The Quran is indecipherable and interpreted to justify violence.
The Quran has conveys its message in different styles, from short rhyming verses to long verses, explaining God and His attributes, the relationship with God, the Hereafter, and with exhortations, warnings, analogies, metaphors, parables, stories of prophets and their nations, commands, and legislation on range of subjects. It is comparable in style and content to the Sermon on the Mount delivered by Jesus. As the Quran says in Sura/Chapter 54 Al-Qamar, verses 17, 22, 32 and 40
"And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember: then is there any that will receive admonition?".
The Quran is also easy to memorize, and the entire Quran has been memorized from the time of its revelation to Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, and by his Companions, and since then till now, by hundreds of thousands of Muslims. The entire Quran is recited from memory by a "hafiz" in the mosques during Ramadan in the Tarawih worship service. The memorization of the entire scripture by many is unique to the Quran, and guarantees its accuracy and purity till the Day of Judgment.
The basics and essential matters are covered in the Quran in a straightforward manner, and more complex matters, like ijihad and usury, obviously require a more complex treatment.
The verses on a topic were usually revealed on different occasions, and are usually distributed amongst several chapters. This makes it difficult enough for a casual reader to fully comprehend the matter, but a serious scholar would be able to locate and understand the verses, even though it would still be challenging for even the scholar.
There are three types of verses in the Quran, the clear, direct verses, the metaphorical verses, and the ones only God knows the meaning. The learned scholars will avoid trying to interpret the metaphorical and the unknowable types of verses, but the ignorant and those with bad intent will try to interpret them.
Sura 3 Aale-Imran:
7. He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: in it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical seeking discord and searching for its hidden meanings but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord"; and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.
The verses of the Quran are explained and their meaning made by other verses of the Quran, and supplemented by the hadith or sayings of Prophet Muhammad.
Sura 11 Hud
1. Alif Lam Ra. (This is) a Book with verses basic or fundamental (of
established meaning) further explained in detail from One Who is Wise and
Well-Acquainted (with all things):
It does require knowledge, intelligence, logic, reasoning and wisdom to understand and appreciate the Quran. The ignorant and foolish will have difficulty in understanding the Quran, and it takes time to comprehend, to use logic and reasoning, and some of the verses require wisdom to appreciate. But the Quran is not incomprehensible or indecipherable. The works of Shakespeare would be incomprehensible and indecipherable to a child in the first grade, less so to a high school student, while a college professor of English literature will be able to understand and even expound the meanings. Those with the equivalent of a first grade level of knowledge and understanding, and unwilling to learn and think, will find the Quran indecipherable.
There is also apparent ambiguity in some verses, that one with knowledge and sincere intent will interpret one way and one without knowledge and bad intent will interpret in an incorrect way. This is similar in some respects to how half a glass of water is interpreted by a pessimist, who would say it is half empty, and an optimist, who would say it is half full.
The Quran is thus a test of the mind, its knowledge, intelligence, reasoning, and of the heart, its sincerity and purity. The foolish and the mischief makers can read into the verses of the Quran a contradictory meaning, and their doing so reflects their state of mind and heart. However, the true and correct meaning is known to the learned scholars of Islam. On some very complex matters, there are differences in the interpretations of the learned scholars, reflecting the complexity of the matter and the Quran itself. It is said that fools jump in where angels fear to tread, and this is true in regard to interpreting the Quran on complex matters, and even in some seemingly simple matters.
Can Muslims or non-Muslims misunderstand or misinterpret the Quran? Certainly, and some of the misinterpretations can be termed as "liberal" while others "extremist". The misunderstandings and misinterpretations are used by Muslims and non-Muslims to push their agenda, be they "liberal" or "extremist" Muslims, or "fundamentalist evangelist" Christians. This is similar to some Christians using the Bible to justify slavery and racism in the U.S., and extreme militia groups in the US misinterpreting the U.S. Constitution to attack the federal government, like Timothy McVeigh. In the U.S. Constitution, the "right to bear arms" can be misinterpreted by extremist militias. As with misinterpretations of the Bible and the U.S. Constitution, the true message of the Quran is not sullied by misinterpretations and misrepresentations. It is read, understood and interpreted correctly by learned scholars of Islam. For example, in the matter of jihad and war as interpreted by learned scholars, the Quran requires a nation to be militarily strong for self defense and to deter aggressors and stop oppression, but forbids Muslims from committing aggression and oppression. Misinterpretations by terrorist Muslims, and fundamentalist evangelist Christians, that the Quran promotes violence are equally invalid.
Unlike other miracles of which people have only second hand knowledge, the Quran is unique in that it can be personally experienced by anyone, from the time of its revelation till the Day of Judgment. Those who have read and understood enough of the Quran may recognize it as a miracle, if one has the mental capacity to understand and a heart that has not hardened. Why does not everyone who reads the Quran recognize it as such? When Moses demonstrated the staff that turned into a serpent, the magicians believed in the God of Moses, because they had the knowledge to recognize that such a transformation was beyond human capability, and their hearts were open to God. Pharoah, witnessing the same miraculous transformation, refused to believe his eyes because his heart was hard and closed. Even those who personally experience a miracle, like the ten lepers whom Jesus healed (Luke 17:11-19), do not all progress to faith.
World English Bible: Luke 17:11-19
17:11 It happened as he was on his way to Jerusalem, that he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. 17:12 As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance. 17:13 They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 17:14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” It happened that as they went, they were cleansed. 17:15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. 17:16 He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. 17:17 Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 17:18 Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?” 17:19 Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.”
Whether or not a person comes to belief after reading and understanding the Quran is between the individual and God, based on the exercise of freewill by the person, and is held accountable by God for choosing belief or disbelief. The challenge of the Quran to every thinking, sincere person, is read it and exercise your knowledge, intelligence and freewill to decide if it is the truth from God or not.