I only studied Modern Standard Arabic for 1 year. Enjoyed it and did well at it, but it was night school and an outrageous 2 hour commute to/from work each way has killed the opportunity for continued learning, at least for now. Perhaps once the real estate markets turn around and I can move in order to shorten my commute, I can pick it back up again someday. I think truly understanding the Muslim way of thinking about the world is impossible without both sufficient study of Islam, its history, and the Arabic language as well. It sheds light on a lot. (It also increases my fear factor for the future, unforunately.)

Arabic can sound harsh to the uninitiated English-speaking ear, but once studied, it becomes apparent that it is actually a very beautiful and poetic language…if sometimes a bit long-winded. Grammatically, it’s a BEAR. So danged complex, even if elements of it are a lot more precise than English. For me, mastering Japanese and Mandarin Chinese was easy by comparison. Grammatically they’re not difficult. Arabic’s the one foreign language out of several that I’ve studied, that truly kicked my linguistic a** and made me work that a** OFF for the good grades I got.

I hope the readers will continue to express their appreciation to you. Having begun at least a few tentative steps along the path you’ve trod, I fully understand the very hard work and dedication you’ve had had to put in, in order to achieve the level of scholarship you have achieved.

Out of curiousity, I was wondering: Did you also study any of the other major regional languages, i.e., Farsi, Urdu, Turkish, Hebrew, etc?

To “The Jackal”:

Robert translated exactly what I said to him in Arabic. To which Robert replyed “Ala wajib” which roughly equates to “Don’t mention it” but literally means “It’s my obligation” or “It’s my duty, so no thanks is needed”.

Unfortunately I had technical problems for the past few days and tried to answer that question myself, but the system wouldn’t let me log in to address the question in time.

To which I have to say ” ‘Asif ” i.e, “My apologies”.

Shirotayama said, “From the heart, I say to you, thank you very much!”

woot!

Ala wajib!

Me Arabic good very not. Thinks me, “Afwan, habibetti (or habibi, if a guy).”

What did Shirotayama post? I only caught the “thank you very much” bit.

Wa min qalbi, ‘a’aqul alayka, shukran jiddan

Ala wajib!

I myself wouldn’t mind a 1000 comment snowball. Perhaps this is a good time to ask:

1. Helllllooooo out there! Is anyone out there actually reading this thing?
2. If your answer to #1 is yes, do you find it helpful?
3. If your answer to #1 is no, why not?
4. What do you think I should change about it, short of dropping the whole project (which I do not intend to do as long as Michelle will have me here), that would make it more useful to you?

Thanks for any input.

Robert Spencer on January 6, 2008 at 3:21 PM

Dear Dr. Spencer, my answers to your 4 questions (which by its nature somehow makes me think of a song “Mah nishtanah ha lailah hazeh mikol halaylot…etc., etc.) in order are:

1. YES!!!!!! WE’RE HERE. And we’re also referring many others to reading “Blogging the Qur’an” also.

2. YES!!!!!! Reading the translations as well as your explanations of them has been INCREDIBLY helpful in understanding the religious and cultural backdrop from which Muslims think, the context to understand why they think and act and believe the way they do. Without this project, many of us would still be in the dark…TOTALLY in the dark.

3. Not applicable. It’s definitely useful. In my own case, I haven’t commented before because I get so wrapped up in simply reading the blog and pondering it, I forget to comment before I need to get back to whatever it was I was doing.

4. If it were me, I wouldn’t change a thing.

This project has been incredibly helpful in understanding Islam, Muslims, and their culture. Honestly, and most unfortunately, the more I learn, the more scared and fatalistic about inevitable cultural conflagration going nuclear…literally…I tend to get. I simply don’t see how it’s possible to reason with people whose beliefs, at their very core, indicate a deep conviction beginning with their holy book, that:

- All other religions are superseded and thus inferior and things to be destroyed, and that their religion is the ONLY one that the entire globe MUST follow

- All other peoples are to be either converted, subjugated, or destroyed

- That the two faiths that gave rise to their own, and the people who follow those faiths, are irreparably corrupt

- That any challenges to their religion’s supremacy must be fought and destroyed, and that such fighting is one of the fastest ways into paradise

How can the rest of the world, not just us in the West, but Russia, China, India…huge populaces…not eventually be in terrible violent conflict with people who believe such things down to their very core?

The only way I can possibly see to counter Islamism and Jihadism would be if there were absolute, incontrovertible proof that the prophet was a fraud, nothing more than a personality cult leader, and that he made it all up, a mere contrivance to gain influence, power, and a harem. Without totally incontrovertible evidence, it’s a lost cause. Perhaps even with it.

I see no other eventual alternative but nuclear blasts lobbed by both sides. Millions if not billions will perish. I simply pray I don’t live to see it. Or be part of it.

