The Florida evangelical pastor who has stirred worldwide controversy by announcing a Koran-burning this weekend hasn’t been specific enough. Will this be an English translation or the Arabic original? If the former, will you make sure it’s regarded as accurate by Muslims themselves? Surely you are aware of the difficulties in translating sacred scriptures; the Old Testament, for instance, uses about 40 words that appear only once, and of course do not come with footnotes or Wikipedia links. Do you rely on the King James Bible, like many conservative congregations? That’s from 400 years ago, from Shakespeare’s time—and I’ll grant you that Shakespeare (one of the dozens of spellings of his last name on official documents) was inspired, though he was not among those appointed to create the so-called King James translation…
Which brings me to the main point: how many Bibles will you burn? Islam does not set Muhammad’s work as a prophet in opposition to that of Jesus or of the Old Testament prophets; rather, those are regarded as inspired by XYZ (your name for the Unknowable Almighty One here), but not as the final revelation, which came through Muhammad (claims by Baha’is to the contrary notwithstanding). When Muslims perform one of their five great duties by going on pilgrimage to Mecca, the Kaaba structure at the center of the Haj rites marks the place where Adam constructed the world’s first building—a reflection of a place in Paradise—a site later rebuilt by Abraham (aka Ibrahim) and Ishmael—the place where Ishmael and his mother Hagar were buried. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all regarded as “Abrahamic” religions.
So, make sure there are some Bibles next to that dehumidifier. My late parents lived in Florida, and I know how hard it can be to keep things properly flammable. If you go away on vacation and your power goes out and your air-conditioning stays off, you are likely to return and find mushrooms growing from the rugs. “The Devil finds work for idle hands,” so to speak. Or for underused minds.
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