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Why are the IKON and Radio Netherlands Worldwide launching this site?
The IKON and Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) believe it is important to promote dialogue between the world’s two main religions. By presenting the texts of the Christian and the Islamic holy books side by side, the two broadcasting companies hope to encourage study of both sources and promote understanding among people in general and believers in particular. The Qur’an and the Bible are provided in Dutch, English and Arabic, making the site accessible to millions of people around the world.
The site’s objective ties in well with the RNW mission statement: "To contribute, on behalf of and for the benefit of the Netherlands, to a better informed world through a combination of independent journalism and other media services".
The RNW goals are:
- To serve as a source of information for Dutch people living or travelling abroad and other speakers of the Dutch language.
- To make a contribution to press freedom and media diversity in countries with a lack of independent media.
- Presenting a realistic image of the Netherlands abroad.
The new IKON mission statement is also highly relevant to this project:
"From a (Protestant) Christian tradition and a religious perspective, IKON produces content for radio, television and new media that both broadens and opens up new horizons in order to inspire, motivate and galvanise. IKON contributes to the public debate in its own particular way, which is based on genuine curiosity, admiration and an ability for criticism, while building bridges between Christians, other faiths and non-believers in an imaginative way."
Are the makers of this website aware that to me, as a believer, it is offensive to find my holy book placed beside that of an another religion?
IKON and RNW are very well aware that to some believers it is unacceptable to have their holy book compared to the book of another religion. Both broadcasting companies have taken the greatest possible care to avoid offending people’s religious feelings.
The makers are hoping you will consider this site a challenge which could promote and improve dialogue between adherents of Christianity and Islam.
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Why is there no Jewish contribution to the website?
IKON and Radio Netherlands are aware that part of the bible is Jewish in origin. Nevertheless (at least for the time being) we have made a conscious decision to create a website about the Bible and the Qur’an because of the topicality of dialogue between Muslims and Christians.
IKON and Radio Netherlands intend to develop the website further. The possibility of widening the scope of the site to include the indispensable Jewish contribution to this dialogue is being kept open
However, just presenting the Bible and Qur’an side by side in three different languages was a veritable ‘labour of Hercules’, a project that took more than a year to complete.
Why did you choose these versions of the Bible and the Qur’an?
Uncompromising simplicity marked the American Bible Society’s translation of the Contemporary English Version Bible that was first published in 1995. The text is easily read by school children, second language readers, and those who prefer a more contemporary form. The Contemporary English Version is not a paraphrase. It is an accurate and faithful translation of the original manuscripts.
The American Bible Society (New York, US) grants IKON and Radio Netherlands World Wide permission to use the text for the development of this international internet project.
The Qur’an translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali (14 April 1872 - 10 December 1953) is one of the most widely known and used in the world. Of course, no translation of the Qur’an can be perfect. But with all the limitations of translations, but this English version is highly acclaimed.
The website is using the edition published by Tharike Tarsile Qur’an Inc. The publisher has changed the traditional style of Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s translation. They made a modest attempt to ‘modernize’ the language to bring it more into line with the 21st Century usage.
Tharike Tarsile Qur’an Inc. (New York, US) grants IKON and Radio Netherlands Worldwide permission to use the text for the development of this international internet project. |
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