There is relatively little in the Bible that is offensive to Muslim eyes...

There is relatively little in the Bible that is offensive to Muslim eyes, and most such things are offensive because they have been given a Chris­tian interpretation, or because of linguistic and cultural changes that make them less understandable than they originally were. Islam is based, not on the Bible, but on the Qur'an, Islamic tradition, and the example of the Prophet and, in the case of Shi'ites, on the example of the twelve holy Imams.

The similarities between the Bible and Islam are explained to believers by the fact that the same God inspired both, and to researchers by the fact that both Qur'an and the Bible are products of Middle Eastern monotheism. All of the great principles of Islam are clearly evident in the earlier Scriptures as they remain in our hands today, encumbered as they may be with the ravages of time.…