New English translation of Koran draws criticism

CHICAGO -- A U.S. researcher's new translation of a controversial section of the Koran pertaining to women has been met with strong criticism by fundamentalists.

Laleh Bakhtiar, a woman of Iranian-American descent, told the New York Times she has been strongly criticized by Islamists who claim her translation of the word"draba" from the Koran is wholly inaccurate.

The word is used in a section of the Koran that details how a rebellious woman should be treated and most experts have translated the word as"beaten."

Bakhtiar said she discovered during her studies that draba means"to go away," a revelation experts have been quick to strike down. [Her translation, The Sublime Quran, 769 pp., will be published by Kazi Publications, Chicago, March 30.]

Related Links

Verse in Koran on beating wife gets a new translation (NYT/IHT)