It would be interesting to know how exactly this Al-Qaeda Qur'an has been "revised." After all, the original contains enough exhortations to violence as it is.
"Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them" is, of course, sura 9:5. What can you possibly add to that to intensify it? Before breaking out that old wheeze that I am "taking it out of context," please consult my Qur'an blog for plenty of evidence that this verse is by no means alone.
Maybe Al-Qaeda is distributing Saudi Qur'ans that have commentary embedded within the translated text, in parentheses. Much was made of these a few years ago, because one of the glosses added in "like the Jews and Christians" into sura 1, the Fatiha, where it asks Allah not to allow the one praying to be among those who have earned his anger or gone astray. But this was comforting only to those who wanted to believe that the book's overall message was peaceful, and that Al-Qaeda and the Saudis were adding in the material that was inciting Islamic jihad violence. Alas, that is not the case. Even without these glosses in the Fatiha, in the Qur'an the Jews have earned Allah’s anger by rejecting Muhammad (2:87-90), and the Christians have gone astray by holding to the divinity of Christ (5:72).
"Al Qaida clerics distributing revised editions of Koran," from the World Tribune (thanks to Jcom):
ABU DHABI — Qatar has banned the import and distribution of unauthorized Korans.Officials said the Islamic Affairs Ministry has ordered mosques and clerics to use only Korans and other Islamic text approved by the government, Middle East Newsline reported. They said Al Qaida-aligned clerics have employed Korans revised to promote the doctrine of Islamic war against the West.
"This is one of several measures by the ministry to ensure that no copies of the Koran that contains mistakes would be circulated in the country," Mohammed Bin Hamad Ajlan Al Kuwari, director of inspections at the ministry, said.
But the only evidence we get in this piece of how these Qur'ans have been altered is that some parts have been not added, as the Book of Peace crowd might expect, but removed:
Officials acknowledged that Korans revised by Al Qaida-aligned clerics have been distributed in Qatar. They said some of chapters in the Islamic text were removed....
Its like revising Mein Kamf
...The Qur'an is not a religious text, it is a declaration of war...
Robert,
If you were looking for some recent relevant information about the nature of the Qur'an to discuss today on the radio, it seems the Al Qaida Islamic clerics have happily obliged.
This is the Ayah of the Sword
Mujahid, `Amr bin Shu`ayb, Muhammad bin Ishaq, Qatadah, As-Suddi and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said that the four months mentioned in this Ayah are the four-month grace period mentioned in the earlier Ayah,
﴿فَسِيحُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ﴾
(So travel freely for four months throughout the land.) Allah said next,
﴿فَإِذَا انسَلَخَ الأَشْهُرُ الْحُرُمُ﴾
(So when the Sacred Months have passed...), meaning, `Upon the end of the four months during which We prohibited you from fighting the idolators, and which is the grace period We gave them, then fight and kill the idolators wherever you may find them.' Allah's statement next,
﴿فَاقْتُلُواْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدتُّمُوهُمْ﴾
(then fight the Mushrikin wherever you find them), means, on the earth in general, except for the Sacred Area, for Allah said,
﴿وَلاَ تُقَـتِلُوهُمْ عِندَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ حَتَّى يُقَـتِلُوكُمْ فِيهِ فَإِن قَـتَلُوكُمْ فَاقْتُلُوهُمْ﴾
(And fight not with them at Al-Masjid Al-Haram, unless they fight you there. But if they attack you, then fight them. )﴿2:191﴾ Allah said here,
﴿وَخُذُوهُمْ﴾
(and capture them), executing some and keeping some as prisoners,
﴿وَاحْصُرُوهُمْ وَاقْعُدُواْ لَهُمْ كُلَّ مَرْصَدٍ﴾
(and besiege them, and lie in wait for them in each and every ambush), do not wait until you find them. Rather, seek and besiege them in their areas and forts, gather intelligence about them in the various roads and fairways so that what is made wide looks ever smaller to them. This way, they will have no choice, but to die or embrace Islam,
﴿فَإِن تَابُواْ وَأَقَامُواْ الصَّلَوةَ وَءاتَوُاْ الزَّكَوةَ فَخَلُّواْ سَبِيلَهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ﴾
