I don't tend to rely on Wikipedia because, well, it's just not reliable. But I did find this reference there, which verified something I thought I'd already learned somewhere.
The Qur'an has been translated into many languages, but translations of the Qur'an from Arabic to other languages are not considered by Muslims to be actual copies of the Qur'an, but rather are considered to be interpretive translations of the Qur'an; they are thus not given much weight in debates upon the Qur'an's meaning. In addition, as mere interpretive translations of the Qur'an, they are treated as ordinary books instead of being accorded the privileged status of Holy Books requiring special care.
This is confirmed here. And here. And here. Among other places.
But in that last reference, a USA Today article (originating in the Christian Science Monitor) from a few weeks ago, I discovered this particularly clueless comment.
The Koran has a special status in Islam that sets it apart from the way many Christians view the Bible and Jews the Torah.
The Koran is considered to be the exact words of Allah, as spoken to and through the prophet Mohammed, who dictated them in Arabic to his companions in the seventh century. None of its 114 chapters, or suras, has been altered. No translation is considered authentic, so Muslims worldwide make their five daily prayers in Arabic, no matter their native language.
Now I can't speak for the Christian Bible, but the Torah is considered to be the exact words of God, as spoken to and written down verbatim by Moses himself. None of its books, chapters or verses has been altered. Jews worldwide make their three daily prayers (four on Shabbat) and read from the Torah in the original Hebrew, no matter their native language. At least this is the doctine and practice of all Orthodox (and many Conservative) Jews.
Moreover, the parchment of the scroll on which the Torah is printed (Sefer Torah) is never to be touched directly by anyone once it is finished. The scroll is opened, closed and rolled from one section to another by special handles (eitzei chaim). A special pointer (yad) is used to indicate where to read and the reader's gesture of respect before and after reading is made interposing the cloth of his prayer shawl (tallit) between his hand and the parchment. And while I believe that a defective Qur’an may be either burned or buried, only burial or placement in a special repository (geniza) is permitted for a defective Torah. (More info, written for children, but very nice, here.)
So how exactly does the special status of the Qur’an in Islam set it apart from the Torah in Judaism? Beats me. I do know, however, that published versions of the Torah text are to be treated with the same respect in translation as they are in Hebrew, which is considerably less than a Sefer Torah but considerably more than an ordinary book.
Some of this comes out later in the article, which makes it all the more perplexing why the authors would claim special status for the Qur’an that isn't accorded to the Torah. Need I point out that desecration of a Sefer Torah, while it generates a great deal of grief, has never, to my knowledge, resulted in either rioting or murder?
Anyway, I notice that prisoners at Guantanamo Bay are given copies of the Qur'an in both Arabic and English. I'll assume that the ones everyone is so upset about were all in Arabic, though, since otherwise the teapot would be even smaller.
