Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics
‘‘praise to Allah, the Cherisher and
Sustainer of the worlds’’ (Sura 1:2). If
Allah is the only speaker of the entire
Koran, is he offering praise to himself?
Muslims explain that Allah is teaching
mankind this prayer, as the Fatihah has
a status among Muslims akin to the
Lord’s Prayer among Christians. But
this is never stated in the text.
[ 20 ]Laura Veccia Vaglieri, ‘‘The
Patriarchal and Umayyad Caliphates,’’
in The Cambridge History of Islam, ed.
P. M. Holt, Ann K. S. Lamberton and
Bernard Lewis, New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1970, p. 73.
[ 21 ]Toby Lester, ‘‘What is the
Koran?’’, Atlantic Monthly,
January1999. Available online at
