Seven said:
Erik, I think written Arabic didn't change much over the centuries. The Qu'ran has also never been altered, unlike the Bible. I have a friend who studies Arabic and he claims pretty much every muslim is able to read it.
About your point, that's something the entire western world agrees about. At least everyone who has ever gone to universitary. Neither christianity or islam can be considered as of more value than ancient Greek myths. Believing in Jawhe is no more advisable than believing in Poseidon.
Blue: Very true, the Quran was preserved through a system called "Ijaza". I do not know if you know this, but the Quran is memorized
completely by millions of Muslims to the letter. And I mean litterally to the letter, if one read "I" instead of "A" he will find millions who will correct him. Anyways this "Ijaza", which means "permission", where a teacher or sheikh who is "permitted" teaches his students the Quran and helps them memorize it, when the shiekh feels one of his students has memorized the Quran to the letter and understands it he is given an "ijaza" or permission to teach and so on....People who memorize the Quran today could trace back their teachers up to the Prophet, there is about 40 generations today....
Quran also was preserved through manuscripts, the Quran was shortly assembled after the prophets death, by the memorizers of that time. Then Othman, the third caliph, copied 7 and distributed it around the Islamic empire, so each region would have one. Othman was assisinated while he was reading one of these copies. It is called "Moshaf Othman", it has his blood on it, and preserved in Istanbul now. If you compare today's Quran with that you will find them identical.
And true most Muslim's would be able to read it to varying degrees of comprehension and understanding of course. But the claim that it is ancient couldnt be more farther than the truth. The Arabic language has been very much preserved, a Christian Arab could pretty much understand most of it without going back to a reference...I would wager that even our loveable stonehead Jack would understand 80% of it off the bat
Red: George Bernard Shaw, seems to disagree with you. Or didn't he graduate from a university??
"I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of
existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him - the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Saviour of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today."