"How can you hurt someone by hitting her with a very small, short and weak thing?" she asked by telephone from Cairo. "But sometimes the interpretation of the Koran is according to men, and sometimes they try to humiliate the woman."

Ooh, zing!

/"Honey, please don't hit me with that small, short, and weak thing. You are embarrassing me."

Snarfangel: /"Honey, please don't hit me with that small, short, and weak thing. You are embarrassing me."

......a penis?

All praise be to Allah

Correctly me if I am wrong.

Unlike the Jewish and Christian religious texts. The Quaran was written down in full shortly after the death of the Prophet Mohamed, may Allah bless and keep him, and translations being subject to individual interpretations are not the preferred way to read these holy texts.

A serious student of Islam should consider learning the Quaranic language. The Quaran itself can be the method used to teach Arabic.

/In my humble opinion.

ChairmanKaga: and translations being subject to individual interpretations are not the preferred way to read these holy texts.

This is true. However, even within a given language, there is often ambiguity over how phrases are intended--consider half the flamewars on Fark for examples of phrases which to one person meant one thing, and to another meant another.

Insallah!

muninsfire: This is true. However, even within a given language, there is often ambiguity over how phrases are intended--consider half the flamewars on Fark for examples of phrases which to one person meant one thing, and to another meant another.

There is an ayah that specifically states (in the English translation of the meaning) that there are numerous meanings to the verses of the Qur'an but the true one only God alone knows.

So which offenses are a stabbin?

Regardless of what can be interpreted or not, this will end in death threats, protests and probably a stabbing.

Those zany muslims don't like it when the women-folk start getting out of line.

kharaalaik: There is an ayah that specifically states (in the English translation of the meaning) that there are numerous meanings to the verses of the Qur'an but the true one only God alone knows.

There you go, then.

And, from reading the Quran, it's apparent that it's written in a very poetic manner--and as such, *any* interpretation is going to be open to debate.

However, even within a given language, there is often ambiguity over how phrases are intended

Just like constitutional interpretation. The secular bible.

That's a paddling, right?

so is there really a verse that says "Is Wayne Brady gonna have to choke a biatch?"

This may just be me, but I have a problem respecting any religion that condones the beating of anyone no matter what is used.

Thinks that's just silly

"numerous meanings to the verses of the Qur'an but the true one only God alone knows."

Which is an excuse. If your God wanted you to know what's up, he would not keep the true translation to himself, which would be pointless at best. No, as with all religions the words of peace are taken out by man and filled with violence and hate instead. There is no secret meaning, it's there but it's ignored.

My apologies, I meant this one...where the Quran is pictured...

A jihad on you!
(cake or death?)

Sounds like this lady is writing an apologist translation: The Happy Fun Book of Islam!
Kind of ironic that in trying to improve the appearance of Islam, she will most likely have a fatwah preached against her. Maybe she can go hang out with Salman Rushdi (sp?).

You know one of these times I really wish the leaders of religions would write their own books, instead of the people after them. Or maybe that was on purpose. My sister is helping translate it correctly into English because many of the idea expressed in the Koran are so alien that the English language there are no words for it.

Someone will blow themselves up out of proportion over this...

Keep those biatches in check! Bro.

Did I miss the memo indicating that today is Convoluted Headline Day?

thats a stabbin

MDGeist: Which is an excuse. If your God wanted you to know what's up, he would not keep the true translation to himself, which would be pointless at best. No, as with all religions the words of peace are taken out by man and filled with violence and hate instead. There is no secret meaning, it's there but it's ignored.

How is that an excuse? All language has multiple meanings. One thing can mean to me several different things to you. The Qur'an is no different. It is written poetically where there are several meanings. There is one true meaning, and only God knows that. But as human beings, we have to use our faculties that God blessed us with to understand that meaning as much as we can, and follow it as closely as possible.

Christianity went through this sort of thing many hundreds of years ago when it was first dared to translate scriptures from latin and perform ceremonies in languages the common people could understand. It didn't go over so well with the old schoolers but it seems to have been a good thing in the end.

wait, so if i convert to islam i can constitutionally beat my wife?

