Qur'an reviewed

Wow - Mr. Widmer has guts! Here (German) he publishes a rather easy going literary critique of the qur'an, comparing it occasionally to its predecessor, the bible. Not only is its tone casual & irreverent - the article outright questions one of the qur'an's central allegations, namely that it is the immediate word of god. From a literal reading point of view, the act of reviewing alone presumably might be seen as blasphemous already. So I guess that might easily spell trouble. Widmer's departing shot won't change much, I don't think.

So, congratulations on a very provocative piece! Since the content alone would not necessitate its style, I suppose it is really meant to be a challenge to the orthodox to test our freedom to insult, which is an extremely important freedom indeed!

P.S. Very timely proof of the importance of the freedom to insult comes from this story (via Samizdata.net).