The Koran Versus the Bible

James Joyner blogged This morning, Donald Sensing has an excellent essay

I have written before about the “religious space” the Quran occupies in Islam, here and here for example. Basically, the Quran’s place in Islam is the same as the place of Christ in Christianity.... The Quran is holy to Muslims in a different way that the Bible is holy to Christians. Until the rise of American fundamentalism about a century ago, the Christian assertion that the Bible was “the word of God” was understood more analogically than literally. That the texts of the Bible were inspired by God - James said the Scriptures were “God breathed” - wasn’t doubted, but the notion that the Bible was dictated verbatim by God is really only about 100 years old and is a small-minority belief among Christians today.

This is absolute foolishness. It is true that some Christian sects consider the Bible to be literally correct, while others believe the literal truth has been modified somewhat by it being handed down to and interpreted by humans, but we don't kill each other to make our point that our interpretation is the right one.

But Muslims believe that the Qu'ran was dictated of the Quran by Allah to Mohammed, through the angel Gabriel. So it is not from Allah, but from Gabriel, who may have misunderstood what Allah said, and more importantly he dictated it to Mohammed, a human, and thus subject to human failings.

But even if we accept that every word in the Qu'ran is the word of Allah, then why do so many Muslims not follow everything in the Qu'ran?

Surat al-Baqara, 136 (Qur'an 2:136) says Say ye: "We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them and Surat aal-E-Imran, 3 (Qur'an 3:3) says It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong). We are all "People of the Book" (or ahl al Kitâb) as Surat Al 'Imran, 64 (Qur'an 3:64) says "O People of the Book! Let us rally to a common formula to be binding on both us and you: That we worship none but God; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than God."

If we are all People of the Book, why to Muslims seek to kill Jews and Christians? Surat al-Ankaboot, 46 (Qur'an 29:46) says And do not dispute with the followers of the Book except by what is best, except those of them who act unjustly, and say: We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you, and our God and your God is One, and to Him do we submit. They should respect our places of worship, as
commanded in Surat al-Hajj, 40 (Qur'an 22:40): "if God had not driven some people back by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, where God's name is mentioned much, would have been pulled down and destroyed. God will certainly help those who help Him - God is All-Strong, Almighty."

Why are Bibles taken from Christians in Saudia Arabia and burned, and why are the Christians beaten, when Surat aal-E-Imran, 45 (Qur'an 3:45) says Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah;

These verses were carefully selected from the Qu'ran, which certainly contains other verses that are not as nice to Christians and Jews, but if all of the Qu'ran is the direct word of Allah, why do they only select the parts they want to believe, and ignore the rest?