August 08, 2003


Babel
There are about to be some VERY angry people in Saudi Arabia.

In this Newsweek article, a German historian (who's using a pseudonym to avoid joining Salman Rushdie in exile) contends that the Quran has been mistranslated. For centuries, people believed that it was dictated to Mohammed by Allah in Arabic. But, historically speaking, Arabic as a language didn't appear on the scene until 150 years AFTER Mohammed's death. Which means that the document was more likely written in the language of the time, Aramaic.

What does this mean? Well, for starters, the section that promises 70 "virgins with swelling breasts" in the afterlife for those who die in Jihad would actually be "white raisins with juicy fruits".

Excuse me while I laugh my you-know-what off.

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