Published at the end of May, 2019, my first small book is just a start aimed at satisfying the curiosity of the various people (including a more popular audience) who have taken an interest in my research. The book earned positive pre-publication comment from a number of esteemed colleagues including Gerd-R Puin, Marijn van Putten, Asma Hilali, Mark Durie, and Dan Wallace.
I am thankful that my book has been received with interest and has not been ignored; this is a great honor to any author. This article summarizes some key events in its life so far.
Upon its release, Corrections in Early Qurʾān Manuscripts quickly rose to nearly the top of the Amazon rankings in several categories, including Islam and Qurʾan. As I recall, it remained roughly in the top 25 or so in these categories for more than a month.I am notified of searches and of purchases worldwide. The book has been purchased on Amazon in the UK, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Japan. I am aware of more than one party who went to great lengths and expense to procure the book for a library in India soon after publication. In all cases, I am so grateful and honored.
During the first six months, Corrections in Early Qurʾān Manuscripts has been the subject of debates and videos on YouTube that have cumulatively received (so far as I can see) more than a half-million views. Three weeks ago, I was interviewed by two of the people who have engaged in a great deal of this discussion, Dr. Jay Smith and Mr. Al Fadi; this video was posted on two channels of which I am aware, and received 10K total views in little more than a week. These two gentlemen had earlier produced a series of 9 videos dedicated to discussion of Corrections in Early Qurʾān Manuscripts.
On the academic side of things, Corrections in Early Qurʾān Manuscripts received a 15+ page review in the well-known scholarly journal, Al ʿUsur Al Wusta. The review, by Hythem Sidky, had many kind things to say about the book, and also a number of serious criticisms. I intend discuss the review in some detail at a later date.
The receipt of the book has been a great encouragement to me, particularly as it has occurred simultaneous to unfortunate disagreements with colleagues with whom I had partnered over the past several years, leading to my departure from a Qurʾan research tool I co-founded that holds a great deal of promise and potential. I intend, soon, to give respectful but accurate detail about that situation in due course. However, that’s a matter for another time.
I have received many requests for Corrections in Early Qurʾān Manuscripts in ebook form, and this is still in the works amid various other projects. I understand that the ebook format would enable people to have access in countries where the physical book is difficult to procure. Also, there have been requests for the book in translation, particularly Russian, Arabic, and Portuguese. These are under consideration.
As stated at the start, Corrections in Early Qurʾān Manuscripts is only a beginning. A number of other publication projects are under way that will be highlighted here soon. Two of the most exciting is the printed edition of my collection of Qurʾan manuscript corrections/annotations, (planned for three volumes plus index), an edition of a very interesting variant Qurʾan manuscript which is in process with Brill, and a more introductory edition of significant portions of the same manuscript for a more general readership, forthcoming very soon.
All these things take time and focus, and also resources to produce. If you support the work that I do, and wish to become a financial partner to help me move it forward, please consider joining me by making a one-time or recurring donation.
Thank you!