The Voice of God

Glen W. Bowersock, Professor Emeritus in the School of Historical Studies, reviews What the Qur’an Meant: And Why It Matters by Garry Wills for the New York Review of Books, writing:

“Anyone who follows the news will be aware that the sacred book of Islam is the Qur’an (known to Muslims as the Noble Qur’an), or, as it was named for centuries in English, the Koran. The militants of al-Qaeda and ISIS proclaim their allegiance to this fundamental text of their religion with the same fervor and ignorance as the Christian Crusaders when they quoted the Bible. In a work of rare courage and humility, Garry Wills has brought the horrors of the Crusades into confrontation with the horrors of the Islamic State, in full recognition that Christian and Muslim warriors are alike in their deliberate repudiation of the basic tenets of the religions they profess.”