The Plaid Pladd

Title: The Quran
Also Spelled: Qur’an, Koran, Al-Coran, Kuran, and Al-Qur’an
Challenged and burned in: Gainesville, Florida

You may remember this one. There’s a whole Wikipedia page about it. I was kind of surprised it appeared on the ALA’s list since it isn’t library-related, although arguably every time you burn a book, librarians hear its spirit cry out in pain like Obi-Wan Kenobi when Alderaan gets Death Star’d. After reading a lot of news articles about this guy, I’ve decided Florida pastor Terry Jones really just wants attention. Which is why he’s done things like threatening to burn a Quran on the 9th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, and then, a year later, actually burning it after “putting the Quran on trial” for crimes against humanity and finding it guilty of all charges. Why else would he post the video on youtube, with Arabic subtitles? Guy is clearly real-life trolling and trying to start something. Which he accomplished: Both instances sparked protests overseas, leaving at least 16 dead and many more injured. More recently he’s done things like hang an effigy of President Obama outside his church because “Obama is killing America”.

Apparently during the Quran’s “trial” Terry Jones wore “traditional judge robes” and considered shooting, drowning, or shredding as punishments after the accused was found “guilty” by the jury. This description reminded me really strongly of medieval animal trials where domesticated animals would be tried and sentenced for criminal damages, murder, or complicity in bestiality. They would also try things like weevils and other pests for ruining crops, and occasionally inanimate objects or corpses depending on who or what was perceived to be at fault for supposed crimes. If only this were still part of our legal system.

I would sue my dishwasher first thing. It knows what it did.

So I read the Quran. It was hands down the most interesting book I’ve read for the Banned Books project, and maybe even outside of it. I was grateful that the version I got from the library, translated by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, came with lots of explanatory notes at the beginning of each sura (or chapter) and lots of footnotes too, explaining the history and different interpretations of the text. Since I don’t know much about Islamic culture or history, I would have been pretty lost otherwise.

Things that surprised me:
1) How much the Quran has in common with the Bible. The way Christianity and Islam have been historically at odds had me expecting some obvious and dramatic differences that would naturally lead to conflict, but really I think when it comes to basic morals there’s more commonality than difference. The basic message still seems to be “Be excellent to each other”.

2) How much I needed my knowledge of Biblical stories and characters to understand what was going on. Often people like Moses or Abraham were mentioned or alluded to without a full explanation of who they are, so I wonder how growing up in Islam works. I assume, unlike me, you don’t also read the Bible, but there must be some way to get a better understanding of who these people are and their back story? Or maybe you don’t need a back story to understand the message, although it certainly helped me be less confused.

3) It was pretty much poetry and I love it. I bet it sounds even better untranslated.

Even with the explanations, introduction, and maps that were helpfully provided, I still feel like I only got a surface understanding of what was going on, and would need to learn some more history to fully understand this book. But I’m really glad I read it, and would highly recommend it to anyone. I think, just like the Bible, its message can be distorted by people who want to use it to suit their own ends. An attempt at understanding can really stop these bigots and trolls in their tracks.

Previously: The Notebook Girls
Next: We’ll Be Here For the Rest of Our Lives