Understanding the Qur’an
This week, Channel Four screened a two-hour programme on the Islamic holy book the Qur’an. This was television at its best: a thoughtful, informed and balanced examination of an important and controversial subject with global implications.
The programme showed how the Shi’ite version of Islam as practised in Iran and the Whabbism version of the Sunni stream of Islam as practised in Saudi Arabia are unrepresentative of mainstream Islam. Also it demonstrated how the most controversial beliefs associated with Islam – such as suicide killings and female genital mutilation – are either based on a misreading of the Qur’an (the former) or have no justification from the Qur’an (the latter).
Of course, it is not surprising that the Qur’an is subject to so much interpretation and misunderstanding. It is claimed to be the direct word of God but the prophet Mohammad was illiterate and so the origins of the book derive from oral traditions. Also the book was written in several languages and these languages are not used today so the precise meaning of particular words and phrases is not clear.
Furthermore the Qur’an was conceived in a particular time and place and inevitably reflects the cultural norms of that time and place, notably in relation to the subordinate role of women.
All this is true of other holy books such as the Torah and the Bible but, as the Channel Four programme put it, the Qur’an is “the most ideologically influential text in the world”.
The West will never defeat Islamic fundamentalism. Mainstream Muslims need to reclaim their religion from those who have distorted it beyond any reasonable interpretation of its founders and understand the Qur’an as a general guide that should be applied in the context of modern norms of sexual equality and human rights.
July 16th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Over the next 6 days (from 16 July) and via http://www.channel4.com/4od it is still possible to gain access to this programme. Which is well worth doing for anyone who has not yet seen it.