How does the Qur'an depict the religious 'other'? Historically, this question has provoked extensive debate among Islamic scholars about the identity, nature, and status of the religious 'other.' Today, this debate assumes great importance because of the pervasive experience of …
The Islamic qas[dotbelow]s[dotbelow] (pl. qus[dotbelow]s[dotbelow]as[dotbelow] ) has been widely viewed as a teller of stories who gathered around him the uneducated public and filled their minds with fabulous stories while commenting on the Qur'an or while relating unreliable t…
This dissertation examines contemporary American Muslim exegesis of the Qur'an. I argue that local interpretations of the Qur'an are shaping a new Muslim culture of global importance, where English serves as a Muslim tongue and the Qur'an as an American sacred text. The disserta…
The Qur'an has been regarded as an anthropocentric text, in which humans occupy a privileged status in the hierarchy of beings. The idea that from a Qur'anic perspective humans are superior to other species is also reflected in various Islamic literatures. This perception is not…