Between God and History

This book examines the political nature of contemporary Muslim Qur'?n Hermeneutics. In particular, it examines how a historical view of scripture - developed and canonized in a Western academic context - is debated by Muslim thinkers today. I argue that methodological discussions about the Qur'?n are used to negotiate farther-reaching ethical concerns, both societal and political. They hence offer a window into socio-religious change today. Proponents of historical hermeneutics often consider them universally applicable - as a remedy for the partialities of tradition and a vehicle for progress. They interpret any opposition in binary categories: modern-premodern, outsider-insider, objective-subjective. Viewing the Qur'?n as a political object, however, sheds new light on these debates. The author contends that reading the Qur'?n as literature or as a historical document does not merely hinge on method or qur'?nic ontology but also on conceptions of human nature. Dissonances regarding epistemology and human nature lead to different sensibilities vis-à-vis the Qur'?n. Examining in detail debates over historical Qur'?n hermeneutics is meant to discern ways for a rapprochement between Western academic and Islamic qur'?nic studies.