This study analyses the commentaries of four Muslim intellectuals who have turned to scripture as a liberating text to confront an array of problems, from patriarchy, racism, and empire to poverty and interreligious communal violence. Shadaab Rahemtulla considers the exegeses of the South African Farid Esack (b. 1956), the Indian Asghar Ali Engineer (1939-2013), the African American Amina Wadud (b. 1952), and the Pakistani American Asma Barlas (b. 1950). Rahemtulla examines how these intellectuals have been able to expound this seventh-century Arabian text in a socially liberating way, addressing their own lived realities of oppression, and thus contexts that are worlds removed from that of the text's immediate audience. Through a close reading of their works, he underlines the importance of both the ethico-social content of the Qur'an and their usage of new and innovative reading practices. This work provides a rich analysis of the thought-ways of specific Muslim intellectuals, thereby substantiating a broadly framed school of thought. Rahemtulla draws out their specific and general importance without displaying an uncritical sympathy. He sheds light on the impact of modern exegetical commentary which is more self-consciously concerned with historical context and present realities. In a mutually reinforcing way, this work thus illuminates both the role of agency and hermeneutical approaches in modern Islamic thought.

About the Author
Shadaab Rahemtulla is Lecturer in Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at the University of Edinburgh. A Canadian Muslim of Indian descent, he received his doctorate in contemporary Islamic thought at the University of Oxford.

Reviews
a clear and concise piece of work that is easily accessible to readers without specialist knowledge of Islam, especially with the aid of the appended glossary. If only more academic publications could be so mercifully sparing in their use of unnecessary jargon and verbiage! * Mehmet Ciftci, University of Oxford, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations *
Rahemtulla writes well. His argument that the Qur'an has to be accessible for the layperson is exemplified by the layout of the book. He has taken (a lot of) material covered by the four [thinkers] and presents it in a cohesive, concise and thematic manner which makes it easy to compare their differing (and similar) positions. There is a lot to unpack in this book and this review doesn't do justice to its content. I highly recommend this book if you're looking for a Qur'anic exegesis that is off the beaten traditional track. Be sure to strap in, for it will shake up your belief system. * Aasiya Versi, The Muslim News *
"...Qur'an of the Oppressed is an insightful contribution to contemporary academic discussions about Islamic reformism and Muslim movements for justice. Rahemtulla engages with his material in a structured manner and with intellectual curiosity and generosity. Despite his sympathy for liberation theology he does not hold back from critique. Each time, his critique points- albeit at times implicitly-to potential ways of imagining and furthering liberation theology. * Religion and Gender *
Shadaab Rahemtulla's timely book helps to fill a substantial gap in contemporary Islamic writing in the area of Liberation Theology... Shadaab Rahemtulla has produced a scholarly and eminently readable text. For anyone concerned with how the Qur'an speaks to crucial contemporary issue -- gender equality, sexual orientation, race, poverty, patriarchy, economic injustice -- his work is going to prove indispensable. * Christopher P. Clohessy, Islamochristiana *
As this new monograph shows, Islamic liberation theology is ... an area that has not received as much attention as it deserves and continues to reward us with new insights into the complex picture of Muslim belief and practice in our time. Rahemtulla concentrates in particular on four contemporary Muslim intellectuals and undertakes a comparative study of how they read and employ the Qur'an ... his close analysis of how each reads the Qur'an in relation to particular concerns and political struggles yields a clear and concise piece of work that is easily accessible to readers without specialist knowledge of Islam, especially with the aid of the appended glossary. If only more academic publications could be so mercifully sparing in their use of unnecessary jargon and verbiage! * Mehmet Ciftci, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations *
For a world heartened by the rise of moderate Muslim voices calling for gender equity and respect for human rights, this is an important book. ... Qur'an of the Oppressed is illuminating and could be the effective centrepiece of a course on Human Rights in Islam, including works of the four writers considered here. * Janet M. Powers, Religion *
[This study] gives an in depth and yet very accessible analysis of 4 modern authors on the Qur'an: Farid Esack, Asma Barlas, Ashgar Ali Engineer and me. It not only introduces our work but contextualizes it and considers methods of modern Qur'an exegesis as it intersects with LIFE and faith. I would consider this a coherent introduction to the field of modern Qur'anic studies. It is thorough and also weaves in other reformist thinkers and post modernist scholars...Highly recommended. * Amina Wadud, Visiting Scholar at Starr King School for the Ministry *
Rahemtulla is to be thanked for providing a compelling analysis, within a specific tradition, of the wider task of interpreting an ancient religious text so that it speaks to the present with a liberating timbre and power without falling into apologetics or idealistic essentialism. * Franz Volker Greifenhagen, Reading Religion *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198820093
Author Shadaab Rahemtulla
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 370g
Dimensions(mm) 217mm * 143mm * 17mm