"Once a person becomes even slightly familiar with both Holy Books, the overall similarity in these timeless stories, the moving poetry, meaningful ethical teachings, and rebuking, is really quite astounding."
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Holy Bible–Holy Koran by David Alalade www.davidalalade.com
book review by Peter M. Fitzpatrick
It is perhaps undeniable that the modern "Zeitgeist" contains what the author describes as the "unstoppable force behind Christianity" coming into confrontation with the "immovable object that is Islam." He has undertaken a somewhat monumental task: summarizing the two Abrahamic faiths through side-by-side comparisons that consist of single paragraphs on facing pages, Biblical on the left, Koranic on the right. Everything from the creation of earth to the end of it is covered in just over one hundred pages. Understandably, a second volume is forthcoming.
The differing descriptions of Judas Iscariot's role in Jesus Christ's life are illuminated. The Biblical role of blood in circumcision as a sign of the covenant between man and God is intelligently compared to the similar role that the loss of a virgin woman's blood plays–a sign of a covenant between two people in Biblical marriage. He does not shy away from the two faith's differing interpretations of Jesus Christ's divinity or the controversial Koranic "Sura 9:5," the passage of the Koran where the killing of idol worshippers is mentioned.
He writes as a partisan of faith, and so differs from the traditional Western academic stance of impartiality. Even so, the author is surprisingly objective, only rarely making overtly religious comments. For the most part, Alalade is fair and accurate in his descriptions, writing in an easily accessible style that maintains interest. He does not gloss over the main differences between the two beliefs–the role of religious law in secular life and whether Jesus is the Son of God or not–but perhaps helps open the window to a more pluralistic worldview.