Light Reading
I feel it's important for anyone interested in truly understanding the world to be well read. And not just well read, but specifically educated in culturally and historically significant texts. This is doubly true for anyone academically interested in religion as I am. I am what you might call a 'casual' buddhist; I aim to lead a life that reduces suffering for others, but I do not engage in most typically buddhist activities like meditation. My life outlook came from reading intensively about the origins of buddhism, its concepts and what modern leading buddhists have to say. I did all that reading because religion is really interesting to me on an academic level.
This preamble is gearing up towards me talking about the Quran, which I am currently halfway through. Obviously it's a sensitive subject for many so I want to get ahead of any misinterpretations of this. Islam is a fundamental aspect of billions of lives, and I am NOT interested in criticising it or mocking it. I am talking about the Quran as a piece of literature and I totally understand that actual Muslim practice is not necessarily understandable simply from reading the Quran. I intend to read the Christian bible in exactly the same manner and I wish no disrespect. That being said, those that hold the Quran as a holy text may find the following insulting or distasteful. It is not meant that way and I would like to reiterate that none of what I'm saying is about Islam the religion - it's just about the specific English translation of the Quran that I read.
Anyhow. Boy, the Quran is repetitive. A lot of space is taken up insisting on the same talking points multiple times, such as that unbelievers will go to hell and that idolatry is one of the worst sins. Allah as speaker is VERY insistent that He has no sons or daughters, presumably a monotheistic push similar to the origins of Zoroastrianism. At certain points, sentences are nearly identical only a few pages apart, which left me wondering if I'm on the right page. The destruction of Aad and Thamoud, the journey of Moses against Pharaoh - these have been particular favourites of the book so far, returning to them again and again. I was hoping for even more old testament stories and also more instructions for believers (as this seems interesting and informative), but instead the book mostly focuses on insisting upon itself. It paints a picture of a petty and spiteful deity, totally in control of unbeliever's hearts but in a way that somehow makes them deserving of rotting in hell forever. This may be a wrinkle of the translation, but it comes across as mean and hypocritical.
Misogyny is plainly evident in the text. Again, this may not be helped by the translation, but it's a bit shocking nonetheless. Men are promised sexy, wet-eyed virgins in heaven and women are told to obey their husbands. I have no doubt that similar is in the bible - shit sucked for women 2000 years ago. It's just a bit jarring to read about it. I'm pretty glad I have the right to vote...
From the perspective of an arab living a thousand years ago, I can absolutely see how this would be both convincing and fundamental. The book is broken into chapter-like chunks which make for easy casual reading on a certain topic and the parables are easy to understand. I'm about halfway through, so in the second half I'm hoping the book will move away from bible-thumping (Quran-thumping?) and explore more old testament stories.