“Is it possible to get an English translation of the book that preserves the meaning of the original text?”
Yes.
Some of the best summations of Islam are available right here on FreeRepublic.
The Muslim lie “The Koran can only be understood in the original Arabic.” is just another Muslim use of what the West called “holy hypocrisy”.
Muslims are allowed to lie. Jews & Christians are not.
Think of Islam is the evil opposite of Judeo-Christianity.
True, but my concern is that if I pick up an English translation, will the phrases that state things like "Kill the Jews ...," "kill the infidels... " be accurately translated so that they actually say that? Or will the English translation be more of a whitewash?