The Quran is a Christian composition

The

According to some Christians (including "Luxenberg"), the Arabic word "quran" is better understood as the Syriac word "qeryana". What follows is that "quran" should be translated as "reading" and not "recitation". "Fine," a Muslim would say, "it's only nit-picking and nothing significant."

But there is a theological context to the Christian rendering here. In the Syriac culture, "reading" refers to the reading of the Christian scriptures, and when the Christian renders quran as "reading", he is giving it a Christian history. Here is an excerpt from "The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity, AD 200-1000":

In the culture of the Syriac-speaking world, holy books were supposed to saturate the heart. They did so by being translated into melodious sound, carried by the magical sweetness of the human voice. Unlike the Vivarium of Cassiodorus, this was no hushed world, in which the written text alone spoke to the reader, as a solitary, silent instructor. By contrast, the Syriac world, in east and west alike, was filled with sound. Hence the importance of the qeryana, the “reading aloud” of the Scriptures. Through the qeryana, the Syriac language was raised to a new pitch. It became a tongue rendered sacred through the repeated, exquisite recitation of the Word of God. Exegesis itself was not a purely intellectual probing of the text of the Scriptures. It was a reliving of the Scriptures through recitation combined with a reverential “robing” of the Word of God, in the form of explanations and amplifications of the Biblical text, in a manner which closely resembled the Midrashic techniques of the rabbis. In a Syrian church, the “reading” held the center of attention

Thus, under the Syro-Christian influence, "Quran" is understood as "reading" of the Christian scriptures, which is not a reasonable understanding.

Could you provide an example of "Syrian-Aramaic-Christian" influence on the Quran?

**AhmedBahgat**

The

Of course, the assumption that the Arabic "quran" should be understood as the Syriac "qeryana" would require some sort of justification; even the propagandists know that. And this "justification" comes in form of more assumptions: discontinuity and conspiracy, among others.

Johannes Jansen of Leiden University makes the following assertion about "Luxenberg":
Luxenberg is not a professor at a German university, he is a Lebanese Christian. This would explain Luxenberg's 'Christian agenda': Christians from the Middle East have been involved in harsh religious debates with Muslims for centuries.

While the Middle Eastern Christian sees the Quran as a "reading" of the Christian Scriptures, the Jew has his own interests to look after.

And before anybody harbors a misconception about Jansen, know that he has devoted much of his life seeking an alternate account of Muhammad, and his understanding of the Quranic characterization of non-Muslims led him to a rather creative title for a book of his: "Islam for Pigs, Apes, Donkeys and Other Animals".

The · Last edited by The on Thu 24 Dec, 2009 7:33 pm; edited 1 time in total

member3:

The

You don't see a difference between "recitation" and "reading (of Christian Scriptures)"?

The difference between "recitation" and "reading" is pedantic (as I already mentioned in a previous post), but the context given to "reading" by the Christians is that of Christian theology. And to the Christians this seems perfectly reasonable.

**AhmedBahgat**

Are you asking me a question mate or it was part of your discussion with the others?

Cheers

The

Oh, it is a part of my ongoing dialogue at free-minds.org. It's the usual non-Muslim stuff that one comes across. Whatever is in quotes is what has been said by some member over there.

The

@ahmedbahgat: Free minds only attracts young people due to their charming attitude, which is the common attitude for any new sect trying hard to attract followers

I don't know about young people, but the number of Jews, Christians, Hindus and other non-Muslims that have been seeking support from that site and "Safar"'s website has significantly increased over the last two years. The only reason I am there is because of the heavy demand they are in with non-Muslims.

**AhmedBahgat**

The

That is true. Many non-Muslims feel uncomfortable quoting from a website like faithfreedom.org (because of its renown as an anti-Islamic website), but the other two sites I mentioned have become a sort of haven for them.

The

This follows my quoting the Christian girl.

member3:

The

For me "Luxenberg" is no less a troll than our agitated friend out there, or any other Christian who assumes under assumptions.

The sixth-seventh century Christians are not early Christians. I hope you will point out the similarity between the Quran and the "Scriptures" they read from.

Again, could you elaborate this "singing" of the Quran? Also, the assumption the Christians labor under is that the word "qeryana" has been manipulated to be read as "quran"; if you subscribe to it then provide some evidence thereof.

The

member3:

The

The book of Isaiah is not the only book that "qeryana" consists of; apart from that, singing about Sodom does not make a case for Quran being the Christian "qeryana".

Could you provide a glimpse into the literature of the sixth-seventh century Syrian Christians? The girl I quoted seems to know that "qeryana" consisted of reading from the "Church Fathers" too.

The Quran recited as a melody or in a singing tone is not the same as "Quran" itself being "singing".

"Luxenberg" fits pretty well under the label "Evangelist" himself. Also, "Quran is qeryana" is not his brainchild.

I clarified it a while back that there is no intention to isolate "Luxenberg," rather to highlight the circular reasoning his likes use. If he or anybody else could offer something more tangible than assumptions then it might be worth a dekko, but assuming under assumptions does not make a case.

The

Another example of circular reasoning (abetted by conjecture):

Bedouins of the Hijaz on their caravan journeys to Syria and other Christian centers undoubtedly carried back with them a superficial knowledge of Christian beliefs and customs. Dissident Christian sects, mostly of the Monophysite confession, and numerous monks turned ascetics had their retreats in the steppes of north Arabia along caravan routes. As a caravan leader, Muhammad is supposed to have befriended a Christian monk, Babira; it is said that he even wore tunics which were the gifts of other Christian monks. Two Christianized Arab tribes, Judham and `Udhra, roamed the Hijaz. According to local tradition, there were even Christian religious artifacts in the Ka`bah at Mecca.

It is not unlikely that Muhammad may have exchanged religious views with monks, even with Christians who possessed some formal knowledge of Christian theology. Jacobites and Nestorians. are known to have conducted active missionary activities among the pagan tribes of Arabia; indeed, priests and deacons were assigned to each tribe, and in Najran the Monophysites had established churches which, when persecuted by dhu-Nuwas, invited Abyssinian intervention. Monasteries astride caravan routes were open day and night to traveling caravans and roaming Bedouins. Here, besides receiving food and shelter, they undoubtedly had occasion to 'observe such practices as praying, fasting, and alms giving three of the five basic injunctions of Islam. The Nestorians had established schools and some churches in many of the towns frequented by Arab tribesmen of the Hijaz.

Given how popular the view is, that must be pretty conclusive to many Christians (and possibly other non-Muslims).