In inter-faith services is it O.K for Muslims to read from the Koran in Arabic?
At the inter-faith service at Washington National Cathedral on January 21, 2017, one Muslim read from the Koran in English. Another Muslim read different verses from the Koran in Arabic.
In commenting on Muslims in inter-faith services, the Erasmus blog (The Economist) commented on what was said in English but overlooked what was said in Arabic.
The reading in Arabic included the following verse (Koran 1:7). The italicized words are added to translate the code phrases:
“I seek refuge in Allah from Satan.
Thanks be to Allah the merciful one. Guide us on the right path
for those whom you blessed (Muslims), not the path of the ones
you are angry at (Jews) and the ones who went astray (Christians).”
These verses are recited at every Friday prayer service in every mosque around the world. The meaning of what is said — that Jews incurred the wrath of Allah, and that Christians went astray — is supported by all authoritative exegetes of the Koran. Every pious Muslim knows what these verses mean.
Inter-faith services are hazardous at best. Yet it ought to be a no-brainer to forbid readings in Arabic and forbid verses in which code phrases attack Jews and Christians.