&gt; but it&#x27;s hard to accuse someone of &quot;misinterpreting&quot; something because they follow its literal meaning.<p>Not so hard actually. A correct interpretation of a work is to discern what the author actually intended to communicate.  If I say to a coworker &quot;a meteor is about to strike earth, wiping out all life unless we do something about it&quot; and the listener interprets what I say to be a metaphor (perhaps they think that I am trying to  say simply that the project we are working on is in danger of falling apart) they may or may not be correct.  If I work at an accounting firm, the statement is probably metaphorical; if I work at NASA, probably not.<p>In any case, determining the meaning of a text depends upon the genre, and to understand that you need context.  The main issue that most Christian traditions have with literalists is that they try to interpret the texts without any of the original context, or without any acknowledgement that the Bible is an anthology of different books written by different authors for different purposes.<p>&gt;It similarly seems incorrect to say ISIS is &quot;misinterpreting Islam&quot; by reading the Koran literally. It may not be the popular interpretation, and it may not be a pleasant interpretation, but that doesn&#x27;t mean it&#x27;s an incorrect interpretation.<p>You&#x27;re right, it may be a correct interpretation.  Understanding the correct interpretation of Islamic texts is important for those deciding how to approach the spread of violent Islamic teachings.  Should it be left to Islamic religious leaders who can leverage Islamic texts to spread a more peaceful (and accurate) teaching, or should the focus be to discredit Islam from the outside?<p>&gt; &quot;Your interpretation of the Bible is wrong&quot; has no more validity than &quot;Your choice of religion is wrong&quot; in general.<p>Any given religious text was written by a human being to convey a set of ideas an claims.  It is no less valid to talk about a correct interpretation of religious texts than it is to talk about the correct interpretation of any other text.