cmaguire@phoenix.princeton.edu (Cary Maguire) (11/29/90)
Greetings! I apologize for the long delay, but I moved to Dallas last August
and just now regained some limited computer access to the internet.
To refresh everyone's memory, the idea was to place an English
translation of the Quran on the public domain in ASCII format. We
voted on this subject during the last academic year. (I will make a
complete tally and report of the votes received if desired). Although
few votes were received, the Shakir translation won a plurality (7
votes). As I had access to a scanner here in Dallas, I scanned the
entire text into an ASCII format last month and did some preliminary
editing (including spell checking).
So the good news is that WE HAVE A VERY READABLE, THOUGH NOT YET ERROR
FREE, VERSION OF THE QURAN CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET!!
As I had mentioned last year, the publishers of the Shakir translation
had given their consent to the public domain publication of the text verbally,
over the phone, and had promised a letter forthcoming which I never received.
So as I see it, we have two tasks ahead of us:
1) To follow up on this promise and secure something in writing, and
2) To proof-read the text
Several people had volunteered for to help with the project last year,
but I think it would be best to start over and make a brand new call for
volunteers, as many peoples addresses might have changed. Please send me
some mail if you would like to help.
We also need to consult on the process of proof-reading and where
to place the finished text. As a suggestion to start this process, I think
we should have at least two readers for each section of the Quran. It would
also help distribute the costs more evenly if the readers were willing to
buy a copy of the Shakir translation, which is widely available in a paper
back edition costing about $4. Any other suggestions are welcomed.
Some of the mail received suggested not doing the project, or
not placing any translation on the public domain without more research
(2 votes). My personal opinion is that placing one translation on the
net does not preclude replacing it with a better one at a future date,
and at least gives us something to work with in the mean time. Still,
if a majority of people are against using this text, we certainly
don't have to make it public and can distribute it only to individuals
who are interested.
Some other mail expressed an interest in Yusuf Ali's
translation (4 votes), but, as was earlier posted, the translation is
under automatic copy right and would require special permission from
the publishers to proceed with our project. If anyone would like to
pursue this permission, it is still an option, but would require some
extra leg work to be volunteered. Toward this end, one respondent
mentioned that he managed to extract this text from a copy-righted
program, the company of issue having recently folded. If we were to
get permission, then perhaps this text could be used, although the
respondent indicated it would still probably need proof-reading. My
personal opinion here is that this route would take a lot of extra
work, in contrast to the case of the Shakir translation, for which all
of the necessary elements, including the text, are virtually in place.
Once we get written permission from the (Shakir) publishers, I
would be glad to forward anyone an advance copy. The Quran is about 1
megabyte.
I hope all of you are as excited as I am that our dream is almost
a reality! God willing, it will go far toward creating understanding
between the religions in general, and mitigating some of the
anti-Islamic prejudice prevalent in the West.
Peace,
camm
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Internet: cmaguire@phoenix.princeton.edu
"O Son of Man! Veiled in my immemorial being and in the ancient
eternity of Mine essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I
created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee
My beauty."
Baha'u'llah