(But if they repent and perform the Salah, and give the Zakah, then leave their way free. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) Abu Bakr As-Siddiq used this and other honorable Ayat as proof for fighting those who refrained from paying the Zakah. These Ayat allowed fighting people unless, and until, they embrace Islam and implement its rulings and obligations. Allah mentioned the most important aspects of Islam here, including what is less important. Surely, the highest elements of Islam after the Two Testimonials, are the prayer, which is the right of Allah, the Exalted and Ever High, then the Zakah, which benefits the poor and needy. These are the most honorable acts that creatures perform, and this is why Allah often mentions the prayer and Zakah together. In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that Ibn `Umar said that the Messenger of Allah said,
«أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أُقَاتِلَ النَّاسَ حَتَّى يَشْهَدُوا أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللهِ وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاة»
(I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish the prayer and pay the Zakah.) This honorable Ayah (9:5) was called the Ayah of the Sword, about which Ad-Dahhak bin Muzahim said, "It abrogated every agreement of peace between the Prophet and any idolator, every treaty, and every term.'' Al-`Awfi said that Ibn `Abbas commented: "No idolator had any more treaty or promise of safety ever since Surah Bara'ah was revealed. The four months, in addition to, all peace treaties conducted before Bara'ah was revealed and announced had ended by the tenth of the month of Rabi` Al-Akhir.''
﴿وَإِنْ أَحَدٌ مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ اسْتَجَارَكَ فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّى يَسْمَعَ كَلاَمَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ أَبْلِغْهُ مَأْمَنَهُ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لاَّ يَعْلَمُونَ ﴾
(6. And if anyone of the Mushrikin seeks your protection then grant him protection so that he may hear the Word of Allah (the Qur'an) and then escort him to where he can be secure, that is because they are men who know not.)
Hang on a minute! So let me get this straight. Some mortal has deigned to alter the perfect word of God, (as spoken by the last prophet)? Why, this is heinous blasphemy!!!! How dare them redact the Qur'an?!? But hey, while they are at it, maybe they could snip out the whole damned thing....
Shalom,
Theosebes
'Shave-yer balls and hind parts'- fatwa:
http://sheikyermami.com/2007/08/28/sheik-yermami-asks-the-imam-do-we-have-to-shave-scrotum-what-exactly-is-hind-parts-that-we-have-to-shave/
Mr. Spencer, thanks much for the link to the previous Jihad Watch article. Someone asked me about that "revised" Qur'an and I lacked info about it; now I have info.
Are there any Arabic-language sites one could visit or monitor to get more details? I looked at the front page of al-Jazeera and didn't see anything. I'm unable to search in Arabic, unfortunately.
An article in "The Peninsula" says the errors were in the index (apparently not in the text itself).
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&month=August2007&file=Local_News200708234827.xml
"The daily had published a report earlier this month quoting a Qatari national who said he had come across with some copies of the Holy Quran in a mosque with errors in the index.
"He came to know about it when he witnessed an argument between the Imam of the mosque and a worshipper who came to pray in the mosque. This man pointed out to the Imam that some chapters were missing in the index in a copy of the Holy Book available in that mosque.
"The Muezzin of the mosque told the Qatari that they had received many copies of the Quran with the same mistake. These copies didn't provide any information where they were printed and published. It was only said that they were published with donations from a Qatari national."
Is it possible that these Qur'ans with chapters missing have had the abrogated verses removed? Qur'ans of that sort would be rather useful to non-Muslims too.
The article in "The Peninsula" said that the chapters were missing from the INDEX.
Say this 3X fast..
"Ban Corrupt Qatar Quran".