As you can grasp from your readings up until now, the Qur'an is oftentimes misunderstood by many - both Muslims and non-Muslims - because of the

As you can grasp from your readings up until now, the Qur'an is oftentimes misunderstood by many - both Muslims and non-Muslims - because of the reader's virtual inability to understand it from simply reading it, and this is mainly due to its seemingly illogical organization. Proper interpretation is needed to understand it, and in turn, to see how it serves as a holy text that continues to guide and inspire Muslims to live a righteous life.

Although the Qur'an needs interpretation to properly understand it, it should not stop us from getting a general view of it through a reading of some of its chapters. For your midterm paper, you will need to read through parts of the Qur'an. Below, I have a few suggested chapters you could read that convey the same general genres. After reading through them, choose a topic, and write an informal, yet informative paper - it should be 4-5 pages long, double spaced, properly cited, and written in the first person.

This paper is due July 29, by 11:55pm EST. You must submit it here under ASSIGNMENTS.

An example thesis would be, "While reading the Qur'an, I realized that many of the same people influential in Judaism and Christianity are also important in the Qur'an too." Remember, this is not a research paper and you need no references other than the Qur'an. I am interested in what YOU take away from your reading of the Qur'an as well as anything mentioned in the readings.The main objective of this paper is to communicate to me that you have read and engaged the Qur'an reasonably.