I'm Yusuf Estes, and I was WRONG!
It was NOT Robert the Monk of England who first mis-translated the Quran (on purpose).
It was Robert of Ketton, in Spain, 1142 AD
{I read about "Robert the Monk" & mixed up the 2 Roberts}
* * * * * * Quran Was MIS-Translated
* It Was Done to Destroy Islam *
The first Latin translation of the Quran was ordered by Peter the Venerable, abbot of the powerful monastery of Cluny in France, in 1142–1143. (Maybe France Still Has it)
Christians could read cleverly re-worded translations of Quran, so they could put down, and destroy Islam.
It was done by Robert of Ketton and his team. It is still the Latin text influencing all European misunderstandings of Islam.
* * * * * * * * * *
1. Peter the Venerable Ordered It!
Peter the Venerable ordered the first Latin translation of the Quran to put Islam down - in 1142 A.D.
He assembled translators to translate the Quran, in the manner he wanted, into Latin.
Peter was not neutral about Islam. He believed Christians needed to understand Islam’s teachings from his translated sources in order to respond to them from his mistranslation.
This project was part of a broader text collection called the Corpus Cluniacense (or Corpus Islamolatinum), including translations of:
- the Quran
- polemical and theological Arabic writings
- Christian writings about Islam
- All for Christians to learn how to respond to Islam.
2. The Translator: Robert of Ketton
The principal translator of this first Latin Quran was Robert of Ketton, an English scholar residing in Christian Spain — a region where Christian and Muslim cultures overlapped and where Arabic texts were accessible.
Robert worked with a small team (including Peter of Toledo, Herman of Carinthia, and others) to produce the Latin text.
The translation, "Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete" (The Law of Mohamed the False Prophet”) — finished 1143 AD and became the principal Latin version of the Quran available in Europe for several centuries.
3. Why This Translation Was Done
Peter the Venerable’s motives were not scholarly in any sense. Scholars notes:
- The Catholic Church controlled Christianity — Peter believed they should refute Islam from its own scriptures. So, he translated the Quran to suit his agenda.
- The translation project aimed to give Catholic theologians access to worng Islamic teachings so they could respond intellectually and support the hearsay of the people.
- Translators had limited knowledge of classical Arabic and worked with theological goals rather than real translation. This resulted in a Latin rendering often paraphrased, added, or omitted elements of the original.
4. Historical Context
This took place about half a century after the First Crusade was called (1095). That means:
- The Crusades were made less sever, less serious by this translation of Quran.
- This mistranslation was not done to start the Crusades, but it did influence later Christian scholarship and polemics about Islam.
So while the Crusades were earlier, the Latin Quran translation became an intellectual tool in medieval Christian discussions about Islam. It shaped how many European scholars and theologians interpreted Islamic teachings for generations.
5. Influence and Legacy
Robert of Ketton’s Translation Lives On
- His translation became the standard resource for the Quran from Latin to English (1720's) and Christiens for centuries.
- Was reprinted in the 16th century (Basel 1542–1543) with polemical commentary, including by figures like Martin Luther.
- Influenced many European translations into other languages, because later translators often worked from the Latin rather than directly from Arabic.
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However, scholars also recognize Robert of Ketton’s translation was not accurate — paraphrasing or restructuring — which means it was not a precise linguistic rendering but rather a text shaped by Catholic theological aims.