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If this doesn’t stop Islamist
terrorism, nothing will: According to Christoph Luxenberg,
purportedly a professor of Semitic languages at a leading
German university, the Koran doesn’t actually promise martyrs 72
virgins in paradise. What they get, claims Luxenberg, are raisins.
I say “purportedly” because the article on
Luxenberg’s research in the July
28 international edition of Newsweek notes the professor uses a pen
name for his upcoming book on the Koran’s
origins, which is due out this fall. One can hardly blame him for
choosing anonymity over a fatwa death sentence, but readers cannot
be sure who Luxenberg really is, much less of his credentials.
This raises the question of
why the magazine would expect its readers to place any credence in
his work, with or without raisins. Luxenberg may or not be
qualified, may or may not have a solid reputation for critical
translation, and may or may not have an ax to grind.
Having printed several
unsympathetic looks at the Bible, Newsweek might simply have tired
of trying to “debunk” Christianity and found a new group to offend.
Still, one can at least challenge the standing of the magazine’s
hired Bible bashers; Newsweek’s take on the Koran must be accepted
on faith, ironically.
Luxenberg’s book and
Newsweek’s article are sure to annoy even Muslims who aren’t
planning to ride a body bomb to glory. Perhaps the most provocative
claim is that the Koran was not written in Arabic. As Muslims
believe the Koran to be the untainted word of Allah given in Arabic,
critical study is not appreciated and translations to other
languages are not considered legitimate. According to Newsweek,
however, Luxenberg maintains the original text was written in
“something closer to Aramaic,” the language spoken by Jesus.
In fact, writes Luxenberg,
the Koran was actually a manuscript of Christian liturgy, or
worship, which was only converted into the basis of a new religion
after Mohammed’s death. Mohammed claimed to be only a “witness to
the prophets” according to the author, suggesting the Koran was
written as an ode to established Judeo Christian beliefs.
This will go over about as
well as a bar mitzvah at the average mosque. The government of
Pakistan has banned the offending issue of Newsweek, and I fully
expect riots when the book is published.
So it’s understandable that
Luxenberg might be a tad queasy about being identified. Still, many
have criticized Islam and lived to tell, self included. Most
magazines and newspapers won’t even print anonymous letters, much
less articles; free and open discussion requires the writers to be
known. Otherwise, their criticisms are only potshots.
In the interest of full
disclosure for myself, I must reveal that I once worked in the prune
industry. Prune people and raisin people have little use for each
other, being locked in battle for the hearts and stomachs of fans of
shriveled little fruit. If I were handing out raisins in the
afterlife, it wouldn’t be in heaven.
Further, I am a Christian and
seeker of truth. If I believed in the veracity of the Koran I’d be
a Muslim. I don’t and I’m not, so this is hardly a defense of
Islam.
However I am more than a
little tired of knee-jerk attacks on anything that smacks of faith.
Islam has had many critics of late, most of whom are available for
scrutiny and criticism. And while they know the risks, they
understand one must be known to be taken seriously.
“Christoph Luxenberg” may be
what Newsweek says he is and his work perfectly trustworthy, but
until he is willing to be identified he should be given no more
credibility than an anonymous rant to the editor. Neither should
Newsweek.
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