Dr. Spencer, I thank you for your scholarship and to your contribution to our base of knowledge about a religion and a culture more westerners, particularly Americans, truly need to understand with great depth in order to navigate the world as it is now, and as it is to come.

Wa min qalbi, ‘a’aqul alayka, shukran jiddan.

And it wouldn’t be a Muslim who would get me fired. It would be some offended Christian who thinks Islam is just another religion that needs defending.

No kidding? I hear people at work trashing Islam all the time, and they are predominantly Christian! My wife is from an Asian country that has continual conflicts with Muslim fanatics, and she tells me quite bluntly that there is no good Muslim but a dead Muslim. I cannot go that far, but I have not seen what she has seen. I am also an atheist, but do not hold religion in contempt. On the contrary, I study religion as a hobby because I find it is the best way to study history, cultures and people all in one swing. But I look at this Blogging the Quran series like I do any other education – I learn the material, I have fun doing it, and I allow the education to change my perception about things. If Mr Spencer’s goal was to teach us the dangers of Islam via their own scriptures, he has succeeded – at least with me. Hopefully, some otherwise passive folks out there will ‘see the light’.

Jaynie59:

And that’s another thing. When are we going to be allowed to be pissed off?

There is anger that is righteous. But even righteous anger should be channelled toward something positive.

Robert Spencer on January 6, 2008 at 9:45 PM

I don’t understand what you mean by that. I won’t reply on this thread anymore. I’m sure you’re way to busy to deal with the frustrated ramblings of an anti-Islam fanatic bigot like me.

I just have one more thing to say and then I’ll leave it alone.

The only hope I can see for the West is if you religious people stop being so defensive about religion and start standing up for what you believe in. An atheist like me will never, ever, make even a small dent because nobody will take anything an atheist says about Islam seriously at all. We’re perceived as hating all religion and nothing we say about Islam holds any weight at all with anyone.

It’s tough task. People’s first response to me is to accuse me of being a Christian. Or sometimes they accuse me of being a Jew. The general reaction towards anyone who criticizes Islam is to automatically assume that they do so because they are a believer in one of the other religions. When they find out I’m an atheist, then they dismiss me completely. They have no accusation left to throw at me other than the fact that I have contempt for all religions.

And I do have contempt for all religions. But all religions are not equal. Christians and Jews need to stand up for themselves and fight back. But they won’t because today’s world won’t allow them to. So they do what we all do. Keep quiet. Or worse, go out of their way to see the “positive” where no positive exists.

But I can’t really condemn anybody too much for not defending our way of life. The only place I can do it is anonymously on the internet. If I spoke at all about what I think about Islam, anywhere else, I would lose my job.

And it wouldn’t be a Muslim who would get me fired. It would be some offended Christian who thinks Islam is just another religion that needs defending.

1. Helllllooooo out there! Is anyone out there actually reading this thing?
Robert Spencer on January 6, 2008 at 3:21 PM

Yes, although personal battles preoccupy me lately. I consider the war between the culture of the West and the culture of islam to be the great war of our civilization.

I do not consider us to be losing since the war began the day Mohammed appeared. However, we will lose when the West become so ignorant of the meaning of islamic conquest that we mistake it for multicultural hiccups

That is why your commentary is so important

If the war had already been lost Europe would be under sharia. It is under attack but not dead, unless you are Pat Buchanan

Even though a battle with China is shaping, the anti-Westernism in China is more racist and materialistically driven and therefore more obvious to us

It is the subtle ignorance about the lapping tides of islamic mindset that threaten death by slow erosion, yet this endless war will be won by building dykes of knowlege.

In short, we need you Robert at this moment in time. You are a bridge and a watch dog.

Years ago, I joked to an american born lady of Spanish heritage about the inquisition and she shot back, ‘we (the Spanish) had to clean out our country, it was the only way to survive’. She described the inquisition as rooting out the moors who had made Christians into slaves

I had looked at the inquisition as an anti-semitic exercise. She saw it as a rescue

I do not want a moorish conquest of my people and I do not want inquisitions. The best way is to prevent conquest. This is a battle of minds.

Jaynie59 is wrong, it isn’t hopeless or they would have won long ago. Thomas Jefferson battled the same enemy we face today – a mindset

I think you are very brave because these punks currently think the government of the US will help them stifle people like you. It might, just now, but the government is us and we are getting wiser

Notice, no jokes. Just can’t get joky blogging the Q but it sure is important

Richard Bushnell on January 7, 2008 at 5:37 PM

Here you go! It is worth your time to read it all.

As long as HotAir comments are closed, the Blogging the Quran community is an exclusive, members-only club. That is the main reason I suggested something like itunes. As far as I am aware, this information is unique on the Internet, and it deserves to be accessable.
HeIsSailing on January 6, 2008 at 7:36 PM

The same post appears on JihadWatch a day later. So those who can’t post on HotAir can do so a day later there – all one needs is one’s typekey ID. Besides, commentary on this can happen here, jihadwatch, faithfreedom.org, islam-watch and a variety of other sites.

