[lit-ideas] Re: Passion and "the Arab world"
- From: Omar Kusturica <omarkusto@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2004 00:47:05 -0700 (PDT)
--- JulieReneB@xxxxxxx wrote:
> The Quran, Islam's holy book, is unequivocal in sura
> (chapter) 4, verse 157:
> "They said 'We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary,
> the Messenger of Allah' â??
> but they killed him not, nor crucified him. But so
> it was made to appear to
> them. And those who differ therein are full of
> doubts with no knowledge, but
> only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they
> killed him not."
Oh, now I see. There are few passages in the Kuran
that are really unequivocal, but this seems to me to
be a (politically correct) misreading. Here is the
translation I have, with some context:
[4.155] Therefore, for their breaking their covenant
and their disbelief in the communications of Allah and
their killing the prophets wrongfully and their
saying: Our hearts are covered; nay! Allah set a seal
upon them owing to their unbelief, so they shall not
believe except a few.
[4.156] And for their unbelief and for their having
uttered against Marium a grievous calumny.
[4.157] And their saying: Surely we have killed the
Messiah, Isa son of Marium, the apostle of Allah; and
they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it
appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those
who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they
have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a
conjecture, and they killed him not for sure.
[4.158] Nay! Allah took him up to Himself; and Allah
is Mighty, Wise.
(The Women, 155-58)
"They" and (in 157.) "we" referes to the Jews who have
abandoned the ways of faith and obedience to Allah,
thus breaking the covenant with him. (This theme
appears in several places in the Kuran.) Thus, 157. is
surely not meant to suggest that crucifixion literally
did not happen, but to emphasize the essential
powerlessness of those who do mischief. The physical
world is just an illusion, thus when Jesus' killers
thought they were killing him they were actually only
killing an illusion of him on the Earth. In the
reality that is epitomized by Allah, he continues to
live, which is of course consistent with the Christian
doctrine of resurrection. ("Allah took him to
himself.") But I don't see how this could be taken to
excuse the crime or to suggest that it never happened.
O.K.
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