Shared Prophets assumes a rudimentary knowledge of the Old Testament’s best known characters i.e. Moses, Abraham, Noah, Joseph (son of Jacob), Solomon, Lot, Saul, David, Jethro, Adam, Cain and Abel.

As to the New Testament, it is sufficient to be aware that Christians believe 1) that Jesus is the Son of God 2) that he was born of the Virgin Mary 3) and that he died on the Cross.

The Koran gives credence only to the Virgin birth and vociferously denies the other two core Christian beliefs with Jesus being the most vocal, after Allah, in denouncing those who would claim he is the Son of God.

Mary, the only woman mentioned by name in the Koran, is there to back her son’s claim that he is not divine, but just another Prophet of Allah, and a lesser one at that. There is no Joseph. Mary is a single mother, or so it would seem.

There are a few parables in the Koran, reproduced in Shared Prophets.

Allah’s parables may remind you of something Jesus might have said, but only in a surreal, bizarre sort of way, as most of Allah’s allegories can best be described as enigmatic. Some of Allah’s parables, or what passes for parables, are reminiscent of a person half remembering a shaggy dog story, and forgetting the punch line.

Except for Moses, who is a favourite of Allah, and whose meeting with Pharaoh Allah recalls on a number of occasions with slight variations in each retelling, the events and accomplishments surrounding the remaining biblical characters who have found their way into the Koran must, by necessity, be brief, and it is not only because the Koran is approximately one tenth the size of the Bible, the King James version.

The King James Bible is about 791,328 words. An English translation of the Koran will run to about 77,700 words, the approximate size of a standard 300 page book.

Descriptions of the horrors of Hell and unbelievers in agony, the warnings about and the appalling spectacle of Judgement Day, and revelations about a Paradise of epicurean delights, fine furnishings and debauchery, in my estimation, take up at least two fifths (2/5) of the Koran.

Another twenty five percent or more (again in my estimation) of the Koran is about hating and making war on unbelievers, worshipping only Allah and rules upon rules (many for women only) governing the minutia of a believer’s every waking moment. And then there are the revelations pertaining to divorce and inheritance.

Not to be overlooked are a whole set of revelations for His Messenger only, which have to do with indulging His Prophet’s sexual proclivity, helping him control his ever expanding household of wives, concubines and slave-girls and overcoming any opposition to his rule.

The amount of space Allah devotes to the aforementioned subjects and a few others, and His constant reminders of His omnipotence and the compassion and mercy that the believers (and only the believers) can expect when they cross over into His Dominion, mean that only small walk-on speaking parts are available to most of the Biblical players whom Allah invites to strut their stuff on His stage, the Koran.

They all work from more or less the same script which has to do with warning “their people” to worship and obey Allah and his Messengers or He will destroy them, or roast them for an eternity in the here-after if they don’t acknowledge His omnipotence in the here-and-now.

With the exception of the cantankerous Hebrews, which cause Allah no end of grief and whom He forgives because they are, for much of the Koran, His “chosen people”, He will destroy or burn in Hell all those who received His prophets’ ultimatum of submit or else and ignored it.

My Foreword is my way of beginning the process of convincing those of you who don’t care to learn about the Koran in the mistaken and dangerous delusion that it is like the Bible, that you are wrong.

The Koran is not like the Bible – especially the New Testament portion, of which the Koran is the antithesis. Don’t take my word for it. Read on, and let Allah convince you with His own Words.

Much of what you will find in Shared Prophets will be familiar to those who have read my encyclopedic Pain, Pleasure and Prejudice – The Complete Layman’s Guide to the Koran. If you have not read it, consider doing so.

Bernard Payeur