JOIN dR. bart ehrman and dR. javad hasHmi

the bible and the quran

COMPARING THEIR HISTORICAL PROBLEMS

Embark on an in-depth exploration of the historical challenges inherent in the Bible and The Quran in this trailblazing comparison presented by two globally esteemed religious scholars over eight 45-minute lessons.

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Join us for a groundbreaking lecture series on The Bible and The Quran

In this groundbreaking course, explore the historical challenges inherent in two of the world's most influential religious texts—the Bible and the Quran. Led by Dr. Bart Ehrman and Dr. Javad Hashmi, delve into the origins of Islam and the historical quandaries posed by the Quran alongside those found in the Christian Bible.

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Dr. Bart Ehrman

Dr. Bart D. Ehrman has written or edited thirty-three books, including six New York Times bestsellers: How Jesus Became God, Misquoting Jesus, God’s Problem, Jesus Interrupted, Forged, and The Triumph of Christianity. Bart is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he has taught thousands of students and won numerous awards.

Bart's work has been featured in The New York Times, the Washington Post, Time, and Newsweek; he has appeared on National Geographic, CNN, the BBC, NBC's Dateline, the Discovery Channel, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the Sam Harris Podcast, and many other top media outlets.

Provocative Inquiries Explored in this Course

Through rigorous academic inquiry, uncover insights into original texts, authorship, and transmission reliability. Delve into the historical analysis of Jesus and Muhammad, navigating the intersections and disparities between scholarly perspectives and religious interpretations.

Does the Quran actually go back to Muhammad, and has it really been “perfectly preserved”?
How do historians separate fact from fiction in the Gospels enshrined in the New Testament?
Are Quranic stories historical and scientific or do they contain elements of myth and legend? Did the historical Muhammad really exist?
To what extent are acts of intolerance, hatred, and violence rooted in the Bible, and is the Bible itself to be blamed, in whole or in part, for perpetuating such behaviors?
Is there something unique or inherent to Islam – its scripture, its founding moment, and its historical experience – that predisposes it to hatred, intolerance, and violence?

Explore sensitive issues surrounding scripture's potential role in fostering violence and intolerance while examining the viability of applying historical and critical lenses to religious study

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Dr. Javad T. Hashmi

Javad T. Hashmi is a PhD candidate in the Study of Religion (Islamic Studies) at Harvard University, specializing in Quranic Studies, Islamic origins, and the historical Muhammad.

Additionally, he focuses on the question of religion and violence. He has earned bachelors and masters degrees in Arabic & Islamic Studies from UC Berkeley and Harvard, respectively. His doctoral dissertation focuses on the ethics of war and peace in the Quran and during the lifetime of the historical Muhammad. Dr. Hashmi is also a board-certified emergency physician and was formerly a Fellow of Medical Ethics at Harvard Medical School, specializing in Islamic (bio)ethics.

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