Short description
Non-Muslim, western scholars look at the background of the Koran; its language; its Essenian, Christian, and Coptic sources; specific suras within it; emendations and interpolations; the views of Richard Bell; poetry; and manuscripts. There is no index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).
Long description
Islam has world-wide influence, and even in the United States is experiencing a period of unprecedented growth. Its sacred book, The Koran , is the subject of voluminous commentary, yet it rarely receives the kind of objective critical scrutiny that has been applied to the texts of the Bible for over a century. To correct this neglect of objective scholarship, Ibn Warraq has assembled this excellent collection of critical commentaries on The Koran published by noted scholars from the beginning of the 20th century to recent times. This outstanding volume will be a welcome resource to interested lay readers and scholars alike.