Can studying the Quran alongside the Torah help Jews and Muslims reach mutual understanding?

A new book by British interfaith activist Rick Sopher and Emirati scholar Abdulla Galadari argues that the Quran was intended to confirm the Torah and be read alongside it, using the weekly Torah portion format to explore parallels. Sopher, a British Jew of Sephardic ancestry, believes the Quran does not make Jewish-Muslim cohabitation impossible, despite acknowledging negative verses about some Jews and differences in theology.

A new book, 'Illuminating Scriptural Connections,' published by the Jewish Publication Society, argues that the Quran was originally intended to confirm the spiritual messages of the Torah and be read alongside it. Co-authored by British interfaith activist Rick Sopher and Emirati scholar Abdulla Galadari, the book uses the weekly Torah portion format to explore parallels between the two texts. Sopher, a British Jew of Sephardic ancestry and senior adviser at Edmond de Rothschild Capital Holdings, said the project became more important after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. He concluded after 10 years of study that the Quran does not make Jewish-Muslim cohabitation impossible, noting that while the Quran has negative verses about some Jews, it also has verses of reverence and praise. The book acknowledges differences, such as the Quran's omission of biblical stories where prophets sin and its emphasis on God's control over human agency, but insists there are no fundamental contradictions between the texts. Sopher argues that Quranic calls to violence are tamer than Torah instructions to wipe out certain nations, and that statements like 'From the river to the sea' have no basis in the Quran. The framing relies on Sopher's personal testimony and scholarly analysis without dissenting voices from Muslim scholars.