The Most Glorious Koran

I started reading a translation of the Koran called "The Qu'ran Interpreted" or something like that...I can't at the moment recall the translator's name offhand. In any event, I have never been so confused in my life! The Bible seems relatively clear and stately compared to the mangled, garbled, incomprehensible verse of Mohammed. I suppose it was foolish to expect to start by diving right into the primary sources. Perhaps with more reading, my appreciation will grow. Here's what I've observed so far:

1. The Koran seems aware of the problem of pluralism. The writer is clearly troubled by the conflicting claims of Christianity and Judaism and is addressing an audience that is also troubled, divided, one might even say. The message is, in this case, the answer; the author seems to have some knowledge of the Bible and the Gospels and frequently uses examples from both to construct an argument against Christian and Judaic claims to a single truth. However, I am not clear as to whether the message is that we should all worship God in our own way or if the message is that the Qu'ran's way is, in fact, the correct way.

2. The Koran mangles (or we might say creatively interprets) its sources. The stories that it makes use of to support its claims are not neccessarily the original or familiar versions; for instance, in "The Cow" the Koran seems to splice the account of the founding of the Temple with the lives of Abraham and Ishmael, of all people, thus legitimizing worship at the mosque while at the same time defending it against Christian and Jewish claims. By reinterpreting classical Biblcial sources, the Koran seems to be trying to legitimize its own claims in contrast to those of the other two religions.

Still, I have many questions: did Mohammed author the entire Koran? What is its textual history? What cultural and historical developments are most important in terms of understanding the Koran? What books are most important? Is the Koran a unified whole or is it, like the Bible, simply a collection of varied texts?

And the list could go on. Now I know you're all on break, and I know that my entries are barely tolerable when they treat "non-academic" questions, but if anyone can direct me anywhere, I'd be very grateful.