Abdulwahid van Bommel is a former professor at the Rotterdam Islamic University and works as an Imam in several Dutch mosques. For two years, he has been working on this book De Koran, uitleg voor kinderen (which translates as: The Koran, explanation for children) because he felt like the Koran isn’t very accessible to young children. Just as has been done before with Children’s Bibles, this is not a literal translation but rather an adaptation into a language and setting that children can easily understand. The author says it’s a tool for children to understand the Koran and their faith better, and it’s the ideal way for parents to talk about religion with their children.
There is some speculation as to how the book will be received by the Muslim world, since the book contains some drawings. It is forbidden to portray the prophet and key figures of Islam, so Abdulwahid didn’t, but he did include drawings since it is a children’s book. That is why the author circumvented the issue by portraying regular humans in religious settings. For example, here is a man looking towards the stars looking for God.
This book is the first in a four-part series, written with a target audience of 8 to 14-year-olds in mind. It will come out mid-July and publisher Parthenon is expecting the first print to be sold out in under 3 months in the Netherlands and Belgium since it is the first book of its kind in the Dutch language.
Sources: De Morgen, De Redactie.