Dear Jürgen,

let's talk about coincidences. I know you don't have much time so I will cut a long story short.

• Just by coincidence you told us recently about the Gospel of Barnabas.
• By another coincidence I discovered the book on the Internet.
• Then by a third coincidence I bought the book and read it.

Well, I lied about two points. First there isn't a long story to cut it short and secondly the third point wasn't a coincidence and just followed out of the former two. But there is a third coincidence concerning this subject. In the year 1300 Pope Boniface VIII changed the period to celebrate the jubilee year from 50 to 100 years. This helps us to have a strong hint that the Gospel of Barnabas was written in the 14. century (see later). I don't think that this Pope meant to help us on this subject. And so, just to have a forth coincidence which joyfully comes out of the third one, you were certainly right to say, that this strange book is a Muslim medieval forgery.

When I bought the book I thought that I will perhaps be able to see that this is a Muslim forgery just using my knowledge about Islam. But when I started to read the book I ran through open doors, crashed against the wall, fell down a staircase... No, fortunately there were no walls to bump in. But it was too obvious, so I was a bit disappointed.

Studying the book I felt strangely offended. How can anybody dare to write such a comedy or parody on the Gospel! I think it's a bit like the "Satanic Verses" of Rushie (o.k., I must admit I didn't read that book). At least it's like a computer game, just "religio-fiction".

The strangest thing although was that especially the parts I thought to be most offending gave me a kind of deja-vu experience. Adam in paradise having the la-ilaha illa llahi, muhammadun rasulu llahi written on the nails of his thumbs, the secret discussion between Jesus and Barnabas where Jesus told him that he would have been able to enter paradise dircetly if the folk wouldn't have call him "God", Peter, who is not rebuked because he wanted to hinder Jesus to go to Jerusalem but because he called him "Christ, the Son of God", the grotesque scene nearly the end of the book when the appearence of Judas is changed so that he looks like Jesus and is crucified while Jesus is taken to heaven... I don't mean that I recognised those ideas from the Qur'an and got the deja-vu that way. Somehow I had the feeling I know about this strange book. Strange. Perhaps it's only a feeling.

As I discovered quickly there is some material about this book in the Internet. I have added some links for your information. I found it especially interesting that Dr. Christine Schirrmacher wrote an article about exact this German edition I read.

Comparison between the Gospel of Barnabas and the Qur'an

The Gospel of Barnabas is parted in 222 paragraphs. This numbering was added later. I will put the paragraphs in round braces ( ). The Qur'an is divided in 114 Suras. Each Sura is divided in paragraphs like the Bible. I will put them in square brackets [ ].

I don't know whether this small homework will help you. Perhaps we will need it some day.

Ma`a salama,

Nabil