Mahometis Abdallae filii theologia dialogo explicata hermanno Nellingaunense interprete. Alcorani epitome, Roberto Ketenense Anglo interprete. Johannis Alberti Vuidmestadii Jurisconsulti Notationes falsarum impiarumq[ue] opinionum Mahumetis, quae in hisce libris occurunt. Johannis Alberti Vuidmestadii iurisc. ad Ludovicum Alberti F. Palatii Rhenani comitem, Bavariae utriusq[ue] principem illustriss. optimumq[ue] dicatio. M.D.XLIII [1543] أول ترجمة مطبوعة للقرآن الكريم - أجزاء منه مع دراسة باللاتينية: ,

The Koran was translated into Latin for the first time on the order of Peter the Venerable (1092-1156), the well known abbot of Cluny . During a journey to Spain in order to visit Cluniac monasteries (1142) he was able to engage two scholars for various translation projects which were connected with Peter's aim to convert Muslim people in a peaceful way. As the principal requirement for such a task he recognised the knowledge of the genuine sources of the Islamic religion, above all the Koran. The translator of the Koran was Robert of Ketton (Robertas Ketenensis) who did his work with the help of a certain Spanish Muslim named Muhammad. Robert's translation is not as literal as one should expect; sometimes he shortens the text or tries to polish the difficult style of several Koranic passages in order to create a "readable" text. As an example for such a shortened text Surah 109 could be cited Along with the Koran some other rather apocryphal Sira- and Hadith-mate- rials were translated the most important being the Masa'il 'Abdallah b. Saläm ("Questions of 'A. ); this was a dialogue between Muhammad and the Jew Abdia who, as a result, converted to Islam and became 'Abdallah. This little work was translated by Hermann of Carinthia (an other name is Hermannus S[c]lavus) as Doctrina Mahumet (or Theologia Mahometi according to one manuscript) and later became very influential especially because of some Jewish notions found there. All the texts translated from Arabic into Latin together with polemical texts written by Peter are according to the important researches done by M.-Th. d'Alverny known as "Corpus Toletanum" (or "Collectio Toletana"). During the following centuries the "Corpus Toletanum" was widely read in Europe and was used by many Christian authors who tried to refute the Islam, among them Nicolaus Cusanus (1041-64) , Dionysius Carthusianus (1402/3-1471) , or Juan de Torquemada (1388-1468) . Of special interest is a manuscript which was copied at Constantinople in 1437. It was brought by the Croatian cardinal John Stojkovic 0. P. (Johannes de Ragusa, died 1443) to the Council of Basle where it remained in the library of the Dominicans. On century later it was used by the Swiss theologian Theodor Bibliander (1504-1564) when he prepared his edition of a Latin Koran translation based on the old Toletan text . Unfortunately, this important manuscript is lost, as well as that which Martin Luther read at Wittenberg in the beginnings of 1542 and which he shortly after sent to Johannes Oporinus (1507-68), the great Basle printer, who undertook in 1542 with the help of Bibliander as editor the printing of the "Corpus Toletanum", together with other important refutations and historical accounts of the Turks. The printing and publishing of the Basle Koran belongs to the most fascinating chapters of the history of the book . During most of the 16th century Basle was one of the leading European centers of printing due to an atmosphere of religious tolerance which nevertheless had some limitations, When Oporinus began to set Bibliander's work he quite deliberately ignored the Basle law of censorship, according to which every book had to be approved by the municipal authorities. Yet this procedure was usually neglected by nearly all the printers in the city for the sake of more rapid publication. Having printed a good deal of the Koran translation, Oporinus was denounced to the authorities. When the government was unable to reach a clear, unanimous decision as to whether or not the Koran should be classified as a dangerous book that should not be read by the common people, expert witnesses were named in order to judge the case, and Oporinus was forbidden to continue printing the book. Oporinus, of course, ignored this resolution and was subsequently incarcerated for several days, and the proofs were confiscated. He was released only on the condition that he would neither continue his work until the final decision was made, nor con- tact anyone in order to rally support for his case. Nevertheless , Oporinus had written to Bibliander, and among the appointed experts, other supporters of his case had contacted the Protestant reformers in Strasbourg (especially Martin Bucer), who for their part asked Martin Luther for assistance. The reports that the experts delivered to the Council of Basle resulted in a stalemate: among the six experts three were in support of Oporin pleading for publication, and three in opposition. All agreed that the Koran was a heretical book, but the three opponents furthermore thought it dangerous if read by dogmatically untrained people. This, they argued, would lead to some sort of confusion among true believers. A third report, delivered by the most influential jurisconsult of the city, Bonifacius Amerbach, pointed out that a heretical book such as the Koran according to Roman Law ought no to appear in a Christian city. This stalemate lead to Oporinus not being able to continue his work — unless Luther were to write a letter from Wittenberg to the Council of Basle recommending the publication of the Latin Koran for theological reasons. This he did. Luther, in his pleading for publication, stressed the importance to Christianity of a sound knowledge of Islam — not in order to convert Muslim believers, but, on the contrary, to protect certain groups inside the Church from apostasy. His fear concerning an "Islamisation" was not without reason: there were certain groups, especially in Hungary, that tended towards the rejection of the Trinity, the so-called Unitarian movement. Luther's plea proved successful: the Council of Basle permitted Oporinus to continue his work, but only under certain conditions, namely, that the printer's name as well as that of the city of Basle were not to be mentioned; someone other than Oporinus from outside Basle had to act as the editor; and finally, the book was not allowed to be sold inside the : walls of Basle. Despite these restrictions, the Koran translation became very successful; Bibliander took over the editorship from Oporinus, and the Koran was sold everywhere, except in Basle. In fact the "Basle Koran" comprised far more than only the Latin translation of the Koran. The book appeared in three parts with different title pages. The first part contains the greater part of the "Corpus Toletanum", the second a collection of ""Confutationes" and the third "Historiae" on the Saracens as well as the Turks . There can be no doubt that the two later parts played an important role insofar as the whole book could be regarded as a kind of "Encyclopaedia of Islam". Only seven years later a second edition was required (1550); it was a revised and partially enlarged "reprint". More noteworthy, however, is the fact that this translation, already 400 years old, served as the basis for several translations into European vernaculars during the subsequent 150 years, such as into Italian, German and Dutch. (Latin translations of the Kuran, a short overview : Hartmut Bobzin) .