What percentage of Muslims who have read the original Arabic language Koran actually understand it?

[Boojatta]

By "Muslims" in the above title/question, I mean people who self-classify as "Muslims." Obviously there's a real complication involved in speaking of a person as truly accepting something that the person does not even understand.

Of course, that's probably a very difficult question to answer, but perhaps it is possible to discuss some of the issues that may be involved in answering it.

For example, I suspect if someone has just finished completing a physics minor at a college that has a good physics department, and has good marks in most of the physics courses that he or she has academic credit in, then he or she will understand a good English translation of the original Latin language Principia by Newton.

However, it is said that the Koran, unlike Newton's Principia, cannot be translated while fully capturing all important nuances of meaning. The Arabic language may have changed since the Koran was written. Do readers of the Koran know all the differences between today's Arabic language and the Arabic language of the Koran?

Note: just to prevent any misunderstanding, by "have read the original Arabic language Koran", I mean to refer to people who did not merely memorize the sequence of sounds (like someone who memorizes many digits of pi). I mean to refer to people who understand the Arabic language and who have read the Koran with at least some minimal degree of actual understanding.

[MNDemNY]

1. 2.7

[Fresh_Start]

2. higher than the percent of Christians that read the

Books of the Bible in their original language

Because their just aren't very many Christians who can read ancient Hebrew and ancient Greek

[LiberalFighter]

13. there not their

[New Dawn]

21. Great point

In fact, most US Christians have not even read the English version of the Bible cover to cover.

[juno jones]

3. I feel the same way about the bible. n/t

[Silent3]

4. I took a course in Arabic...

...priory to a vacation in Egypt and Libya. Two of the people in my class (one a woman from Bosnia) were practicing Muslims who couldn't read or understand a word of Arabic prior to taking the class.

I get the impression that even in Arabic-speaking countries, many Muslim believers simple believe whatever their Imams and Mullahs tell them, some of which depends on the Hadith, which are an oral tradition, unlike the written word of the Qur'an.

[Boojatta]

7. Since Turkey abolished the caliphate, has use of Arabic as a common language among Muslims dropped?

Two of the people in my class (one a woman from Bosnia) were practicing Muslims who couldn't read or understand a word of Arabic prior to taking the class.

Do you happen to know whether either of them had already read a translation of the Koran in a language previously learned?

[Silent3]

19. I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that question. n/t

[patch1234]

5. none. one-fifth to one-third of the Koran presumes knowledge ...

(apparently)
that has been lost, and is therefore not understandable.

[maxsolomon]

6. why do you ask?

because if they'd read it & understand it, they'd reject it?

given our biblical literalist population in Murka, i doubt that. it just makes you crazier - you see, IT WAS WRITTEN BY GOD.

[Meshuga]

8. Religious scholars and people who study the religion...

...have to learn Classical Arabic for the purpose of studying the Koran in its original Classic Arabic. Besides the Classical Arabic, they need to know the historical aspects and the situation when these passages were written in order to put it in the right context. Different religions have "experts" to teach their followers what is said in their holy books, oral traditions, etc. and these "experts" are usually referred to as clergy. ;-)

The Muslim who can't read Koran in its original language has to rely on his/her mullah, Sheikh, fiqh, mufti, muhaddith, elder, sage, or whoever has the knowledge to teach them what the Koran actually says.

[Boojatta]

9. "what is said in their holy books": "said"="written" or "said"="implied" or "said"="suggested"?

Different religions have "experts" to teach their followers what is said in their holy books, oral traditions, etc. and these "experts" are usually referred to as clergy.

Has there ever been a government that defined the Roman Catholic Church as the official church of the/an official religion and that also prohibited those outside the clergy from learning Latin?

[Meshuga]

10. All of the above

"what is said in their holy books": "said"="written" or "said"="implied" or "said"="suggested"?

All of the above (written, implied, suggested, etc.). Like I said, it is not only about the language but also about the situation of when it was written and where it was written.

Has there ever been a government that defined the Roman Catholic Church as the official church of the/an official religion and that also prohibited those outside the clergy from learning Latin?

I think the Catholic Church kept the bible accessible only to their clergy by maintaining it in Latin and prohibiting other translations. But I am not sure if they prohibited people from learning Latin. Regardless, I don't understand why you are asking this. How relevant is this to Islamic clergy and the Koran?

[Boojatta]

12. You seem to be suggesting that all religious scholars are clergy

and that all clergy are religious scholars. Perhaps I misunderstood what you wrote?

[Meshuga]

14. I am not saying that all religious scholars are clergy

Some are and some are not. But to be part of clergy it requires knowledge of scripture so they can be available as guidance to followers who don't have the knowledge to read the original text. What good is a mullah, Sheikh, fiqh, mufti, muhaddith, etc. if they cannot read the Koran and/or know oral tradition? What good is a rabbi if he doesn't know Hebrew in order to read the Tanach or doesn't know Aramaic in order to know oral law and give halakhic advice?

And they are all available to answer questions from the followers and be a guide for the reason that not everyone has the means to know everything or even how to read scripture. That's when they come in. ;-)

I am still not sure what you are trying to say with the OP? What is the point that you are trying to make?

[Boojatta]

15. This thread is based on the question that is the thread title.

Given that I cannot answer the thread title question, I have no point. I merely have a question that can provoke discussions with people who choose to participate in this thread.

[Meshuga]

17. Just checking...

I thought that you had a point and that I was missing it. Regardless, I am glad that I had the opportunity to make my contribution to this pointless thread. :-)

[Boojatta]

18. The Original Post doesn't make a point, but you should feel

free to make a point and rescue the thread from pointlessness.

[Evoman]

11. The percentage who have critical thinking skills and still follow the religion (or any religion)

is probably between 0-5% (with a 5% margin of error hehe).

People who can read, think criticially, and understand the holy book in its historical context aren't followers of a religion, and are most likely (cynical) leaders.

[Boojatta]

16. Are you suggesting that there's a niche market of critical thinkers not served by any religion?

Do you know whether or not it's possible for some kind of holy book that has not yet been written to pass tests of critical thinking?

[Jim__]

20. According to Irshad Manji who is a Muslim woman ...

... (or at least she was when she wrote, "The Trouble with Islam", I'm not sure if she still is), she had been taught the Koran without fully understanding the language. She rebelled against some of the things she was taught about Islam, and learned (at least some of) the language of the Koran, and came to publicly reject and speak out against what the mullahs were teaching, based on her personal understanding of the text.

But, of course, we can ask the same question about the US Constitution. Most of us know the language well enough, but do we really know what the words and phrases meant to the Founders in 1787?