YOUR Excellency, May the blessings of the Almighty be on you and your nation. I have been working in Uganda since 1951 until two years ago when I returned to Italy, for some reasons.  But, I hope to go back to Uganda. In the meantime, I keep myself abreast of the events of that country.

I discovered that your Excellency paid an official visit to Uganda and made a statement that attracted reaction from Christians. As an elderly missionary [born in 1920], I join them in their concern. My contribution is of this letter is to help clarify on structures of the Koran: the Suras instead of chapters, the symbolic words, like “The Table” or “The counsel” instead of titles, the Suras made up of verses.  

It is well known by al-Quran readers that the founder of Islam, Prophet Muhammad, knew the scriptures of both Jews and Christians. We find in there many accounts of these two: the fall of Adam and Eve; the deluge at the time of Noah; the lives of Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac; Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Moses and Joseph, etc. And from the scriptures of the Christians, we find narratives about Zacharias and John the Baptist; Jesus Christ, His annunciation, His conception and birth by the Virgin Mary. (Below:The Koran)

Such narratives show a close correspondence with the same passages in scriptures. The correspondence is very clear, but we do not find the same words.  This is because Prophet Muhammad did not read the scriptures and did not write the al-Quran. His numerous disciples collected his teachings and transmitted them verbally or in writing. After the death of the prophet (632AD) his third successor Caliph ‘Otham (644-656AD) asked four Muslim scholars to collect different verbal and written traditionsto compile the al-Quran and destroy allthe other writings.

Prophet Muhammad not only appreciated the scriptures, but considered them true as his own revelations: for instance, ”Say (O Muhammad): We believe in Allah and which is revealed unto us and that which is revealed unto Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes and that which was vouchsafed unto Moses and Jesus and the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto him we have surrendered” (Sura 3, The Family of Imran: v. 84 78). There are many other verses in the 114 Suras that have similar meaning.

However, the real question surrounds your statements as reported by the Ugandan media on March 21, 2008. I may understand that you really uttered such statements while celebrating the birth of Prophet Mohammed at Nakivubo Stadium on Wednesday March 19. But, your pronouncements proved how some Muslim scholars think of their sacred books.

As a matter of fact Christians reacted quietly. I found a striking difference to the reaction of Muslims in the case of Salman Rushdie: he was sentenced to death by Iranian Muslim leaders for writing that in the Koran there are 17 Satanic verses. Seventeen verses against more than 70 books of the Bible.

 Let us review your statements as reported: “The Bible we have now is not the one that was revealed to Issa (Jesus) and the Old Testament, is not the one that was revealed to Musa. It means that it (the Bible) has been forged because it does not mention the coming of Prophet Muhammad, yet both Prophets, Moses and Jesus foretold his coming.” (In the picture right: Muammar al-Gaddafi)

One: Christian leaders and scholars are confident the Bible we have now is the same as that at the time of Muhammad, who also regarded it with reverence and faith. I found in Sura 29, The Spider, v. 4645, “And contend not with the people of the book, but in a kindly manner, excepting those of them who act wickedly, and say - We believe in that which hath been revealed to us and in that which has been revealed to you: and your God and our God is one, and we are to Him resigned.” Seealso Sura 3, even more, the Prophet in Sura 5, The Dinner Table, said, “O people of the Book you shall accomplish nothing unless you put into practice the Torah and the Gospel” (v.6872). The verses I quote also contradict Muslim scholars, who opine that Prophet Muhammad came to supersede the Bible. We further read, in Sura 42 The Counsel, v.1311, “The same religion has he established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah. That which we have sent by inspiration to you and that we enjoined on Abraham, Moses, Jesus: namely that you should remain steadfast in religion and make no division in it.” Moreover in Sura 10, Jona v.94: “And if you are in doubt about anything we have revealed to you, ask those who read the scripture before you.”

Two: If Christian scholars have any doubt about the present Bible being a forgery they consult old copies of the Bible, ‘codices’, which were there centuries before the coming of the Prophet. And they are fully satisfied of the genuineness of the present official texts of the Bible. No one is allowed to change anything: Christian Revelation was over by the 100th year after Christ. On the other side you know that if someone dares to change one word of the Koran, they are sentenced to death. We have many old codices, but I quote only two of them: Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus.  (In the picture: A mock way of the cross from the Movie The Passion of the Christ. The Christian cross is the best known religious symbol of Christianity) 

Codex Sinaiticus: is a forth century uncial (that is written in majuscule small letters, used in Greek and Latin manuscripts from the third to the ninth centuries) manuscript of the Greek Bible written in between 330 and 350AD. While it originally contained the whole of both Testaments, only a portion of the Greek Old Testament survives, with the new Testament complete from the four gospels to the Apocalypse (Revelation). Along with Codex Vaticanus, the Sinaiticus is one of the most valuable manuscript for textual criticism of the Greek New Testament and is in general in agreement with Codex Vaticanus. The Sinaiticus was found in 1859 in the Monastery of St. Catherine at the foot of Mount Sinai (hence Sinaiticus) in Egypt. The majority of the pages (papyrus leaves) 347, are in a British library in London, other leaves are kept in different libraries. 

Codex Vaticanus: it is so called because is the most famous manuscript in the possession of the Vatican library. It is believed to be from the fourth Century (that is in the years 300AD) and it is thought to be the oldest (nearly) complete copy of the Greek Bible in existence. It is written also in uncial letters. It is often considered the best representative of the ancient ‘Alexandrian’ (of Egypt) form of the New Testament text.

