The Virgins and the Grapes: the Christian Origins of the Koran
A German scholar of ancient languages takes a new look at the sacred
book of Islam. He maintains that it was created by Syro-Aramaic
speaking Christians, in order to evangelize the Arabs. And he
translates it in a new way
by Sandro Magister
ROMA - That Aramaic was the lingua franca of a vast area of the
ancient Middle East is a notion that is by now amply noted by a vast
public, thanks to Mel Gibson´s film "The Passion of the Christ,"
which everyone watches in that language.
But that Syro-Aramaic was also the root of the Koran, and of the
Koran of a primitive Christian system, is a more specialized notion,
an almost clandestine one. And it´s more than a little dangerous. The
author of the most important book on the subject - a German professor
of ancient Semitic and Arabic languages - preferred, out of prudence,
to write under the pseudonym of Christoph Luxenberg. A few years ago,
one of his colleagues at the University of Nablus in Palestine,
Suliman Bashear, was thrown out of the window by his scandalized
Muslim students.
In the Europe of the 16th and 17th centuries, mangled by the wars of
religion, scholars of the Bible also used to keep a safe distance
with pseudonyms. But if, now, the ones doing so are the scholars of
the Koran, this is a sign that, for the Muslim holy book as well, the
era of historical, linguistic, and philological re-readings has begun.
This is a promising beginning for many reasons. Gerd-Rüdiger Puin, a
professor at Saarland University in Germany and another Koran scholar
on the philological level, maintains that this type of approach to
Islam´s holy book can help to defeat its fundamentalist and Manichean
readings, and to bring into a better light its ties with Judaism and
Christianity.
The book by "Christoph Luxenberg" came out in 2000 in Germany with
the title "Die Syro-Aramäische Lesart des Koran" ("A Syro-Aramaic
Reading of the Koran"), published in Berlin by Das Arabische Buch. It
is out of print, and there are no translations in other languages.
But a new, updated edition (again in German) is about to arrive in
bookstores.
Here follows an interview with the author, published in Germany in
the newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and in Italy in "L´espresso," no.
11, March 12-18, 2004:
>From the Gospel to Islam
An interview with "Christoph Luxenberg" by Alfred Hackensberger
Q. - Professor, why did you think it useful to conduct this re-
reading of the Koran?
A. - "Because, in the Koran, there are many obscure points that, from
the beginning, even the Arab commentators were not able to explain.
Of these passages it is said that only God can comprehend them.
Western research on the Koran, which has been conducted in a
systematic manner only since about the middle of the 19th century,
has always taken as its base the commentaries of the Arab scholars.
But these have never gone beyond the etymological explanation of some
terms of foreign origin."
Q. - What makes your method different?
A. - "I began from the idea that the language of the Koran must be
studied from an historical-linguistic point of view. When the Koran
was composed, Arabic did not exist as a written language; thus it
seemed evident to me that it was necessary to take into
consideration, above all, Aramaic, which at the time, between the 4th
and 7th centuries, was not only the language of written
communication, but also the lingua franca of that area of Western
Asia."
Q. - Tell us how you proceeded.
A. - "At first I conducted a ´synchronous´ reading. In other words, I
kept in mind both Arabic and Aramaic. Thanks to this procedure, I was
able to discover the extent of the previously unsuspected influence
of Aramaic upon the language of the Koran: in point of fact, much of
what now passes under the name of ´classical Arabic´ is of Aramaic
derivation."
Q. - What do you say, then, about the idea, accepted until now, that
the Koran was the first book written in Arabic?
A. - "According to Islamic tradition, the Koran dates back to the 7th
century, while the first examples of Arabic literature in the full
sense of the phrase are found only two centuries later, at the time
of the ´Biography of the Prophet´; that is, of the life of Mohammed
as written by Ibn Hisham, who died in 828. We may thus establish that
post-Koranic Arabic literature developed by degrees, in the period
following the work of al-Khalil bin Ahmad, who died in 786, the
founder of Arabic lexicography (kitab al-ayn), and of Sibawwayh, who
died in 796, to whom the grammar of classical Arabic is due. Now, if
we assume that the composition of the Koran was brought to an end in
the year of the Prophet Mohammed´s death, in 632, we find before us
an interval of 150 years, during which there is no trace of Arabic
literature worthy of note."
