We should all read this book to see what the fuss is all about and ask pertinent questions.
From my reading about the book, I recall.its described as having a character who bears a name similar to that of Muhammed, the founder of Islam.
This character is depicted as believing himself to be receiving revelations, but is actually insane, hence the term "Satanic Verses" in reference to his revelations.
That depiction would be upsetting to some Muslims who relate that to Muhammed.
What is the historical source of the term "Satanic Verses"?
Was it invented by Rushdie?
No.
It was invented by Muhammed, to refer to verses he himself expressed as part of his growing revelatory text, the Koran, and which he later rejected as coming from the Devil, upon which he expunged them from the Koranic corpus.
We need to explore the implications of that historical fact, in relation to claims of divine revelation, philosohical and theological challenges to such claims and fictional explorations of their implications.
Rushdie's book may be seen in terms of a fictional exploration of Muhammed's own experience with the Koran, as framed by Muhammed's own words.
Even if a book is written by the Devil, someone once said, we should read it, so as to understand how the Devil thinks.
Even if Muslims think Rushdie's book is evil and some of those Muslims agree he should be killed for that book, we should all read it and form our opinions.
I wonder how many Muslims, including those who support the death sentence against Rushdie for the book, have read it.
Whatever one may think about the Koran, a text that inspires believers who interpet Islam in both sublime and inhumane ways, we should read it.
Sacred texts, in their greatness and contradictions. power and horror, beauty and evil, are fundamental to humanity's heritage.
We should read as much as we can of as many as we can to better understand the human journey, as we ask necessary questions.
Is divine revelation possible? If so, does it come by human effort or divine initiative?
If Muhammed had not been praying fervently, would he have had what he described as a divine revelation?
Having had the revelation, how could Satan have infiltrated themself into the process, as Muhammed claimed he did with the Satanic verses?
How is one to distinguish between positive and negative revelation and inspiration? How did Muhammed do it?
How should one compare various sacred texts, ancient,modern, Hindu,Eckist?
I have written and published some sacred texts, and hope to do more.
I also believe I have operated in terms of a degree of inspiration, perhaps spiritual, in doing so, as in my work on developing a new school of Yoruba origin Ogboni philosophy and spirituality.
How should such a claim be assessed?
I am thinking of a parallel reading of the Koran and Rushdie's Satanic Verses to help frame these issues.
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CAGBtzfPwXSh6%3D7dEVkT4z2sduZDt63wbAkV7aCY1Eo7yymC4%3DQ%40mail.gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment