( CNN ) -- Of all things , it was surfing that first led Sandow Birk to Islam . Illustration of Sura ( chapter ) 57 of the Quran is described by Sandow Birk as a triptych . The southern California artist rode the waves in Indonesia , India and Morocco , and on dry land , his curiosity piqued about the religion practiced there . He visited mosques and eventually , acquired a translated copy of the Quran , Islam 's holy book . Then came the chilling attacks of September 11 , 2001 , and Birk realized that Americans knew very little about the teachings of the Quran . He embarked on a project to paint all 114 suras ( chapters ) -- but in a way that no one had done before . The 46-year-old painter re-imagined God 's 7th-century revelation to the Prophet Mohammed in contemporary American context . Birk began transcribing the chapters , relating each to the things he knew best . So far , he has completed 60 chapters . `` American Quran '' is currently on display in two California galleries . `` The simple goal was to take text and make it more familiar , '' he said . So , the Quran 's opening chapter , seven verses asking for God 's guidance , often found displayed in Muslim homes , is bordered with arabesqing shapes that on closer inspection reveal objects essential to American home life -- spatulas , forks , toothbrushes , glasses , ladders , egg beaters , flip-flops . To illustrate a verse that speaks metaphorically about the thundering hooves of camels , Birk painted a stock-car race . How would Americans , after all , relate to camels ? The red , white and blue hues of a political convention accompany verses on hypocrisy . Other scenes unfold in offices , suburban lawns and sushi bars . They show funerals , weddings and holidays . And then there is sura 44 , called ad-dukhan ( smoke ) . `` Therefore , watch for the day when the sky brings a profound smoke . It will envelope the people ; this is a painful retribution , '' chapter 44 says . Birk pushes buttons with his interpretation : a diptych of a Manhattan street scene , smoke billowing from the World Trade Center . `` I knew I would have to bring up the Trade Center . Otherwise this project would have been disingenuous , '' Birk said . `` It was the crux of understanding of Islam for Americans . '' And the impetus for Birk 's undertaking . San Francisco gallery owner Catharine Clark knew the Sura 44 panel had the greatest potential to offend . She said she worried about reaction to the piece , but said there was nothing malicious about Birk 's intent . `` It was a tough piece , '' she said . `` But he 's not intending to upset anyone . '' Birk says he is not a deeply religious person . He has , however , established a reputation for tackling projects of epic proportions , including work that explored the Iraq war and Dante 's `` Divine Comedy . '' Clark said some Christian blogs have accused the artist of being an apologist for Islam . And Muslim reaction to his latest work has been mixed . Half of `` American Quran '' is at Clark 's gallery . The other 30 chapters are on display at the Koplin del Rio gallery in Culver City . But four miles down Washington Boulevard , the reviews are not good . Usman Madha , a spokesman for the King Fahad Mosque , the largest in Los Angeles County , said he had no plans to see Birk 's work . Madha could not even get past the title . `` American Quran is very misleading , '' Madha said . `` There is no such thing as an American Quran just as there is no European Quran or Asian Quran or Middle Eastern Quran . There is only one Quran . `` I am disheartened , '' he continued . `` It gives a wrong impression . '' Madha has heard about Birk 's vivid imagery . He said he understood the artist had good intentions and he respected freedom of expression . But he could not accept the idea of an illustrated Quran . That , he said , goes against the grain of of his religion . `` In Islam , we do n't have pictures . That becomes idolizing . And that is what we avoid , '' Madha said . Birk , however , does not plan to abandon his personal Quran project . He hopes to complete all 114 chapters by 2011 , painstakingly transcribing by hand each chapter taken from a 1861 English translation of the Quran and painting with gouache on 16-by-24-inch paper . He said his panels are not literal illustrations but highly personal meditations on the messages in the Quran . It was important to him that Americans recognized that Islamic scripture was no more strange , poetic , violent or beautiful than any other religious text ; that it was telling similar stories that are in the Bible . That 's a message people expect from scholars , peacemakers , even theologians but not necessarily from a California surfer dude .
Surfing waves in Indonesia , India , Morocco inspired Sandow Birk 's interest in Islam . 9/11 attacks led Birk to realize Americans knew very little about the Quran . He embarked on a project to paint all 114 suras ( chapters ) So far , he has completed 60 chapters of `` American Quran ''