Q. - So at the time of Mohammed Arabic did not have precise rules,
and was not used for written communication. Then how did the Koran
come to be written?
A. - "At that time, there were no Arab schools - except, perhaps, for
the Christian centers of al-Anbar and al-Hira, in southern
Mesopotamia, or what is now Iraq. The Arabs of that region had been
Christianized and instructed by Syrian Christians. Their liturgical
language was Syro-Aramaic. And this was the vehicle of their culture,
and more generally the language of written communication."
Q. - What is the relationship between this language of culture and
the origin of the Koran?
A. - "Beginning in the third century, the Syrian Christians did not
limit themselves to bringing their evangelical mission to nearby
countries, like Armenia or Persia. They pressed on toward distant
territories, all the way to the borders of China and the western
coast of India, in addition to the entire Arabian peninsula all the
way to Yemen and Ethiopia. It is thus rather probable that, in order
to proclaim the Christian message to the Arabic peoples, they would
have used (among others) the language of the Bedouins, or Arabic. In
order to spread the Gospel, they necessarily made use of a mishmash
of languages. But in an era in which Arabic was just an assembly of
dialects and had no written form, the missionaries had no choice but
to resort to their own literary language and their own culture; that
is, to Syro-Aramaic. The result was that the language of the Koran
was born as a written Arabic language, but one of Arab-Aramaic
derivation."
Q. - Do you mean that anyone who does not keep the Syro-Aramaic
language in mind cannot translate and interpret the Koran correctly?
A. - "Yes. Anyone who wants to make a thorough study of the Koran
must have a background in the Syro-Aramaic grammar and literature of
that period, the 7th century. Only thus can he identify the original
meaning of Arabic expressions whose semantic interpretation can be
established definitively only by retranslating them into Syro-
Aramaic."
Q. - Let´s come to the misunderstandings. One of the most glaring
errors you cite is that of the virgins promised, in the Islamic
paradise, to the suicide bombers.
A. - "We begin from the term ´huri,´ for which the Arabic
commentators could not find any meaning other than those heavenly
virgins. But if one keeps in mind the derivations from Syro-Aramaic,
that expression indicated ´white grapes,´ which is one of the
symbolic elements of the Christian paradise, recalled in the Last
Supper of Jesus. There´s another Koranic expression, falsely
interpreted as ´the children´ or ´the youths´ of paradise: in
Aramaic: it designates the fruit of the vine, which in the Koran is
compared to pearls. As for the symbols of paradise, these
interpretive errors are probably connected to the male monopoly in
Koranic commentary and interpretation."
Q. - By the way, what do you think about the Islamic veil?
A. - "There is a passage in Sura 24, verse 31, which in Arabic reads,
´That they should beat their khumurs against their bags.´ It is an
incomprehensible phrase, for which the following interpretation has
been sought: ´That they should extend their kerchiefs from their
heads to their breasts.´ But if this passage is read in the light of
Syro-Aramaic, it simply means: ´They should fasten their belts around
their waists.´"
Q. - Does this mean the veil is really a chastity belt?
A. - "Not exactly. It is true that, in the Christian tradition, the
belt is associated with chastity: Mary is depicted with a belt
fastened around her waist. But in the gospel account of the Last
Supper, Christ also ties an apron around his waist before washing the
Apostles´ feet. There are clearly many parallels with the Christian
faith."
Q. - You have discovered that Sura 97 of the Koran mentions the
Nativity. And in your translation of the famous Sura of Mary,
her "birthgiving" is "made legitimate by the Lord." Moreover, the
text contains the invitation to come to the sacred liturgy, to the
Mass. Would the Koran, then, be nothing other than an Arabic version
of the Christian Bible?
