The civil wars within the Islamic world and the confrontation with the West are the basic conflicts of our time. The Koran itself is rooted in these conflicts, because on the one hand it carries a message of tolerance and compassion, on the other hand it is a religious text that legitimizes brutality and murder. This contradiction stems from the person and life of Mohamed, the initially peaceful preacher and later warlord. Hamed Abdel-Samad introduces central suras, introduces them and comments on them with a view to their genesis and reception.It shows why peace-loving Muslims rely on the wording of the Qur'an, as do violent Islamists, and what conflicts arise from it.