THE ORIGINS OF THE KORAN: CLASSIC ESSAYS ON ISLAM’S HOLY BOOK
The Origins Of The Koran is a collection of essays critiquing Islam’s “Holy” book. Some of these are quite old, dating back several decades; a couple are well over a century old. The writing style of the earlier essays can be ponderous at times, but the critiques themselves remain valid and convincing.
The book is divided into four main sections: part one, entitled simply Introduction, contains two chapters. Part two, the longest section, is entitled The Collection and Variants of the Koran, and is composed of ten chapters. Part three, The Sources of the Koran, consists of three chapters, while the final section, entitled Modern Textual Criticism of the Koran, contains a single essay.
The introduction, although only 26 pages long, is alone worth the price of the book. Written by the editor, Ibn Warraq, it sets the tone for the rest of the book by providing the reader with a brief summary of historical criticism of Islam and the Muslim world. Warraq, author of the much-acclaimed Why I Am Not A Muslim, pulls no punches as he introduces the topical material. He begins by telling us that Muslims venerate the Koran with “a reverence that borders on bibliolatry and superstition” and it doesn’t get any better for believers from that point on.
Warraq and the other writers focus on four primary questions: 1) How did the Koran come down to us? 2) When was it written? 3) What are its sources? and 4) What exactly is the Koran?
Warraq calls into question some of the most basic traditions concerning the origins of the Koran. For example, he notes “…the companions of the Prophet (Muhammad) are said to have memorized many of his utterances. Could their memories never have failed?” (pg. 13) In addition, it also becomes obvious that the historical origins of the Koran are even murkier and more impenetrable than those of the Bible, although it was put together many centuries later. As one writer notes, “It must be emphasized that far from there being a single text passed down inviolate from the time of Uthman’s commission (the first collection of the alleged “revelations” of Muhammad, collected sometime between 644 and 656 CE, or at least a dozen years after Muhammad’s death) literally thousands of variant readings of particular verses were known in the first three (Muslim) centuries.” (pg. 15).
Some of these essays are considered as classics in the field of Islamic studies, including Theodor Noldeke’s The Koran, a lengthy essay which first appeared in the Encyclopaedia Brittanica back in 1891. Noldeke takes exception to the much-lauded poetical qualities of the Koran, calling much of it “stiff in style.” While this criticism might also be leveled at Noldeke, he certainly is espousing a literary truism, as anyone who has made an effort to wade through the Koran can attest.
A few essays were written by devout Christians, and occasionally become sickeningly obsequious in their efforts to prove the truth of their faith at the expanse of Islam. One wishes, since these writers obviously have the ability to build a convincing case against Islam, that they would demonstrate a bit more intellectual integrity and honesty and apply the same techniques to their own faith.
Despite a few flaws, The Origins Of The Koran has proven to be an important work for those seeking a critical examination of one of the world’s foremost religions. Given the increase of Muslim terrorism since the book was written, as well as the fact that the Muslim community is growing by leaps and bounds (current estimations of about a billion and an half adherents seems to be fairly accurate), it is crucially important that the free thought community, and the world at large, acquaint itself with the growing body of academic work critical of the faith.
Categories: Book Reviews