“I Read the Entire Quran as a White Boy Christian—This Shocked Me”

What happens when a young American Christian stops relying on headlines and actually reads the Qur’an for himself?

In this clip, a young white American Christian describes reading the entire Qur’an in one sitting. He says he expected the Qur’an to be evil and heavily associated with terrorism because of what he had been exposed to through the media. Instead, he says he was genuinely shocked by what he found and came away feeling that some of his questions about life had been answered.

He also reacts to the Qur’an's teachings about good, evil, morality, and Jesus, questioning why Islam is so commonly portrayed as inherently aggressive or evil in American media.

The Larger Biblical Connection

The following context is additional information being presented as part of this project—not a statement made by the young man in the clip.

The Torah, Old Testament, and New Testament and the Qur’an share an enormous amount of historical and prophetic material. They discuss many of the same major figures, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus, while interpreting their roles and the chronology of revelation differently.

Islam does not reject Jesus. Jesus (Isa) is regarded as the Messiah and a major prophet, and belief in him is fundamental to Islam. Muslims also recognize Moses, Abraham, and the earlier biblical prophets as genuine messengers of God.

Another important point raised by this broader investigation concerns Song of Solomon 5:16.

The Hebrew text contains the word מַחֲמַדִּים (machmadim). Muslim and some Christian researchers have connected this Hebrew term with Muhammad, whose name is associated with the Arabic concept of the praised one or the praise worthy one.

According to this interpretation, the connection becomes obscured in many English translations because machmadim is rendered with expressions such as “altogether lovely” rather than preserving a possible connection to the name Muhammad.

This is a longstanding point of discussion among Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Hebrew-language researchers and is an important subject for anyone comparing the Hebrew Bible with the Qur’an.

The larger question is therefore worth examining:

Does the Hebrew text contain a reference that becomes difficult for English-speaking readers to recognize because of translation?

And if these scriptures share so many of the same prophetic figures, why do most Americans encounter them as completely separate religious stories?

Read the Sources for Yourself

The young Christian's experience illustrates a simple but important principle: read the source material before deciding what it says.

His expectation came largely from what he had heard about Islam. His reaction came after actually reading the Qur’an.

That distinction matters.

This project is examining the broader historical relationship between the Torah, biblical scriptures, Qur’an, prophetic traditions, translations, and the ways these texts have been interpreted over time.

Compare the texts.

Study the original languages.

Examine the translations.

Look at the chronology.

And make your own assessment.

Sometimes the best way to challenge what you've been told is to read the book yourself.