Most Muslims believe the Koran was dictated by God--word for word, in Arabic-- to Muhammad through the archangel Gabriel. For years Koranic scholars (even in western, secular institutions) have been reluctant to challenge this notion. But now a handful of academics are applying the same critical methods used in biblical studies to the study of the Koran. Koranic criticism is still in its infancy but scholars are already discovering facts which radically challenge the traditional account. Ibn Warraq, author of "Why I am Not a Muslim" and "What the Koran Really Says" joins us on the show to discuss some of these findings.To download this or any previous Reasonable Doubts episodes click here. Find the episode you want and right click the "play now" link and select "save target as..."
7 comments:
Great work as always, guys.
What you guys really need is useful links for each episode. Could you please provide a link to the study that showed reading Dawkins had some effect on believers?
We always cite the name and lead author of any peer-reviewed journal articles we use. We seldom link to them because often they require a subscription to either the journal or another service to read. Luckily, in this case somebody has posted a free PDF of the article.
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/brill/jocc/2008/00000008/F0020003/art00011
Congratulations on your impressive and well-deserved award!
Hello,
Where could I find more information about the UN "Blasphemy law" resolution - and the fact that it has been accepted last december?
Keep up the good work!
"For years Koranic scholars (even in western, secular institutions) have been reluctant to challenge this notion."
Risking death is a heavy price to pay for asking questions, but questions eventually come out anyway. It happened in Christianity. Of course, it's a genie out of the bottle sort of thing because, once started, there's no obvious stopping point, and things can go from respectful inquiry to debunking that which one no longer accepts as true in any sense.
That (imaginary) angel Gabriel sure likes to tell tall tales.
Thanks, Jeremy!
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