the key, the opening, al fatiha

Here is the opening chapter of the Quran with 4 different versions given for the last two lines:

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds;
Most Gracious, Most Merciful;
Master of the Day of Judgment.
Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.

Yusuf Ali:
Show us the straight way,
The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.

Pickthall:
Show us the straight path,
The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.

Shakir:
Keep us on the right path.
The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors. Not (the path) of those upon whom Thy wrath is brought down, nor of those who go astray.

Khalifa:
Guide us in the right path;
the path of those whom You blessed; not of those who have deserved wrath, nor of the strayers.

source

Here are scanned images of these same verses (over 2 pages) from my copy of the Quran:

I obtained my copy of the Quran free of charge from a Muslim booth set up at the entrance to an interfaith dialogue evening. It was more strictly a Christian-Muslim dialogue as no other faiths were represented. The Christians did not set up comparable stalls handing out free copies of the New Testament Bible. For anyone interested in more details and identifying pages, here are some further scanned images:

• the full first page of the fatiha
  
• the full second page of the fatiha
  
• the title page in English
  
• the front cover in Arabic (back cover by English expectations)
  
• the front cover in English (back cover by Arab expectations)

I'm posting this specialized entry because I see this opening chapter of the Quran (Al Fatiha, translated both as "The Opening" and as "The Key") as the key to Islam's relationship with all other religions. It is clear from the added interpretations given in my copy of the Quran that 1:7 can readily refer quite specifically to the other main faiths competing with Islam at the time of its formation, viz, Christianity and Judaism. Whether the Christians or the Jews are specifically intended under the terms "those upon whom Thy wrath is brought down" and "those who go astray", one thing is quite clear to me, both groups of people are non-Muslims and all non-Muslims from that time to this have been identified by Muslims as belonging to one or other or (more usually) both groups.

As a non-Muslim, I am perceived by any Muslim I meet, any Muslim at all, as a person who incurs the wrath of Allah and/or goes astray. As a non-Muslim, I am perceived by any Muslim I meet, any Muslim at all, as a person requiring correction or modification of some sort. That sentiment has been expressed to me (not to my face but on internet forums) by quite ordinary Muslims in the form of accusing me of being "blind, deaf and dumb", of suffering from vague forms of insanity and dementia, and even of being plagued by ringworms and irritant skin diseases. In every case, from the mild to the more abusive, I have felt spat on.

I have responded, in the end, by spitting back.

My challenge to any Muslim reading this: Tell me how the Fatiha is not an act of spitting on all non-Muslims first and last. Tell me how it signals* any other world but one in which I, as a non-Mohammadan, can live in full and equal dignity, respected unreservedly for my own faith and my own way of approaching God. Tell me, please, for I really cannot see it and I quite simply don't accept that the fault lies in any defect of my own metaphorical eyesight.

* Update: I've just reread this sentence carefully and I can see now that it says the very opposite of what I intended! It asks the very opposite of the question before it. And yet I have received two anonymous responses today that failed to note this slip of the tongue. Oh well, I'll leave it in place just for the curiosity of it.

* Update 6apr07: More info at Jihad Watch here.