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Why do we need reconciliation between Muslims and Christians in the U.S.? What does reconciliation entail? Do we have enough common ground for reconciliation to be successful? What common ground do we have?

The main message of the book “The Qur’an – with References to the Bible: A Contemporary Understanding”, serves as an enlightenment tool and also provides means for reconciliation between Muslims and the followers of other Abrahamic religions. It is unfortunate that tensions existing in the West since 9/11, are mainly driven by the fear of Muslims and their book, the Qur’an.

Kaskas started on the project of translating the Qur’an 10 years ago with David Hungerford, a retired orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Hungerford hopes his fellow Christians may look upon Muslims with less suspicion when they realize how many stories in the Bible have parallels in the Qur’an. “Today, no one talks about this common ground between the Abrahamic faiths, much of which is centered around the person of Jesus of Nazareth,” said Hungerford. Jesus is an important divine figure in the Qur’an, where he is referred to as “Esa.”

The new translation presents more than 3,000 parallels in meaning between the two religious texts in a split-page format. The top of each page is the English translation of the Qur’an, and the bottom shows the analogous biblical verses which account for almost 40 percent of the book.

The book is a project of Bridges to Common Ground, a nonprofit organization which aims to reduce anti-Muslim attitudes among Christians and prevents the radicalization of young Muslims, on the theory that knowledge of each other’s holy books will reveal common values. The book’s intent is not to convert readers from one faith into another, or merge the two religions into one; rather, it seeks to build bridges of understanding among people of the three Abrahamic faiths. The book offers a fresh insight on the “straight path” to reconciling with God and man; sorely needed and missing from other translations.

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