I think I'm a little arrogant when it comes to choosing paper topics.

History, seminar, ~20 page paper. Topic: Is Osama bin Laden correct when he says that the Qu'ran demands that other Islamic countries join in the defense of Afganistan?

Yeah. I think I know slightly more about Islam than the average bear; I've had religion classes and actually paid intent attention. But this subject will require delving into the world of the Qu'ran almost as much as I sometimes do with the Bible, except I have no starting point, no initial knowledge from which to make the leap. I'm trying to find topical indices, concordances, analyze different methods used to interpret the Qu'ran, look up the original Arabic in sensitive phrases to determine the full meaning, compare different translations, and examine the current scholastic research in the Islamic world regarding issues of the jihad.

Anyway. So if anyone knows the titles or whatnot of concordances or topical indices of the Qu'ran, or could give me a general outline of the basic differences in and perceptions of the translations, I'd really appreciate it. The bookstore doesn't have any.