The first french qur'an translation: andré du ryer and his work entitled l'alcoran de mahomet

Abstract

The most basic way to understand a religion is through examining the texts which are considered sacred. This approach adopted by the history of Religions as an epistemological necessity is also one of the demands of modern science. It was possible to reach this seemingly basic understanding only at the end of a long process. One of the most important factors behind this change is the mentality transformation that emerged as a result of bloody struggles in Europe. Until the Renaissance and Enlightenment, Europeans did not see other religions and Islam as a religion because they saw Christianity as the only and true religion. Since Islam was seen as a heretical Christian sect or its holy book the Qur’an as "delusions" invented by a "false Prophet", this faith deserved not to be understood, but to be eradicated and destroyed. For this struggle, it was not necessary to understand, but only to know this religion in detail in order to direct sound arguments against the enemy. Peter the Venerable who commissioned Robert of Ketton to translate the Qur’an into Latin or Theodor Bibliander who printed this version were all churchmen believing in the truth of Christianity alone. The Qur’an represented for them the senseless words of false and heretic prophet. 

In Europe the Qur'an was first translated into Latin in the middle of the twelfth century. Four centuries later, this translation was put into print. The Latin translation, which Theodor Bibliander revised and printed after many hesitations and objections from churchmen and local administrators, constituted the source of the translations of the Qur’an in Italian, German and Dutch. The Latin translation of the Qur’an commissioned by Peter the Venerable to Robert of Ketton, the printing of this translation by the Protestant scholar Theodor Bibliander in 1543, or the later Latin translation of the Alcorani Textus Universus by cardinal Ludovico Marraccio in 1698, although considered much better than others, shared the main purpose: to be used as a tool in the fight against Islam. Nothing could be expected from the aforementioned figures, who were Christian clergymen, other than to behave in a polemic fashion against Islam. What was at stake in these translations was to learn about Islam from its main source in order to "shoot it with its own weapons" or to use it as a tool for missionary activities. 

In 1647, the Qur’an was translated into a local European language for the first time. This translation of the Qur’an by André Du Ryer from the original into French was named L'Alcoran de Mahomet. Later, this work was translated into English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian and Russian, allowing the spread of the Qur’an in many European local languages, and made it possible for large masses of people who did not speak Latin to read the Qur’an and understand it without ideological distortions. By focusing on the biography and bibliography of Du Ryer, this study, tried to determine what motivates him to translate the Qur’an. 

The translation of the Qur'an by André Du Ryer can be considered as a turning point for Europeans to view other religions and especially Islam. First of all, Du Ryer was not a clergyman but a diplomat and an intellectual character interested in eastern languages and literatures. He lived in Egypt and Istanbul for long years and learned Arabic and Turkish at a good level in these places, gained an anthropological perspective by observing directly, unlike those who wrote about Islam without ever seeing any Muslims in any Islamic country. It must be noted that scientists such as Alastair Hamilton and Francis Richard, who conducted the most elaborate study on Du Ryer, misapplied some of the information he conveyed about the religious understanding and religious life of the Turks because they overlooked this point.

Keywords

• History of Religions
• André Du Ryer
• French translation of the Qur'an

İlk fransızca kur’an tercümesi: André du Yyer ve L’Alcoran de Mahomet adlı eseri

Abstract

Avrupa’da Kur’an ilk kez 12. yüzyılda Latinceye tercüme edilmiştir. Bu çevirinin temel amacı, İslam’ı öz kaynağından öğrenerek onu “kendi silahıyla vurmak” ya da misyonerlik faaliyetlerinde bir araç olarak kullanmaktı. Dört asır sonra bu çeviri matbu hâle getirilmiştir. Birçok tereddüt ve itirazdan sonra Theodor Bibliander’in revize ederek ve ilaveler ekleyerek matbu hâle getirdiği Latince tercüme, İtalyanca, Almanca ve Hollandaca Kur’an çevirilerine kaynaklık teşkil etmiştir. 1647’de ilk kez yerel bir Avrupa diline Kur’an tercüme edilmiştir. André Du Ryer’ün orijinalinden Fransızcaya yaptığı bu Kur’an çevirisine L’Alcoran de Mahomet adı konmuştur. Daha sonra bu eser, İngilizce, Almanca, Hollandaca, İspanyolca, İtalyanca ve Rusçaya tercüme edilerek birçok Avrupa dilinde Kur’an’ın yerel dillerde yayılmasını sağlamış ve böylece Latince bilmeyen geniş halk kitlelerinin Kur’an’ı okuyabilmelerini mümkün kılmıştır. Du Ryer’ün biyografisi ve bibliyografisi üzerinde durularak bu çalışmada onu Kur’an’ı tercüme etmeye motive eden şeylerin neler olduğu tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Daha sonra, çeviri meydana getirilirken hangi kaynaklardan faydalanıldığı üzerinde durulmuştur. Son olarak eserin içeriği incelenerek L’Alcoran de Mahomet’in çeviri değeri üzerinde bir değerlendirme yapılmıştır. Birçok eksiklik ve hataya rağmen bir bütün olarak değerlendirildiğinde Du Ryer’ün Kur’an tercümesi, İslam’ı kendi kaynağından doğru bir şekilde anlama yönünde önemli bir adım teşkil ettiği sonucuna varılmıştır. Du Ryer’ün bu çalışması, asırlar boyunca önyargılar ve yanlış bilgilerle dolu polemik amacıyla yazılmış kaynaklardan okuyan Avrupalılara İslam’ın kutsal kitabını kendi dillerinde okuyarak anlama imkanı sunmuştur. Bu çalışma aynı zamanda Avrupa’daki zihniyet dönüşümünün de bir yansıması olarak kabul edilebilir. Teolojik ve apolojetik yaklaşımdan bilimsel yaklaşıma geçiş sürecinde kuşkusuz L’Alcoran de Mahomet’in katkısı büyük olmuştur.

Keywords

• Dinler Tarihi
• André Du Ryer
• L’Alcoran de Mahomet
• Fransızca Kur’an tercümesi

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