The Word of God
authorship
structure
narrative elements
aesthetic effect of
recitation
compilation
variant texts
Satanic verses
Atlantic Monthly article
questioning text of Qur'an (Yemen manuscripts)
Privileging
fundamentalism: Newsweek article
primacy of Arabic
interpretation
legal source
religious meaning
Issues:
-- what is the relationship of the Qur'an to earlier texts?
-- is there a way to ask that question that does not assume current
theological identities?
-- how can one decide on the meaning of a particular text from the
Qur'an? can one privilege any of the following: original audience; some
later Sunni interpreter (example: Tabari); a Shi`i interpreter (Imam
Ja`far); a modern reformer (Sayyid Qutb); a terrorist (OBL); an
anti-Muslim commentator