All but the 7th verse of Al-fatiha are OK

Submitted by Prashan (United States), Dec 24, 2021 at 10:57

Dear Dr Pipes,

I am of the opinion that polite, objective, and sustained criticism of Islam is the only way we can be saved from Islamism. Researching DNM's above post, I read various translations of Al-fatiha. No where in the recited versrs, I found a direct criticism or dismissal of Christians or Jews or others. In fact, the first 6 verses are pretty good from a theistic point of view. The 7th verse may be questionable.

I have noticed that the author of quran is very impatient. Every time he says a few good things, he gets worried about yielding too much and reverses himself. The same thing happened in the 7th verse of Al-fatiha. The 7th verse talks of anger. The nicely polished version of the 7th verse effectively talks of Allah's kindness toward those who 'do not possess anger'. If we accept this translation, the 7th verse is also kosher. But the unpolished meaning of the 7th verse exhibits the Quranic author's impatience. This meaning talks about Allah's wrath toward those who have offended Allah.

I wish only the polished translation was right. But, unfortunately, the other translation is more commonly found and it talks about Allah's wrath toward people. In either case, I found no direct anti-Jewish or anti-Christian sentiments in Al-fatiha.

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