Three: According to media reports, your Excellency gave the following reasons; “The present book of the Bible is a forgery because it does not mention the coming of Prophet Muhammad…” On inquiry, I find that your opinions are based on two passages of the Holy Bible: the prophesy of  Moses and a promise of Jesus.

The prophesy of Moses in Deuteronomy 18: 15-16 says “A prophet like me will the Lord your God raise up for you  from among your own  kinsmen: to him shall listen. This is exactly what you requested of the Lord your God, at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said,’ Let us not again hear the voice of the Lord, our God, nor see this great fire any more lest we die’ . The true prophet had to be an Israelite called by God and in line withtheir prophetic traditions in order to reveal God’s plan for his own people.
He had to be a Kinsman, which indicates blood relation. It was not possible for Moses to indicate somebody outside Hebrew stock, as all the rest of mankind were thought to be unbelievers. Even nowadays there is discussion among Hebrews, whether a person, who is not of their stock, can be strictly considered a disciple of Moses and circumcised, according Hebrew’s own ceremony. 

According to scripture, this prophet is the Messiah the son of the Virgin Mary. We read in fact, in the John’s gospel that Jesus was given “five barley loaves and two fish, blessed them and gave food to thousands of people. When people saw the sign he had done, they said ‘this is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world’.” (John: 6 v. 14)

In Acts, in his second speech to Jews, while announcing the Resurrection, Peter proclaimed, “Moses said ‘A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up from among your own kinsmen; to him you shall listen in all he may say to you,” John 3: 22, and also John 7: 37   

 So the Prophet proclaimed by Moses is not Prophet Muhammad, who knew the Scriptures and never claimed to be this Prophet, at least it is not in the Koran.

The promise of Jesus in the gospel of John: At the Last Supper, Jesus said, “The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name, He will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” (John. 14: 23,25). Muslim scholars often say this Advocate or Comforter is Prophet Muhammad. As they do not believe in the Holy Trinity and in the Divinity of Jesus, they cannot understand this quotation. That the Prophet could not believe in the Holy Trinity, is quite understandable, because He was hearing different opinions.

At his times, there were extravagancies uttered by some Christians of Arabia and surrounding regions. In Sura 5, 116125, we read that God asked Jesus the son of Mary, “Is it true that you told the gentiles –‘please welcome me and my mother as two Divinities, besides God? And Jesus answered denying and added, “If I said it, you would know.” Among the extravagancies, then, the prophet heard that Mary was a member of the Trinity. And rightly refused to accept the divinity of Mary.

As the prophet did not have direct access to the New Testament, it appears the he did not know the true Christian doctrine about it: Father, Son and Holy Spirit as three personified powers, equally eternal, who make the One Unique All powerful Almighty Godhead.  It is certain that the Prophet knew the scriptures as inspired and considered them as true as his own revelation. (Sura 3: v.84 and Sura 10: v.94). He also said that Jesus was an Apostle of God  to be believed. What if the Prophet as a man of faith had known the true doctrine about the Trinity? It is proper of those who have faith to accept what, without any doubt, what is revealed by God though they do not grasp its depth. Truly the mind cannot contain the infinite wisdom and science of God. Mysteries may be a sign of divine origin, as even responsible human minds cannot devise them without falling into incongruous statements. 

   However as things are, the Holy Spirit does  not mean the prophet, who himself speaks of a Holy Spirit as someone else (Sura 2 The Cow, v. 87 81). “We gave Jesus, the Son of Mary, clear signs and strengthened  him with the Holy Spirit.” See also the Sura, 253 254 and Sura 16, The Bee 102104 “Say. The Holy Spirit has brought the revelation from our Lord in truth, in order to strengthen those who believe as guide and proclamation to the Muslims.”  

The Holy Spirit had to remind the Apostles of all that Jesus had told them. But, Prophet Muhammad was not among the Apostles; he could not remind them of what Jesus had taught them; moreover at his time they had all disappeared: at least 500 years before. The prophet never claimed that he had to be mentioned in this passage of the Gospel of John; at least it is not in the Koran.      

Your Excellency, in conclusion I wish to say that  I had never read the Koran as much as I did in this occasion. And I enjoyed it. I personally consulted an English and an Italian translation: I have also the original Arabic edition and I consulted some missionaries who know Arabic very well to check on the translation. Personally I enjoy traditional Arab Religious Music and I learned its difference to Western Music.

The Italian translation of the Koran was supervised by shaykh Gabriel Mandel khan professor of Islamic sciences in Europe; the presentation by Khaled Fouad Allam teacher and journalist in Italy. The small numbers above those of ordinary size are the correspondent pages of the Arabic Edition. I would like to receive an acknowledgment that you have received this letter.

Thank you very much for the attention you will give to this letter. I like dialogue with respect, understanding and sincerity. At the end you may say’ I agree to disagree’, and I willingly will accept it, and shake hands. This is also the recommendation of the Prophet in Sura 109, The disbelievers, v.6 “Unto you, your Religion, and unto me my Religion.” Religious differences should not create enmity, after all, God is one. I am not arguing with Muslim scholars, but only sharing with them the recommendation of Prophet Muhammad to his followers in Sura 29, v. 4645. Also in Sura 2, The Cow, v. 256257”, “Let there be no coercion in Religion.” Let us follow the admonition of the Prophet.  By the way I read the prayer at the opening of the Koran and I find it wonderful, though it is not composed by the Prophet himself: “Keep us on the right path. The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favours. Not (the path) of those upon whom Thy wrath is brought down, nor of those who go astray. (v5 and 6). I understand that some Muslim scholars think that the last part of these versesthat is, those who go astray, are the Christian themselves. But, I am afraid but these words are contrary to the mind of Prophet Muhammad.  Yours sincerely and respectfully,