An International Christian media and publishing company is releasing a new edition of the Qur’an, complete with “Christian commentary” intended to help “pastors and missionaries who minister among Muslims.”
The Quran with Christian Commentary: A Guide to Understanding the Scripture of Islam by Gordon D. Nickel provides in-text notes to explain the meaning of various surahs (chapters) and ayat (verses), their interpretive history and significance in Muslim thought, and similarities and differences when compared to biblical passages.
Zondervan, the publisher, says the work is “factual, respectful of Muslims, and insightful on issues about which Muslims and Christians disagree.”
“Professors and students in courses on Islam and the Quran will find this to be an invaluable resource, as will pastors and missionaries who minister among Muslims. Written at a readable level, any Christian who wants to learn more about Islam and the Quran will find it to be a rich and informative introduction,” the book’s description reads.
The author, Gordon Nickel is director of the Centre for Islamic Studies at South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies in Bangalore, India, and a former instructor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
He told the Christian Post:
“No one can understand the Muslim mind without some solid knowledge of the contents of the Quran.”
“I knew from many years of studying and teaching the Quran that there are ways to read this scripture that allow readers to avoid confusion and rather to make sense of its main themes. I also noticed from my reading that the Quran often addresses non-Muslims directly and seems to demand a response to its claims,” he continued.
“Most of all I wanted to comment on all passages related to Jesus and the Gospel. The apostle Paul wrote certain penetrating words about ‘a different gospel.’ Christians are the custodians of the good news of salvation through the death of Jesus on the cross, the ‘People of the Gospel’ as the Quran describes them. As such they have a stake in the portrait of Jesus offered by a scripture written 600 years after the New Testament,” he added.
Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.
