In April 1649, just three months after the execution of Charles I and the establishment of the Commonwealth, the first English translation of the Quran was published. The anonymous translator (whom some scholars have identified as Thomas Ross) knew no Arabic: he used André de Ryer's 1647 French translation. The publication provoked unease. The Commonwealth authorities arrested the printer, Robert White, confiscated the printed copies and held a hearing which eventually cleared all involved and authorised the publication.
In order to both placate readers and to justify the translation, Alexander Ross, former royal chaplain, wrote a brief ‘caveat' meant to reassure his readers that the publication of the Quran in English was not dangerous. It is unclear whether the parliamentary commission requested this caveat from him or whether his relative Thomas Ross, or others involved, deemed it prudent to have him lend his name to the project. In any case, Alexander Ross affirms that Muhammad's errors are no worse than many of those heretical Protestants whose works one can find in any bookstall. His central justification for the translation of the Quran is that it is the most effective means of ‘unmasking' the ‘grand Hypocrite' Muhammad.
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