Rethinking Traditional Solutions"
Aligarh Muslim University, April 6-7, 2015
PAPER PRESENTATION
by Mike Ghouse

Does Islam need a Reform or we just need new interpreters?

Reform is one of the most detested words among Muslims. On the one hand the academics see the corrupted versions of Islamic interpretations and rightfully want to fix it, whereas, the firebrand religious leaders take it as an attack on their tradition and willing to shed the blood to defend it.

Click on the image for larger image

And how do we bring the change? The key is communicating the intent (niyya) and a need to understand the issue without pulling the rug from underneath their feet.

Justice is one word in Islam that wraps balance, harmony, fairness, mercy and equity together for the society to function cohesively, where no one has live in fear of the other but God. Without it, things will degenerate into a dysfunctional society.

In the last decade the pristine Islam we knew has been mangled up, and it is our duty to restore it.

Sharia is central to all this, which was designed to offer complete guidance to personal and public behavior of a Muslim, and justice to humanity. However, due to human management Justice was not served.

We have identified a few problems in “applications” of the Sharia laws that undermine the principles of justice in dealing with apostasy, blasphemy, rape, divorce, dhimmi, separation, marriage, child custody, and inheritance, interfaith and other issues.

We need to fix the laws without it a large swatch of population becomes rudderless. In the Indian context, we may want to go with UCC as it’s’ intent is Justice and is enforceable.

Mike Ghouse, World Muslim Congress, Dallas | Washington (214) 325-1916 |SpeakerMikeGhouse@gmail.com
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Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator onPluralism, Islam, India, Israel-Palestine, Politics and other issues of the day. He is a human rights activist, and his book standing up for others will be out soon | He is producing a full feature film ” Sacred” to be released on 9/11 and a documentary “Americans together” for a July 4 release. He is a frequent guest commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com – Mike is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

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Sachal SmithMarch 23, 2015 at 3:00 AM
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PURPOSE

PURPOSE

The purpose of this blog is to clarify the misunderstandings about Qur'aan. Qur'aan is the word of God, and God is about Justice and peace. It is his creation and he certainly wants harmony and co-existence and a balance for his creation.

Qur’aan is in Arabic language and every word of it is preserved through the process of memorization over a period of fourteen centuries. Every t and i are checked thoroughly to ensure its accuracy.

As the curiosity to learn about Islam arose, translation work began. Since, translations hinge on one's understanding of God's words, three versions were produced; Genuine translations, ill-translations and mis-translations.

The first known translation was made in 1143 CE upon the request of the Abbot of monastery and abounds in inaccuracies, several translations have occurred since then multiplying the errors. European knowledge base on Islam is founded on mis-translations. Most of the Christian and Jewish scholars draw their knowledge from it and propogate the same for material gains. The European and American Islamic Scholars need to add a refresh button to their knowledge.

To you, the common man, who has access to the translation in English, you are genuinely confused, which one is the right one.

Apply the litmus test: Does the translations build hatred and ill-will in you, then it is the wrong one. On the other hand if it causes you to think in terms of harmony and co-existence, you got the right one.

Today we have about 22 translations on the net; many are closer to the word of God and some are not. It is upto you to find the truth.

Reccomended: Mohammad Asad's translation.

Falsified Translation: Hilali Khan - it is the free Qur'aan you pick up in the market. It is hateful towards Jews and Christians.

WHAT IS QURAN

Quran is a book of guidance to live in peace with oneself and with what surrounds him or her; life and environment. It is designed to create cohesive societies where no human has to live in apprehension or fear of the others. Most people get that right and few don’t. That is the case with everything in life. Quran is never the problem, it is our understanding that is the problem.

If it is not common sense, then it is not Islam.