/i said turkey pot pie!

kharaalaik
I'm no islamic scholar, but I thought it was up to Imams to know, and the masses to accept?

I've done some searching of the Koran, but haven't found the section where it justifies car bombs and shooting up school buses full of children. Can someone show me where that info is? Thanks in advance.

Dire: Christianity went through this sort of thing many hundreds of years ago when it was first dared to translate scriptures from latin and perform ceremonies in languages the common people could understand.

And even before that, when they translated *to* Latin in the first place--so the common people could understand it.

/There's a reason it's called the 'Vulgate'

thought the original gospels were writtenin greek, or am I wrong?

MDGeist: There is no secret meaning, it's there but it's ignored.

Goes back to that whole "free will" bit.

God is deliberately giving us enough rope to hang ourselves with. Ambiguity serves His purpose, whichever of the Judeo-Christian faiths you're talking about.

barry dingle: wait, so if i convert to islam i can constitutionally beat my wife?

Only in Germany.

/In 40 minutes, there's an article due to hit the main page about that particular issue.

hyperActive-X: I'm no islamic scholar, but I thought it was up to Imams to know, and the masses to accept?

No. Not at all. Anyone can be a scholar, just put in the time and effort. The reason why there were nearly 100 schools of thought in the early days of Islam was because these scholars all had their own interpretations of the text.

You don't have to listen to an Imam. You can interpret the text your own way. But I, personally, would take what a scholar says into account, provided I agreed with what they were saying.

Dissent was a beautiful thing before Wahhabism came around.

hoodiowithtudio: thought the original gospels were writtenin greek, or am I wrong?

Some were still written and recorded in various parts in Aramaic however were never formally codified until they were written in greek.

"Say look at this letter crazy Saul wrote... let's throw this in here"
"What about this one by Thomas?"
"Nah fark that bastard"

hoodiowithtudio: thought the original gospels were writtenin greek, or am I wrong?

Greek and Aramaic, mostly, as I recall. I want to say it was St. Jerome who translated those into the Vulgate--the Latin version of the bible, for the common (vulgar) folk of the time.

Then, of course, people got all stiff and 'traditional' about it, and didn't want to change it, even when the prevailing language changed.

IdBeCrazyIf: "What about this one by Thomas?"
"Nah fark that bastard"

Hey, now, TGOT hasn't even shown up in this thread yet.

muninsfire: And even before that, when they translated *to* Latin in the first place--so the common people could understand it.

Right.

The King James was translated from Hebrew, to Greek, to Latin, to archaic English, and is interpreted by modern English speakers.

If you don't think there's some misunderstandings and artifacts of translation in there, you're a damn fool.

One of the big reasons the Church opposed translating from the Latin was because the Latin was already so far removed from the original.

Well, that and it made it accessible to the common man, who doesn't have anything close to the education necessary to interpret things intelligently.

The real problem ain't the translation of the holy book - it's the belief that God almighty came down from heaven and wrote a book. Once you buy into that absurdity, rational discussion becomes moot. It's like asking whether the tooth fairy has two winds or four.

Thorak: Well, that and it made it accessible to the common man, who doesn't have anything close to the education necessary to interpret things intelligently.

As is most scintillatingly demonstrated by the 'gospel of prosperity' nutcases.....

we_hates: It's like asking whether the tooth fairy has two winds or four.

Depends on how much kimchi she's eaten recently.

I grew up being forcefed the particular holy book. In it, just for one example, Lot in Sodom hands over his daughter to the town rapists to save his angelic visitors from being sodomized.
Honestly, you can't soften these books up or adjust them or see them in some adjusted P.C. light. They are the typical products of thier time and anyone who tries to shape twenty-first century moral codes around them is a moron.

What the Koran says about women...

/just feeding the flames

There are over 50 different versions of the Bible in English alone, so I guess they have some catching up to do.