THE SUNDAY TIMES: THE bestselling author Sebastian Faulks has courted controversy by saying the Koran has “no ethical dimension”.
In an interview with today’s Sunday Times Magazine, he added that the Islamic holy scripture was “a depressing book”, was “very one-dimensional” and unlike the Christian New Testament had “no new plan for life”.
Faulks was speaking in advance of the publication of his novel, A Week in December.
Best known for historical works such as Birdsong and Charlotte Gray, his new novel addresses contemporary London. Its characters include a health fund manager, a literary critic and a Glasgow-born Islamic terrorist recruit. Researching the latter, he read a translation of the Koran which he found “very disappointing from a literary point of view”.
He also criticised the “barrenness” of the Koran’s message and the teachings of the prophet Muhammad, especially when compared with the Bible.
“Jesus, unlike Muhammad, had interesting things to say,” Faulks said.
“He proposed a revolutionary way of looking at the world: love your neighbour; love your enemy; the meek shall inherit the earth. Muhammad had nothing to say to the world other than, ‘If you don’t believe in God you will burn for ever’.”
Criticism of the Koran is regarded as blasphemous by Muslims. [Source: The Sunday Times] | Cathy Galvin | Sunday, August 23, 2009
