[Koblenz]

Here's my take... You can parse the words in the Koran and probably find lots of different concepts, just like you can in the Bible or most other religious texts. And every religion has a few crazies that either take something way too literally or take something out of context in the religious writings. So you can't blame Christianity for giving us Jim Jones, David Koresh or whomever, and you probably cannot blame Islam for giving us Osama. But you have to ask why Islam seems to create so many more fanatics than Christianity or Judaism.

I would venture to say that the answer lies in the heart of Islam itself. In Islam, the belief is that Allah (God) dictated the words of the Koran to Mohammed. What Mohammed wrote was exactly God's word. So a translation from Arabic is not really a valid Koran. Compare this to Christianity: the King James Bible is considered just as valid as a Bible written in Norwegian or Tagalog. Since Allah supposedly spoke the exact words in the Koran, there's no room for reinterpretation.

If someone tried to follow the Old Testament to the letter, they'd get arrested. There are things in Leviticus and Deuteronomy that are just plain crazy. So we don't follow them. We don't stone our kids when they misbehave, we don't say you can go to the next country and grab a woman if you like her and bring her back here and make you her wife. But since we believe that God didn't write the Bible directly, it doesn't much matter.

There are those in the Islamic world who've ignored the more harsher parts of the Koran -- after all, this book is about 1500 years old. But many don't. It's not as easy for them to maintain their belief system while doing this. So you wind up with a sizable portion of Muslims believing in the most rigid form of Islam.

This most rigid form, however, isn't really compatible with the 21st century. The subjugation of women, the prohibition on interest rates, the polygamy, and all the rest essentially stop a modern society from functioning. There's no marketplace of ideas, no technological improvements, and without interest rates, no monetary system possible. This brings poverty (unless there's an overabundance of natural resources), which brings more fanaticism.

[Askel5]

Thanks very much, actually.

I know it will sound weird coming from a Catholic when so many around here think I'd stand on my head if the Pope told me to but -- as a believer -- I believe a true test of heresy is how closely associated with or founded on a single man is the sect.

The Pope is a bishop and his power comes from sitting in Peter's chair. Mohammed -- like Calvin or Luther -- is an individual who Systematized his faith and imposed his personal interpretation on others.

I'm also taken by your observations on the literal nature of the texts and the exclusivity inherent in one tongue. I'm hopeful a Muslim will weigh further in on that.

I can understand their concern ... it's the primary reason the Church lays it all down in Latin and simply translates into every other language ... but didn't realize there was any problem with translation, however perfect, being less than authoritative or true.

I guess that's the trouble with having no Magisterium for quality control ... =)

I best lay off else RnMomof7 will get me for propagandizing! Regards.