There is no translation that is accurate and captures the essence, but the closest one is the translation by Muhammad Asad.
Mike Ghouse

ABOUT
God wants his creation to co-exist in harmony and the Qur’aan is God’s guidance to live in peace with oneself and what surrounds one; life and matter. The human weakness manufactures imaginary enemies, so did the European Medieval Kings in the 11th century, who paid to deliberately mis-translate the Qur’aan for their obvious gains, they duped the public then, and most of non-Muslim Islamic Scholars today are doing the same thing.

Hilali Khan, a Muslim also mistranslated the book to appease his extremist friends, that is the free copy you may have it in your hands. Just remember God wants goodness for his creation, every one of it, then read Qur’aan in that light. Mohammad Asad’s translation is recommended at this time until a good one comes along where any one on the earth can read it and feel that God wants all of us to live in peace and harmony. Finding the truth is your own responsibility.

Orgins of Islamophobia

Deliberate defamation &
Propogation of Misconceptions.

Roots of Islamophobia in the early Orientalist Translations

The first Qur'an translation was into Latin by Robert of Ketton in 1143. It was made at the request of the Abbot of the monastery of Cluny. (abounds in inaccuracies)
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Another Latin translation by Ludovicus Marracci was published in 1698. It was supplemented with quotes from Qur'an commentaries "carefully juxtaposed and sufficiently garbled so as to portray Islam in the worst possible light" (Colin Turner,1997 p. xii).

The title of the introductory volume of such translation was A Refutation of the Qur'an.

Such translations formed the foundation for a number of subsequent translations into English, French, Italian, German, etc.

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The first English translation was that of Alexander Ross published in 1649. In his introduction, Ross says "I thought good to bring it to their colours, that so viewing thine enemies in their full body, thou must the better prepare to encounter … his Alcoran" (p. A3).
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Similarly, H. Reckendorf (1857) says in his Hebrew translation of the Qur'an, "I can now stop writing and ask God's pardon for the sin I committed when I profaned our sacred language and transferred to it the talk of lies and falsehood" (as cited in Abdul Aal, January 29, 2006, p. 78).
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In 1734, George Sale’s translation came out based on Marracci’s earlier notorious work. In 1861, J. M. Rodwell’s work provided a further example of a writer "gunning for Islam" (Turner, 1997, p. xii).
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Courtesy: Ibrahim Saleh & Dahlia Sabry Researchers at Al-Azhar University, Cairo

Quraan Data

Qur’aan is the word of God revealed through Prophet Muhamamd (pbuh). It is a book of guidance for mankind to live a just life for oneself and for every one around. Caution is urged to the reader as the Qur’aan has been paid to mistranslate and blatantly misquoted by greedy men during the crusades and been recycled continuously with a belief that people don't verify the book. Thank God, the Arabic version is indeed intact. Reccomended translation: Mohammad Asad

http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2008/04/quraan-technical-numbers.html

Foundationless castles

You may discover to your chagrin, that many of the Neocon Doctors on Islam have built their castles on wrong foundation. In fact Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham Junior's information on Islam comes from these falsities.

When the European Kings were attacked by the invading Arab Armies, one of the ways they could get their subjects to defend their Kingdoms was through a campaign of hate.

They roped in the pope to issue a fatwa against 'infidel' Muslims, then paid the evil writers to mis-translate the Qur'aan with the intent of enraging the good Christians to go on crusades to kill the infidels. This is one part of the equation, the second part is even the Arab Kings had the Qur'aan mistranslated to enrage Muslims against the other infidels. Check out the Hilali translation in the title Bismillah on this Blog.

Neither Islam nor Christianity would have approved any of the non-sense of crusades, inquisitions and other massacres. It was all done to protect and annex the lands that belonged to each other.

I wish the average Christians and Muslims had not fallen into the trap of hatred for the gains of the dead Kings and today's virtual Live Kings with similar goals of controlling resources with no care for their faith or human lives.

It is time for the humanity to go for the truth. All religions were issued by the creator for the individuals to find a balance and peace for themeselves and with other humans and environment.

The truth is all religions are for the good of mankind, where ever you see wickedness, it has the non-Godly element in it.