Böcker av Ibn Warraq

Centering on the pioneering work of Christoph Luxenberg, this anthology of scholarly yet accessible studies of the Koran makes a convincing case that Islam's holy book borrowed heavily from Christian texts in Syriac and other Near Eastern sources.In this important compilation, Ibn Warraq focuses on the pioneering work in Syriac and Arabic linguistics of Christoph Luxenberg, a native speaker of Arabic who lives in the West and writes under a pseudonym. Luxenberg's careful studies of the Koran are significant for many reasons. First, he has clarified numerous obscurities in the Koran by treating the confusing passages as poor translations into Arabic of original Syriac texts. He demonstrates that when one translates the difficult Arabic words back into Syriac, the meaning becomes clear. Beyond textual clarity, Luxenberg's scholarship provides ample evidence that the Koran developed from a Judeo-Christian background, since Syriac (a dialect of Aramaic) was the main language of both Jews and Christians in the Middle East before the advent of Islam. Ibn Warraq supplies English translations of key articles by Luxenberg that originally appeared in German and have never before been available to an English readership. This is followed by commentary by other scholars on Luxenberg's work. Also included are articles by earlier specialists who anticipated the later insights of Luxenberg, and more recent scholarship inspired by his methodology. Erudite but accessible, this groundbreaking collection is must reading for anyone with an interest in the origins of the Koran and the early history of Islam.

Presents a selection of the author's work on the Koran and various problems posed by the interaction of Islam with the West. This title covers such topics as: the totalitarian nature of contemporary political Islam, the potential for an Islamic Reformation comparable to the Protestant Reformation in the West, and more.

Presents a systematic critique of Edward Said's work "Orientalism". This book looks at the destructive influence of Said's study on the history of Western painting, especially of the 19th century, and shows how the epigones of Said have succeeded in relegating thousands of first-class paintings to the lofts and storage rooms of major museums.

Few Muslims realise that there are several Korans in circulation in the Islamic world, with textual variations whose significance, extent, and meaning have never been properly examined. This work contains articles that address the history, linguistics, and religious implications of these not-trifling variants in Islam's sacred book.