A. - "In its origin, the Koran is a Syro-Aramaic liturgical book,
with hymns and extracts from Scriptures which might have been used in
sacred Christian services. In the second place, one may see in the
Koran the beginning of a preaching directed toward transmitting the
belief in the Sacred Scriptures to the pagans of Mecca, in the Arabic
language. Its socio-political sections, which are not especially
related to the original Koran, were added later in Medina. At its
beginning, the Koran was not conceived as the foundation of a new
religion. It presupposes belief in the Scriptures, and thus
functioned merely as an inroad into Arabic society."
Q. - To many Muslim believers, for whom the Koran is the holy book
and the only truth, your conclusions could seem blasphemous. What
reactions have you noticed up until now?
A. - "In Pakistan, the sale of the edition of ´Newsweek´ that
contained an article on my book was banned. Otherwise, I must say
that, in my encounters with Muslims, I have not noticed any hostile
attitudes. On the contrary, they have appreciated the commitment of a
non-Muslim to studies aimed at an objective comprehension of their
sacred text. My work could be judged as blasphemous only by those who
decide to cling to errors in the interpretation of the word of God.
But in the Koran it is written, ´No one can bring to the right way
those whom God induces to error.´"
Q. - Aren´t you afraid of a fatwa, a death sentence like the one
pronounced against Salman Rushdie?
A. - "I am not a Muslim, so I don´t run that risk. Besides, I haven´t
offended against the Koran"
Q. - But you still preferred to use a pseudonym.
A. - "I did that on the advice of Muslim friends who were afraid that
some enthusiastic fundamentalist would act of his own initiative,
without waiting for a fatwa."
__________
Divine Verses
Koran, in Arabic Qur´an, means recitation or reading. It is an
essential element of the Islamic faith that it was always with God
and "descended" in its fullness to Mohammed at the moment of his call
as a prophet, called the "night of destiny." It is in Arabic, and it
may be ritually recited only in this language. It is divided into 114
Suras, or chapters, and each Sura is divided into verses. The first
Sura, called "the unstopping," is a brief prayer that plays an
important role in worship and everyday life. The following Suras are
ordered according to length, from longest to shortest. According to
the tradition, Mohammed gradually communicated to his faithful the
parts of the Koran revealed to him. The oldest Suras are called
those "of Mecca"; that later ones, "of Medina." The most ancient
Suras are of a markedly theological character, while the Suras of
Medina are more juridical, dictating the ordering of the community.
For Sunni Islam,.the Koran may not be put to criticism, given its
divine nature: in any case, the "door of interpretation" of the Koran
has been closed since the 11th century.
A link to the full text of the Koran, in an English translation:
> The Sacred Koran
__________
An elaborated guide to the new historical-linguistic readings of the
Koran, on a page of the blog parapundit.com:
> "Newsweek" Article About Christoph Luxenberg On Koran Banned In
Pakistan
And an investigation by Alexander Stille in the "New York Times,"
March 4, 2002:
> Scholars Scrutinize the Koran's Origin
__________
The commentary of professor Gian Maria Vian on the interview
with "Christoph Luxenberg," printed on Sunday, March 14 in the
newspaper of the Italian bishops´ conference, "Avvenire":
> I filologi e il Corano
Gian Maria Vian, a professor of patristic philology at Rome´s "La
Sapienza" university, is the author of an important essay on twenty
centuries of Christian texts, beginning with Sacred Scripture:
> Quella scrittura che comincia in Galilea (29.8.2001)
__________
In the Muslim world, the view of the Koran peculiar to the Ismailis,
open to multiple interpretations and to a positive relationship with
the Jewish and Christian faiths:
> The Other Islam. The Peaceful Revolution of the Ismaili Shiites
(3.11.2003)
__________
English translation by Matthew Sherry: > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Go to the home page of > www.chiesa.espressonline.it/english, to
access the latest articles and links to other resources.
Sandro Magister´s e-mail address is [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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