How to Do Things With Words

(1973). The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age, 1300–1600. History: Reviews of New Books: Vol. 1, No. 7, pp. 152-153.

The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age, 1300–1600

........................................................................................................................ i SAMENVATTING .............................................................................................................ii ÖZET ................................................................................................................................. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ vi ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1 – Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Thesis, objectives and methodology ...................................................................... 2 1.2 Contextual missiology, comparative theology, Biblical and Qur’anic interpretation. ............................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Preview of chapters .............................................................................................. 15 1.4 Possible benefits................................................................................................... 18 PART ONE: ABRAHAMIC DIALOGUE AND WORLDVIEW DISSONANCE .......... 21 Chapter 2 – Interfaith and interscriptural Abrahamic dialogue ......................................... 21 2.1 Interfaith Abrahamic dialogue ............................................................................. 21 2.2 Interscriptural Abrahamic dialogue. .................................................................... 35 2.3 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 46 Chapter 3 – A model for Christian-Muslim narrative and worldview comparison ........... 47 3.1 Narrative and Worldview ..................................................................................... 47 3.2 Limitations of a worldview approach .................................................................. 51 3.3 Christian and Muslim worldviews ....................................................................... 55 3.4 Worldview Polarities comparison ........................................................................ 71 3.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 101 Appendix 3.1 Biblical story-summary passages ...................................................... 102 Appendix 3.2 Prophets named in the Qur’an ........................................................... 103 PART TWO: UNDERSTANDING ABRAHAM ........................................................... 105 Chapter 4 – Understanding the Genesis Abraham narrative ............................................ 106 4.1 Abraham in the Hebrew Scriptures outside the main narrative ......................... 106 4.2 Presuppositions regarding Biblical narrative ..................................................... 108 4.3 The Abraham narrative (Genesis 11:27–25:11) ................................................. 110 4.4 Link with the following narrative ...................................................................... 141 4.5 Summary of primary themes .............................................................................. 143 4.6 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 147 Chapter 5 – New Testament use of Abraham .................................................................. 149 5.1 NT use of the OT – preliminary comments ....................................................... 149 5.2 NT use of Abraham ............................................................................................ 155

/pdf/abraham-in-narrative-worldviews-doing-comparative-theology-3hj5wxtvls.pdf

Abraham in Narrative Worldviews: Doing Comparative Theology through Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Turkey

Ijtihad and its relevance to Muslims in Australia

Interpretation of the meanings of the noble Qur'ān in the English language : a summarized version of At-Tabarî, Al-Qurtubî, and Ibn Kathîr with comments from Ṣaḥîḥ Al-Bukhârî

Avustralya'da muslumanlarin tarihi uzerine - on the history of Muslims in Australia

https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/8/574/pdf

Religion as an Authoritarian Securitization and Violence Legitimation Tool: The Erdoğanist Diyanet’s Framing of a Religious Movement as an Existential Threat

The main subject of this thesis is twofold. On the one hand it analyses how the Qur'an presents stories, on the other hand it examines the classical Muslim commentators' response to the Qur'anic narration.

In part one we remark that the theory that the Qur'an borrowed extensively from the Bible has clouded the vision of many Western scholars. They explained the Qur'anic narratives in accordance with their preconceptions; only a few emancipated themselves from this prejudice, but some of these scholars were sensitive to the literary qualities of the Qur'anic narrative. Adopting their general approach to the Qur'anic narrative we analyse the Qur'anic narrative of the 'golden calf' episode. Here we invite the reader to step into the textual world of the Qur'an in order to appreciate its otherness. At the same time we try to show the internal coherence among the verses (and also among the surahs) to remove the assumption of the incoherence of the Qur'an which has veiled much of its literary excellence from view. In addition, this study gives us an opportunity to appreciate one of the most neglected aspects of the Qur'anic narratives, namely the relationship between the oral recitation and the written characters of the Qur'an. The written text lacks the contextual richness provided by the oral dimension for it cannot convey intonation, emphasis, and so on, but the transcription of the spoken word displays the relationship of sound and meaning within
the surahs or verses together with special emphasis upon phonological effects.

The first chapter of part two is designed to provide a general overview of the notion of isra'iliyyat, taking into account the opinions held by both Muslim and non-
Muslim authorities. We raise two important questions regarding this technical term

When did the technical term isra'iliyyat come into general use?

Who first used it critically?

To answer these questions we analyse the commentaries of eight exegetes together with some qisas works on the 'golden calf and 'heavenly table' episodes. It is clear
that, in contrast to the view held by many Muslim and non-Muslim scholars, the technical usage of this term is a late development. Another important conclusion derived from our analysis of classical exegesis is that the commentators who use this term themselves depend on isra'iliyyat in several respects. In other words, their theory,is not in agreement with their practice. Furthermore, there are commentators who do not use the term isra'iliyyat and consistently seek to distance themselves from these reports. They also try to minimise the amount of these reports in their tafsir. According to this research, Ibn Atiyya was the first to pay more attention to the implausibility of this type of report, two centuries before Ibn Kathir's critical exegesis.

