Bible vs Koran

Matthew Kleinfieldt
3/22/11
Week 7 Paper

Many people think that the Bible and the Koran are complete opposites, but in actuality they share a collection of similarities regarding events and stories. Although some details may differ, people can still tell they’re affiliated. A good representation is Mary in both books. The stories of Mary in the Bible and Mary in the Koran have their differences, but to a degree remain similar. Mary is mentioned throughout the Bible in many different chapters, but in the Koran, Mary has a whole chapter devoted to herself. This fact is impressive considering that the Koran believes men are superior to women, “Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other” (The Koran, Women 4:34) and that she is the only woman mentioned by name in the entire book. The Bible also has some passages the indicate men are superior to women, for example in the first letter of Paul to Timothy he states “Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve”. It is odd, seeing that both books see men as a more superior gender, but they both gave Mary, a female a dominate role. Mary is represented similar in both books, during the nativity story. They both explain how a messenger came to her and said that she would be conceiving a child even though she has never had sexual intercourse with a male or would be having sexual intercourse with this particular pregnancy. “How shall I bear a child, when I have neither been touched by any man nor ever been unchaste?” (Mary 19:16). Both stories are unique in their own ways, but still close enough to be able to relate to one another. A crucial difference in the nativity story between books is that in the Bible Jesus is born the son of God, but in the Koran, Jesus is just a messenger of God, a Prophet. In the Koran Mary gives birth to Jesus under a palm tree, and in the Bible she gives birth in a manger. Another alteration between the two books is in the Bible it says that Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph while she was pregnant, and in the Koran Joseph and Mary do not become committed to each other until after the birth of Jesus. The Bible and the Koran are both very intriguing stories. They both share some of the same events and stories, but are very unique. It just depends on how you interpret them. Mary is represented in both of these books with a vital role. Both Mary’s share their similarities and inequalities.

Works Cited

Coogan, Michael David., Marc Zvi. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, and Pheme Perkins. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.

Dawood, N. J. The Koran. London: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Cited: Coogan, Michael David., Marc Zvi. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, and Pheme Perkins. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. Print. Dawood, N. J. The Koran. London: Penguin, 2006. Print.