Surely if the Quran is the 'true word of God' He'd want it translated so we can all understand it & benefit from His teaching?

'Have you read the Quran?'

'Yes I have'.

'Really? You speak Arabic?'

'No but I've read a translation.'

'Ah, you have not read the Quran then - it can only, according to Islam, be truly understood in its original Arabic text. So unless you learn, and become fluent in Arabic, you cannot truly understand the Quran.'

All of which effectively means that the teachings of the 'one true God Allah', is in the hands of a relatively small group of people - not just 'Arabic' speakers, but speakers of just one of the many dialects of the language which includes the original Amararic language of 600AD.

So, effectively the true word of God, which was originally revealed to - and discarded by - the Jews, by the Angel Gabriel (remember him?) to Muhammad, an illiterate farmer, and then passed down by word of mouth for more than 200 years before being written down in any form, by many different groups of scholars and others, but remains the 'true word of God', is in the hands of a few mortal men.

And their interpretation of the book, inevitably in a way which suits their own ends, is effectively 'LAW' to 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide.

And it cannot be questioned, examined or investigated in the light of our more modern world, unless one speaks an archaic language. That's some powerful gig I think you'll agree.

Christianity burned people at the stake for questioning its Bible, but eventually the reformation saw translation, accessibility and examination of the text. It effectively breached the closed shop of religious control and allowed people either to reject or embrace the teachings of Christianity. And just as the Bible can be used to justify almost anything, it also enabled people to justify non-belief, secularity, if they so chose.

I would argue that by enabling 'faith' it made Christianity stronger since it was then based on belief and commitment instead of the threat to comply or be punished. It certainly allowed the Christian 'word of God' to be much more widely broadcast and understood.

Far from undermining Christian religion, this translation and understanding made it stronger because it was based on belief rather than 'blind faith' imposed upon people at pain of death, quite literally. This strength - 'I believe, you cannot stop me' - also bred confidence in one's stance and an ability to accept ridicule and challenges. To laugh at 'unbelievers', to accept humorous attacks such as Life Of Brian, Dave Allen etc. Being able to laugh at oneself but retain one's belief is a sign of great strength and confidence, not weakness.

So compare and contrast that with Islam. Where a supposedly humorous cartoon can have hate mobs on the streets across the world protesting violently and threatening death?

It's not strength or confidence, it's weakness and fear that propels this action.

Do you really think that God, or Allah (which is essentially the same thing) would want 'His true words' to be controlled by a small number of people and inaccessible to most of the world? Or would He want his teachings to be spread and understood as widely as possible?

Is it 'God's teaching' or 'man's control of others' that is really at stake here?

It's time we took away the mystique of Islam and the Quran and gave it to the world's people instead of leaving it to be manipulated and controlled - and used to control people and make them do things that their basic humanity would abhor - by a few mortal men.

It's what Allah would want.

Thanks for reading.