L.A. Schools Review Donated Korans,
Citing Derogatory Commentary
Some eight weeks after accepting nearly 300 bilingual English-and-Spanish copies of The Meaning of the Holy Quran from the Omar Ibn Khattab Foundation, the Los Angeles Unified School District ordered their removal from middle- and high-school libraries pending a materials review. A history teacher triggered the examination after pointing out anti-Semitic passages in the commentary about the Koran. “It’s not an issue of whether the Koran should be available in the library,” Director of Information Technology Jim Konantz said in the February 7 Los Angeles Times. “But these interpretations are certainly in question.”
One footnote reads: “The Jews in their arrogance claimed that all wisdom and all knowledge of Allah was enclosed in their hearts. . . . Their claim was not only arrogance but blasphemy.” Such passages, UCLA Islamic Law Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl told the Times, reflect the stereotypes prevalent in 1934, when Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s translation was originally published. Abou El Fadl added that although Saudi-affiliated organizations have underwritten the book’s wide U.S. dissemination, it might not be suitable for school collections unless its historical context is emphasized.
“We do not condone anything that is detrimental to understanding,” foundation Director Dafer Dakhil told Reuters. “If the books are offensive, they should be removed.”
Posted February 11, 2002.
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