The Chicago Tribune becomes the first American newspaper to decide that Quran is no longer to be spelt as Koran but the way it is pronounced in Arabic and by Muslims all over the world.
| The Rantburg editorial board is also reviewing this grave problem. We haven't decided whether to spell it "Koran," "Quibbert," or "Sgush." We'll let you know when we reach consensus. |
| Or the "Brothers Grimm Big Book of Fairy Tales, Annotated" |
Some Muslims, most notably Omer bin Abdullah, the Pakistani-American editor of Islamic Horizons magazines published by the Islamic Society of North America, has been campaigning for years – though until now without much success – to have Quran spelt in the American and international media as Quran and not Koran. He hopes that the lead taken by Chicago Tribune would be followed by others.
The US newspaper said that it is changing the way it spells the name of the Islamic scripture to “Quran” to reflect a growing consensus about the best transliteration of the Arabic word. For decades, the Tribune and most English-language publications called the Muslim holy book the “Koran.” But language and religion scholars widely share the opinion that “Quran” more closely renders the Arabic word, and common usage is changing to reflect that understanding. |