I should have been more clear in my post that the information was what was presented by the two Muslims leading the discussion, not a result of my research or anything that I specifically agreed with.

The concept of the Qua’ran being “revealed” to an illiterate man in the desert is, to me, a silly concept to begin with, but add that to the information that you presented and it negates the claim of scriptural purity that the hosts were making.

Thanks again!

Just wanted to comment on “There are no multiple versions of it and the original Arabic text has been preserved since its beginning, so there’s no issue, as with the bible, of incorrect translations, lost chapters, or political interference.”

This is not true. The Qu’ran was compiled into a book after the death of Muhammad. Before that, it was written in different parts on any material the people penning what they heard Muhammad say could find.

Then, as mentioned in Wikipedia: “In about 650, as Islam expanded beyond the Arabian peninsula into Persia, the Levant and North Africa, the third caliph Uthman ibn Affan ordered the preparation of an official, standardized version, in order to preserve the sanctity of the text (and perhaps to keep the Rashidun Empire united, see Uthman Qur’an). Five reciters from amongst the companions produced a unique text from the first volume which had been prepared on the orders of Abu Bakr and which was kept with Hafsa bint Umar. The other copies already in the hands of Muslims in other areas were collected and sent to Medina where, on orders of the Caliph, they were destroyed by burning or boiling. This remains the authoritative text of the Qur’an to this day.”

See? There are no different versions because all the non-standard versions were destroyed.

In 1970 an old version of the Qu’ran was found in Yemen. Apparently, it contains differences from the standard text; minor differences, but differences all the same. But access to this version has been restricted, unsurprisingly, by the Yemeni government.

I recommend visiting http://kafirgirl.wordpress.com/ She did a very good job explaining this and many of the incongruencies in the Qu’ran and Islam, although she seems to be M.I.A. since January 2009.

Brg