Interesting how all those who responded to my quotations from the Koran
reached for their Bibles and (save Lawrence's thoughtful post) gave them a
good thump. Almost as if they assumed me to be critical of this stunningly
beautiful work. (Cultural relativism in reverse?)
The Koran bears little resemblance (through part 10 anyway, which is as far
as I've gotten) to the Old Testament and differs in many ways from the NT as
well, though it shares something of the latter's spiritual spirit.
What chilled me about those two passages was their convergence with Bush's
militant/military plans (or the rhetoric thereof), almost as if Islam had
long since anticipated what would be in store for (some of) them, or--more
chilling yet--almost as if Washington were drawing on the Koran for
strategy. Note my "almost as if" before denouncing me as paranoid. I don't
think this convergence is anything like this literal, but it's suggestive of
such momentous historical dovetailing--at this moment at least--as would
make anyone weep, I'd have thought.
Candice
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