Modern Scripturalism and Emergent Theological Trajectories: Moving Beyond the Qurʾan as Text

Abstract

This article explores how the hermeneutic prioritization of the Qurʾan or “modern scripturalism” has prompted a theological turn in the scholarly study of the Qurʾan within Western academe. The Muslim feminist exegetical discourse serves as a case study. First, I argue that this discourse is resonant with other modern scripturalist movements across the world, such as the Ahl-i-Qurʾan in South Asia. However, because the feminist exegetical discourse is located within the Euro-American academy, it is part of and contributes to the generation of a new academic discourse in which Muslim academics are engaging increasingly in a variety of constructive theological projects. With this development in mind, the article concludes with a prescriptive theological exploration of how the Qurʾan might be creatively re-conceptualized for modern Muslim theologies taking shape in Western academe.