The Koran

I decided to read the Koran, to see what it was basically about, since Islam is the second largest religion and has a huge influence on foreign policy right now. The formatting and style of the book is modern enough for a fast and easy read. The book is divided into 114 chapters or surahs, with the longest ones in the front and the shortest ones in the back, and there are verse numbers. Several rules are listed on a variety of topics including: marriage, divorce, prayers, and money, with very specific instructions. There are several references to the bible, and Christians and Jews are included as People of the Book. Some of the major stories and characters from the bible are mentioned with new details and dialogue.

The basic idea behind Islam is similar to Mormonism, in that the other believers had gone astray so it was necessary for God to send an angel to his current prophet to bring people back to the truth. The Koran often refers to the Last Days and sometimes uses Fire to mean Hell. It says that women are to be treated with respect and are entitled to some rights. Whenever God is speaking, the pronoun ‘we’ is used, but you can find a few examples of that in Genesis also. Muhammad is sometimes referred to as an apostle. Most chapters are sporadic and don't stick to a specific topic and there is a lot of repetition. The book is about the same length as the New Testament.

The architecture of mosques is similar to that used in pre-Islamic palaces built during the Parthian and Sassanian dynasties of Persia. In pre-Islamic Arabia, the word Allah was used in the Meccan religion to refer to the creator of the world and the giver of rain. The Koran itself challenges those who deny its claimed divine origin to produce a text like it. Alexander Ross offered the first English version in 1649. Koran means 'recitation' and was originally spread through oral stories. Parts of it were written down by followers close to Muhammad during his life, and after his death a complete written version was produced. The earliest known copy of the Arabic alphabet was written in 512 AD. The text of the Koran helped to standardize the Arabic language.

I thought these were some of the more interesting verses:

2:219 "They ask you about drinking and gambling. Say: There is great harm in both, although they have some benefit for men; but their harm is far greater than their benefit."
4:3 "If you fear that you cannot treat orphans with fairness, then you may marry other women who seem good to you: two, three, or four of them."
4:15 "If any of your women commit a lewd act, call in four witnesses from among yourselves against them."
4:34 "Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them."
4:82 "Will they not ponder on the Koran? If it had not come from God, they could have surely found in it many contradictions."
17:44 “The seven heavens, the earth, and all who dwell in them give glory to Him.”
21: 16-17 “It was not in sport that We created the heaven and the earth and all that lies between them. Had it been Our will to find a diversion, We could have found one near at hand.”
21:30 “Are the disbelievers unaware that the heavens and earth were but one solid mass which We tore asunder, and that We made every living thing from water?”
24:31 “Enjoin believing women to turn their eyes away from temptation and to preserve their chastity; not to display their adornments (except such as are normally required); to draw their veils over their bosoms and not to display their finery except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their step-sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their women-servants, and their slave girls; male attendants lacking in natural vigor, and children who have no carnal knowledge of women. And let them not stamp their feet when walking so as to reveal their hidden trinkets.”
38:49-52 “This is but an admonition. The righteous shall return to a blessed retreat: the gardens of Eden, whose gates shall open wide to receive them. Reclining there with bashful virgins for companions, they will call for abundant fruit and drink.”
43:33-35 “But for the fear that all mankind might have become one race of unbelievers, We would have given those who denied the Lord of Mercy dwellings with silver roofs, and gates and stairs of silver; silver couches to recline upon and ornaments of gold: for all these are but the fleeting baubles of this life. It is the life to come that your Lord reserves for those who fear Him.”
47:15 “Such is the Paradise which the righteous have been promised: Therein shall flow rivers of water undefiled, and rivers of milk forever fresh; rivers of wine delectable to those that drink it, and rivers of clarified honey.”
52:22-24 “Fruits We shall give them and such meats as they desire. They will pass from hand to hand a cup inspiring no idle talk, no sinful urge; and there shall wait on them young boys of their own, as fair as virgin pearls.”
89:21-23 “But when the earth is crushed to fine dust, and your Lord comes down with the angels, in their ranks, and Hell is brought near – on that day man will remember his deeds. But what will memory avail him?”