Muslim Qur’anic Interpretation Today - Media, Genealogies and Interpretive Communities - Johanna Pink
Clashes and Fault Lines
Muslim Qur’anic Interpretation Today - Media, Genealogies and Interpretive Communities - Johanna Pink
Johanna Pink [+]
University of Freiburg
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Description
Qurʾānic interpretation today is steeped in conflict. That conflict is often embedded in and caused by complex power relations on the local and global level. The legitimacy of specific approaches to the Qurʾān and of its authors is often fiercely contested. This chapter examines some of the causes of such conflicts. Some clashes over Qurʾānic interpretation arise from the way in which certain themes – first and foremost that of gender relations – are framed today, others from claims of individuals, institutions and states to religious authority and a monopoly on the religious discourse. The chapter concludes with a discussion of a new trend that subverts the battle over the true meaning of the Qurʾān by promoting subjectivity and calling into question the possibility of ever attaining certitude over the Qurʾān’s message.