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- Title
Interpreting the Qur'an in the US: Religious Pluralism, Tradition, and Context.
- Authors
Howe, Justine
- Abstract
In the contemporary US, religious pluralism has profoundly shaped the ways that American Muslims read and interpret the Qur'an in their daily lives. In particular, they face increasing pressure to affirm, through Qur'anic interpretation, that Islam recognises Judaism and Christianity as salvific faiths and to downplay Islamic claims to superiority. Through a case study of a US Qur'anic study group, this article explores how American Muslims appropriate and contest the logic of pluralism through their interpretations of the Qur'an. Seeking to affirm ecumenicism in the Qur'an, this group of American Muslims appropriated the asbāb al-nuzūl ('circumstances of revelation') under the rubric of 'context' in order to make the case for the commensurability of Islam and religious pluralism, even as they vigorously disagreed about the terms under which those circumstances could be applied. The ethnographic dialogues presented here demonstrate not only the rich and vibrant hermeneutics that contemporary Muslims bring to the Qur'an, but also the ways that pluralism both opens up and restricts forms of religious engagement.
- Subjects
QUR'AN; RELIGIOUS diversity; JUDAISM; ISLAMIC sacred books; RELIGIOUS differences
- Publication
Journal of Qur'anic Studies, 2016, Vol 18, Issue 3, p34
- ISSN
1465-3591
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3366/jqs.2016.0249