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Clearly and unmistakably, this site is about and for Christianity. However, recently, I saw an answer that was quoting (and solely related to) the Qur'an.

Per this meta post, we seem to have a consensus that "self-declaration" is the definition of "Christian".

However, what about religions and texts that are not Christian and do not consider themselves Christian?

What about answers and questions giving or seeking non-Christian perspectives? The Qur'an is one example. What about other non-Christian texts?

That would be clearly off-topic. Am I correct in this?

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Note that the specific answer was downvoted. It was an interesting comment, and shed a small amount of light on the subject, however it was not a useful answer here.

I don't think an answer here should quote the Qur'an as anything more than a curiosity or tertiary source to support a much larger point.

Our main points here should either come from the scripture or church doctrine of some kind, supported by secondary sources (commentary, sermons etc) or personal beliefs. Tertiary sources could be used for support.

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Quoting the Qur'an makes sense for questions that are comparing or contrasting Christianity to Islam. Beyond that, there's probably no real reason to quote the Qur'an.

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What about a Christian whose particular understanding of Christianity considers the Qur'an to be relevant? Since Christianity, for the purposes of this site, is defined by self-identifying as a Christian, if that Christian wants to use the Qur'an as an answer when he finds it relevant to the question asked, I seen no problem with that.

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    I think you have mis-understood the scope of this site. What you call yourself personally isn't really even that important, in order to answer on behalf of Christianity we require that answers at least can be sourced against doctrinal statements of whatever part of Christianity they claim to speak for. The Qur'an could be relevant in several ways to various questions, particularly comparisons, but few individuals much less groups claim it carries authority to speak on behalf of Christianity; hence your objection is essentially irrelevant.
    – Caleb
    Jan 1, 2012 at 21:40
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    I'm really not convinced you understand this site all that well. Since there is no one universal understanding of what Christianity is, it's impossible for anyone to answer on behalf of a singular "Christianity" as a whole. That's why we require people to identify what particular understanding of Christianity their answer comes from. And if a particular understanding of Christianity holds that the Qur'an is a legitimate source of specifically Christian truth, then I can't see how it would not be appropriate if an answer from such a perspective is relevant to the question that was asked.
    – Steely Dan
    Jan 2, 2012 at 0:37
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    @SteelyDan Allowing quotes from the Qur'an would be as useful as allowing quotes from Mary Poppins. It could be useful, yes, and there could be people out there that consider Mary Poppins on par with Jesus. However, there will still have to be doctrinal support for using the quotes. Any question that would accept answers from the Qur'an as valid would be off-topic since the questions would be too broad and not constructive for this site. Unless the question specifically asks for a view from a doctrine that believes in the Qur'an. Otherwise, it's not constructive.
    – Richard
    Jan 5, 2012 at 12:17
  • What if, as is the case with many questions, they're asking for a general/unspecified "Christian" answer? In that case, it's quite clear that an answer from this Qu'ranic Christianity would be just as valid as an answer from any other Christian perspective.
    – Steely Dan
    Jan 5, 2012 at 16:59
  • @SteelyDan I think Caleb hit the nail on the head when he said - "we require that answers at least can be sourced against doctrinal statements of whatever part of Christianity they claim to speak for" Could you provide provide a reference to a Christian group that believes the Qur'an to be authoritative?
    – Monika Michael
    Jul 5, 2012 at 13:10
  • That's beside the point; I was speaking of a hypothetical.
    – Steely Dan
    Feb 25, 2014 at 5:24
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If the question is about Islam then sure.

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    But that would be off-topic. This site is in regards to Christianity.
    – Richard
    Sep 13, 2011 at 14:46
  • If they can have a section about Mormons they can have a section about Islam. I don't see a problem
    – Neil Meyer
    Sep 13, 2011 at 16:00
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    Muslims don't claim to be Christian. Therefore, they aren't. Therefore, they are off-topic for this site. As a side note, it looks like they might open an Islam.SE.
    – Richard
    Sep 13, 2011 at 16:02
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    +1 Questions about relations between Christianity and Islam would be well on-topic, and citing Qur'an in those cases would be ok.
    – StackExchange saddens dancek
    Sep 13, 2011 at 18:47
  • If we are allowed to nitpick I should add that the Mormons are just as much Christians as what the Muslims. They are completely conflicting ideologies all three of them. Although the Mormons claim to be Christians does not make that any less true. That position is inconsistent with the facts
    – Neil Meyer
    Sep 14, 2011 at 15:04

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