First impressions reading the Qu'ran

I read 30% of it before, but now I'm reading it in the same way that our teachers in Bolivia assigned us books to help understand  the Andean 'cosmovision' that inform the underlying values and beliefs and give us insight into what cultural outcomes/norms are likely with any given input.

I'd rather not talk out of my league. "Better to keep your mouth shut than to open it and remove all doubt."   For that reason, I called this Impressions rather than conclusions.

1) It's not any more violent than the New and Old Testament

2) Relies on the same arguments to prove its validity... we're right because we say so.

3) So far, the rewards of a good life seem to be mainly of the bling-bling variety, fancy rings, golden attire, big jewels.  Heaven seems to be described geniunely as a place with great palm trees offering comfortable shade.   

4)  Didn't expect so much of it to be a direct continuation of the Jewish/Christian story.  

5) Trying to find how the morals of society had changed between 1,000 BC and 700 AD, or the time between the Torah and the Qu'ran.  

6)  I can tell that reading this won't be enough, but rather I need commentary of how the scripture is put into practice.

7) Seems to be a great deal more metoricatric.  There's not so much Good and Bad in the scales of justice as there is "better"  and "worse/damned".  Several times I've read how a person doing better works will be looked on more highly by God.  

8) My version doesn't mention Allah, but instead simply says God.  This reduces greatly the culture shock aspect of reading another Faith's scriptures that I expected.

9)   It's not inflamatory.  All the hubbub that describes strict Sharia law, and Islamic societies seems to be absent so far.  For that reason, I will try to read the books, ENGAGING THE MUSLIM WORLD, and There is no god but God: The origins, evolution and future of Islam. 

10)  I dont particularly understand the numbering system on the side of the pages.  Instead of each verse, like in the average Christian Bible (which I think is one of the worst things that can be done to a religious text), it seems more to have scattered guide posts.  For this reason, I would suspect that it would be easier for a Christian or Jewish practitioner to tend more towards extremism than a Muslim one would, in that their text most resembles a book of law and not a philosophical, metaphysical "Recitation" sent from God.

11) I can see how there would be a wealth of different interpretations.  I'm interested to read some Sufi works after this, the Islamic Mysticism.  The earthy, lusty and joyous spiritual quality found in those works is utterly absent in Western religious life. Hafiz, Rumi.. hard to beat.

 "You carry / All the ingredients / To turn your life into a nightmare--/ Don't mix them!" Hafiz

12) There's a scholarly work that I saw profiled once, where it matches up the tracings of religion back to a few germs.  The same kinds of messianic figures, the same divine, virgin birth scenarios.  Reading online at Amazon's discussion boards, a few people were talking about how, if Christianity was strictly monotheistic, saying that 'it is impossible for God to have a son", and if you relegated Christ to his miracles as a prophet, then there'd be no distinction between the Abrahamic faiths.  Just get others to believe that and, voila, world peace.