Sunday, June 13, 2010

The Complete Infidel's Guide to the Koran


As expected from the title, this is an analysis of the Koran written for the non-Muslim common person. The author focuses on the violent, jihadist tendency of the Koran, attempting to play down peaceful interpretations of the Islamic holy book. It is highly critical of the Koran and Islam, especially in areas that they contradict common western and Judeo-Christian beliefs.

Early on, the author states that the reader does not have to read the Koran because he (the author) has. He later states that many of the Muslims in non-Arabic countries have never read the book, and thus are prone to accept violent interpretations given by their spiritual leader. I guess he is trying to do the same towards non-Muslims.

The book follows a common organization, with the author giving a "peaceful" interpretation of a topic my Muslim apologists. He then attempts to refute that with a "vengeful" view by jihadist clerics. He also throws in "off the wall" interpretations as well as "misleading interpretations" by western political leaders.

He is prone to heavy over-generalizations and a strong bias towards received western wisdom and scripture. (Thus, he claims the bible never incites violence, and is critical of passages in the Koran that seem to contradict biblical accounts of the same situations.) In the end, he even goes so far to advocate a banning of immigration of all Muslims in the the United States.

The key takeaway is that Islam is much more traditional and integrated in to political life than Christianity. Some of the values in the Koran are obviously different than accepted secular western values. However, there are plenty of values in the bible that are also different. While it may be useful to provide an analysis of the war-like tendencies of the Koran, this book is so blatantly anti-Islam that the arguments get lost in the fireballs.

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