PRESS RELEASE

For_Immediate_Release                                                        March 16, 2006

 THE QUR’AN: MISINTERPRETED, MISTRANSLATED, AND MISUNDERSTOOD

THE SYRIAC-ARAMAIC LANGUAGE OF THE QUR’AN

For the first time in history, a book is written to reveal that the language of the Qur’an is Aramaic, not Arabic. The Aramaic language of the Qur’an renders interpretations that are different from what Muslim commentators rendered in the last fourteen centuries.

 The Eastern Syriac dialect of Aramaic is dominant in the Qur’an, and many chapters are borrowed from Biblical Hebrew, but were misinterpreted by Muslim commentators.

 Not understanding the Aramaic language of the Qur’an, and not being familiar with the development of its revelations, Muslim commentators rendered erroneous interpretations to the book. Such erroneous interpretations led to the rise of Islamic fundamentalists, such as Usama Bin Laden and other terrorist organizations.

 Erroneous interpretations of the Qur’an caused a huge gap between Islam and other civilizations, mainly the West. The gap is apparent in religious, social, political, and economic development.

 The Aramaic language of the Qur’an calls for the treatment of women with decency. In Aramaic, the Qur’an does not command women to cover their faces. It does not state that men are guardians over women.

 Misunderstanding the Aramaic language of the Qur’an resulted in false interpretations. For example: Muslim commentators state that there are virgin women in heaven with wide eyes waiting for men who engage in Jihad. The Aramaic language of the Qur’an does not imply that at all. The Qur’anic verse says: “there is water and white raisins”.

 Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad was carried out, in a night journey, from the Mosque at Mecca the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. In Aramaic, the Qur’anic verse has different meaning; it says that “Allah has bestowed his blessings on his servant (i.e. the Prophet) that night. In addition, the Aqsa Mosque was built towards the end of the seventh centuries, years after the death of the Prophet of Islam.

Gabriel Sawma, a Professor of Aramaic, and recognized authority on Islamic studies, authored this book. He is expert on the Aramaic influence on the Qur’an and on Biblical Hebrew. He speaks, reads, and writes Arabic, Aramaic, and Hebrew. He authored many articles on the Aramaic language.

 The book will be released in paperback, in mid April 2006. It will be available for sale on Ebay, Amazon.com and other book distribution channels. For more information, contact the author.

Gabriel Sawma

P.O. Box 112,

Plainsboro, NJ 08536

Tel. (609) 915-2237

Fax (609) 275-0355

Email: gabrielsawma@yahoo.com