I myself wouldn’t mind a 1000 comment snowball. Perhaps this is a good time to ask:

1. Helllllooooo out there! Is anyone out there actually reading this thing?
2. If your answer to #1 is yes, do you find it helpful?
3. If your answer to #1 is no, why not?
4. What do you think I should change about it, short of dropping the whole project (which I do not intend to do as long as Michelle will have me here), that would make it more useful to you?

Thanks for any input

Dr. Spencer,

AP recently opened comment registration, so I can offer my answer to your questions:
1. Yes, absolutely. I look for this every Sunday and recommend it to friends. I also read Jihad-Watch, after seeing it mentioned here.
2. Very. I lived in KSA for almost two years, visit the middle-east regularly, and have a better understanding of what I have observed due to your posts.
3. n/a
4. Please don’t. Your follow-up with your commenters is also greatly appreaciated.

Thank you, sir.

The problem I see with it is that many infidels are, well, lazy. I’m sure there are many posters on Hot Air who have never visited Jihad Watch, find Islam a boring subject, but know that they should hate it. I think it’s imperative that non-Muslims understand the teachings that give rise to “craziness” we see every day, hence why I read Jihad Watch on a daily basis. I’m not sure to what extent others care about Islam.

Spencerfan

This is a good point. Those here who simply assume that they should hate Islam, instead of bothering to understand why, aren’t doing themselves any favors. Rather, they are left vulnerable to ‘conversion’ to a pro-dhimmi pov, the moment their outlook on something else may change.

For me, a combination of Islamic history and contemporary Islamic supremacy from Morocco to Brunei has contributed to my negative views on Islam: knowing however, that Islam and Mohammed himself approve of all that just re-inforces my views. To tell you the truth, Islam by itself is a boring subject, but the historical implications of what that meant – from the genocide of millions of infidels over the millenia to todays suppression of Infidels in Islamic countries as well as Islamic insurgencies in non-Muslim countries, such as Thailand, Serbia, India, Israel, Philippines, et al – makes it important that at least the salient facts about Islam should be known, even if one doesn’t care for the likes of Lot or Jonah.

For all those above who are asking Robert to do a book, do watch the video ‘Islam: what the west needs to know‘

1. Helllllooooo out there! Is anyone out there actually reading this thing?

Yes.

2. If your answer to #1 is yes, do you find it helpful?

Yes, it can be very helpful for understanding how certain verses have been understood throughout history.

3. If your answer to #1 is no, why not?

The problem I see with it is that many infidels are, well, lazy. I’m sure there are many posters on Hot Air who have never visited Jihad Watch, find Islam a boring subject, but know that they should hate it. I think it’s imperative that non-Muslims understand the teachings that give rise to “craziness” we see every day, hence why I read Jihad Watch on a daily basis. I’m not sure to what extent others care about Islam.

4. What do you think I should change about it, short of dropping the whole project (which I do not intend to do as long as Michelle will have me here), that would make it more useful to you?

It’s a good project, but as said, infidels are lazy, so don’t take a low comment or hit count personally. Personally, I haven’t read every entry (lazy) but I absolutely would if they were compiled into a book, which I hope is one of your next projects. It would be an invaluable, handy resource.

1. Helllllooooo out there! Is anyone out there actually reading this thing?

Yes.

2. If your answer to #1 is yes, do you find it helpful?

Yes, it can be very helpful for understanding how certain verses have been understood throughout history.

3. If your answer to #1 is no, why not?

The problem I see with it is that many infidels are, well, lazy. I’m sure there are many posters on Hot Air who have never visited Jihad Watch, find Islam a boring subject, but know that they should hate it. I think it’s imperative that non-Muslims understand the teachings that give rise to “craziness” we see every day, hence why I read Jihad Watch on a daily basis. I’m not sure to what extent others care about Islam.

4. What do you think I should change about it, short of dropping the whole project (which I do not intend to do as long as Michelle will have me here), that would make it more useful to you?

You wrote:

“Helllllooooo out there! Is anyone out there actually reading this thing?”

Answer:

You bet! I am a Danish ex-school teacher now working in the “integration industry”. I began in my current job 10 years ago, and a lot of very peculiar observations in the first years made me start investigating islam – the plague.

I have read thousands of pages – yours, Prophet of Doom, Faithfreedom, Jihadwatch, Islamwatch and the more I read the more islam stinks.

I used to be an English teacher and I have used my skills to translate an enormous amount of articles to Danish.

I have translated your Qur’an Blog up to now and it is out in at least two Danish weblogs with several hundred hits a day.

Best regards
Danish