The Quran

This Qur’an translation claims to be a ‘New Millenium Exposition’ and ‘An Exegesis for the 21st century.’ A clue to the translator’s mind-set is provided by the list of his other writings which includes his English translation of Quranic Permanent Values by the Pakistani modernist Ghulam Ahmad Parvez (1903–1985). Common to both Paigham Mustafa and Parvez is their garbled version of things Islamic. Little wonder to note then that Mustafa’s translation generated a heated controversy among the British Muslims soon after its publication due to its unconventional, disparaging views on all that is sacrosanct in Islam. It is indeed a tendentious and mendacious work that plays havoc with the meaning and message of the Qur’an. Mustafa’s Foreword opens with this divisive, offensive remark about Muslims whom he brands as ‘those who profess to follow the Quran but in practice have additional doctrines and rituals not found in the Quran. A person need not be called a muslim in order to be one. Any suitable description (i.e. submitter, humanitarian) may be used instead’ (p. 9).