What does the Quran really say? by Rachid Benzine and Ismaël Saidi
Of this book, I only found a Dutch version. But the ideas are necessary.
In the book, the authors dialogue about a number of things from the Quran in a student-teacher relationship. Ishmael is the student, Rachid, as an Islamologist (not an Imam) the teacher. As an Islamologist, Rachid approaches the issues of the Quran that Ishmael raises from a historical context. In doing so, he uses as almost the only reference to the Quran as it did as an unwritten word in the 7th century. He systematically adapts the Quranic interpretations of Ishmael from that historical context and thus arrives at a much more Western and liberal interpretation than we know from the news of Saudi Arabia, ISIS, Iraq, Iran,… and their very many Islamic faiths and sub-denominations. Unfortunately, I fear that these gentlemen with their interpretation are born prematurely, or not, if they succeed in giving an anti-dogmatic alternative to much of the pejoratives that happen with the Quran in this world.
By going back in history to the time of Muhammad (pbuh), and with plausible explanations for his (Rachid’s) interpretations of the time and living conditions of that time, the authors create a loving and peaceful idea of an Islam of that time. What the authors regularly repeat is that many rules already existed unwritten. Rules that, as they demonstrate, once taken out of context, can go in a thoroughly twisted direction. What the authors fail to explain is whether there was a need for a gathering under the protection of a single god from all those tribes and clans if there was a multicultural and reasonably peaceful Arabia (because of all those existing and necessary rules of life). Except for the “strong together” argument. This, too, can of course be understood as a striving for harmony.
This book is also highly recommended in the context of schools, education and fear prevention, without of course losing sight of the other, currently much more experienced and dogmatic forms of Islam.
This alternative form of thinking in Islam is much more appropriate for experience in Western Europe. Possibly, this way of thinking is already a fact for Muslims here. Unfortunately, there are no statistics on this, in addition to the many others that exist.
Title: Wat staat er nu eigenlijk echt in de Koran, Authors: Rachid Benzine and Ismaël Saidi, Publisher: Eik, ISBN: 9789463580045