The Guardians Qur'an Blog

wes

I taught people here might be interested in this. The Guardian Newspaper is doing a Qur'an blog.

Here is quote from the "About this blog" Section of the blog:

Blogging the Qur'an / About this blog

The Qur'an is the sacred book of Islam. In the view of Muslims it speaks to all humanity (not just those who believe) but its message is often hard to grasp. Its unconventional structure makes it unlike any other book and its 114 suras (chapters) are not arranged in chronological order but according to their length. Its literary style is considered by Arabic speakers to be neither prose nor verse but something unique.

Muslims have been wrestling with the meaning of the verses and words of the Qur'an from the early days of Islam. Non-Muslims, meanwhile, often have wildly inaccurate notions of its content. These arguments and misconceptions are played out daily on the threads of Comment is free.

Through Blogging the Qur'an, we hope to try and untangle some of those meanings and misconceptions. Over the course of this year, Ziauddin Sardar - writer, broadcaster and cultural critic - will blog the book, verse by verse and theme by theme. There are plenty of theological forums on the internet where the Qur'an is discussed in great detail; our hope is this non-theological exercise will illuminate and inform the political and cultural discussions that take place day in and day out about the role of Islam in world affairs.

Click here for the rest of the article

Also the blogs url is:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/quran/

Only had a quick look at it so far and it seems to be pretty good so far and should generate interesting discussion here.

the_new_mr

Thanks for that Wes. Looks interesting alright. Must take a look.

hivizman

the_new_mr wrote: »

Thanks for that Wes. Looks interesting alright. Must take a look.

I've been following this blog since it started up. I obviously can't judge how well or badly Ziauddin Sardar is representing Islam, but his comments strike me as careful and very thoughtful. The various responses from people reading the blog have also been interesting, and I hope that the quality of discussion maintains this standard in the future.

By the way, I recently read Ziauddin Sardar's Desperately Seeking Paradise: Journeys of a Sceptical Muslim, a sort of autobiographical account of his experiences of different aspects of Islamic life - I'd certainly recommend it.

the_new_mr

Been meaning to read that blog for ages but it's difficult to find the time. Guess you have to make time sometimes.

Thanks for the book recommendation hivizman. I'd say it'd be a good read... if I find the time that is