Qur'anic narrative and Isra'iliyyat in Western scholarship and in classical exegesis

In a restricted sense, the term isrāʾīliyyāt applies to the traditions and reports that contain elements of the legendary and religious literature of Jews and Christians, but more inclusively and more commonly it also refers to Zoroastrian and other Near Eastern elements, including folklore. In other words, all foreign (non-Islamic) elements used to interpret the Qur'an are called isrāʾīliyyāt. Muslims have used biblical and other sources in their interpretation of the Qur'an (and sometimes still do). This article will deal with questions such as how non-Islamic materials have been utilized in Islamic sources – and whether it is possible to use the Qur'an and other Islamic sources equally in the exegesis of the Bible. In other words, is it possible to develop a notion of islāmiyyāt, similar to the notion of isrāʾīliyyāt? In what ways can the usage of Islamic sources in the exegesis of the Bible contribute to Muslim–Christian and Muslim–Jewish dialogue?

Reading the Bible in the light of Muslim sources: from isrāʾīliyyāt to islāmiyyāt

The Qur'an's understanding by Muslims has shaped their communal interfaith perceptions. This article selects the various Qur'anic verses that have influenced Muslims in relating to people of faiths other than their own. The prime concern of this paper is to show how even the Qur'anic verses that might sound harsh to the ears of other faith groups can be read with sensitivity and understanding in the modern world. To accomplish this, the article provides an historical analysis of the relevant Qur'anic verses together with some current discussions on the issue. The Qur'an, speaking generally, seems more germane to cultural and social plurality than to theological pluralism or dogmatic syncretism. In addition, the Qur'an considers doing good - or competing in doing good - as vital in the life of people of different faith groups. Nonetheless, the Qur'an accepts the People of the Book as they are and does not close the door to their exercise of religious freedom. Introduction This paper deals with two issues: How does the Qur'an present the People of the Book in both the Makkan and the Madinan surahs and how have the Muslims understood the relevant passages in contemporary and precontemporary times. Although it is difficult to do full justice to this important and complex subject within the confines of an article, I will start by studying the attitude of the pre-Islamic Arabs towards those whom the Qur'an calls the People of the Book the attitude as reflected in the Qur'an, in the pre-contemporary tafsir works, and finally in the writings of Muslim scholars in our own time. This will be followed by a general reappraisal of the subject. To start with, it is important to note that the concept of Ahl al-Kitab (the People of the Book) in the Qur'an is characterised by a degree of lack of rigidity and an overall attitude of amity and even a degree of respect. Generally speaking, the expression began to be used in the late Makkan and continued to be used in the Madinan surahs and occurs thirty-one times in the Qur'an as a whole. Besides this expression, there are also other expressions by which the Qur'an refers to the People of the Book, such as alladhina utu 'l-kitab (those who have received the Book),1 ataynahum al-kitab (those unto whom We have given the Book),2 utu nasiban min al-kitab (those who were given a portion of the Book),3 wa awrathna 'l-kitab/alladhina urithu 'l-kitab (We gave the Book as inheritance unto those/those who were made to inherit the Book),4 wa man 'indahu 'ilm al-kitab (whosoever has [true] knowledge of the Book),5 alladhina yaqra'un al-kitab (those who read the Book),6 fa'salu ahl al-dhikr (ask the followers of the Remembrance).7 Since a special status has been conferred on the People of the Book in the Qur'an, they are also addressed in it by other titles. The Qur'an names the Jewish people as yahud,8 hudan,9 alladhina hadu10 and banu Isra'il.11 The term nasara, which refers exclusively to Christians in the Qur'an, is mentioned fourteen times.12 This term regularly occurs together with the expression yahud and its derivates in the Qur'an. Besides this common term, an interesting expression is used to address the Christians, namely ahl al-Injil (the People of the Gospel).13 The name hawariyyun is mentioned five times in the Qur'an, for the followers of Jesus (peace be on him) during his lifetime, all of them occurring in the Madinan surahs.14 Furthermore, the Qur'an mentions two other groups, the Sabeans15 in three places and the Zoroastrians (Majus) in one place.16 Although the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) had no personal contact with the Sabeans, there is a hadith that the Zoroastrians should be accorded the status of the People of the Book.17 However, most scholars have regarded both Sabeans and Zoroastrians as dhimmis of the Muslim state. In brief, the boundaries of ahl al-kitab in the Qur'an are not clearly defined but it is safe to assume that a distinct status is generally given to the Jews and Christians due to their religious beliefs. …

Ismail Albayrak

Papers

Avustralya'da muslumanlarin tarihi uzerine - on the history of Muslims in Australia

Religion as an Authoritarian Securitization and Violence Legitimation Tool: The Erdoğanist Diyanet’s Framing of a Religious Movement as an Existential Threat

Qur'anic narrative and Isra'iliyyat in Western scholarship and in classical exegesis

Reading the Bible in the light of Muslim sources: from isrāʾīliyyāt to islāmiyyāt

The People of the Book in the Qur'an