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Muslims, while those by Christians and others are to be avoided. The most inaccurate appears to be a transla- tion by N. J. Dawood which, although readily available in most bookstores, is publicised as being "an updated translation"—a description which generally means "interpreted" rather than accurate. (Dawood, a mythologist, is actually better known for his fantasy writings about Aladdin, Sinbad, etc.) I mention the Dawood volume in particular because this appears (as far as I can see) to be the one used by Tony Bushby for the Annunciation sequence. This is a little odd because The Bible Fraua's bibliography specif- ically cites a translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, whose text is quite different in this regard. Although Bushby quotes that "'a full-grown man’ forced his attentions on Mary", what the Dawood translation actually says is: "We sent to her Our spirit in the semblance of a full- grown man" ... "I am your Lord's emissary, he replied, and have come to give you a holy son." Although Dawood's translation is poor, nothing is mentioned of a Roman soldier, and the character concerned is presented not as a person but as a "spirit" of the Lord in the "sem- blance" of a man. Having said that, other more reliable transla- tions by Muslims are somewhat different. Here is the same verse as given by four others (ref. Al Qur'an, chapter 19, Maryam, verse 17): 1) A. Yusuf Ali (the translator whom Bushby's bibliography cites): "She placed a screen from them; then We sent her Our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects." 2) M. M. Pickthal: "And had chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent unto her Our spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man." 3) M. H. Shakir: "So she took a veil to screen from them; then We sent to her Our spirit, and there appeared to her a well-made man." 4) M. Khalifa: "While a barrier separated her from them, We sent to her Our spirit. He went to her in the form of a human being." Continued from page 45 Clarification on Mention of Mary in the Koran (Al-Qur'an) D™, Duncan: With respect to your query and your readers’ comments concerning the Koran's mention of Mary—as given in part 1 of Tony Bushby's "The Bible Fraud" in NEXUS 9/01 (page 30 in his book)—I'll endeavour to clarify the matter as best I can. Bushby relates: "The story of Mary's preg- nancy by a Roman soldier also appears in the sacred book of the Moslems, the Koran. It states that ‘a full-grown man’ forced his atten- tions on Mary, and in her fear of the disgrace that would follow she left the area and bore Jesus in secret." The event being dealt with here is the episode generally known to Christians as the Annunciation, when Gabriel, the angel of the Lord, announced (annunciated) that Mary would bear a son. Difficulties are, of course, always encoun- tered when translating one language into another—and especially so with religious texts where scriptural connotations are of the utmost importance. There are, to my knowledge, some 29 English translations of Al-Qur'an currently in print, and they each vary to lesser or greater degrees. Clearly, the best translations are by There is no Roman soldier mentioned in any translation—only "Our angel" and "Our spirit". In subsequent verses, not one indicates that the angelic spirit "forced" his attentions upon Mary. He is depicted in all cases as a "messen- ger of thy Lord"—wholly reminiscent of the New Testament's angel Gabriel, although not named as such. Hope this helps. Best wishes, Laurence 82 = NEXUS APRIL — MAY 2002 The Bible Fraud {Laurence Gardner, KtStGm, KCD, KTStA] www.nexusmagazine.com