Studying the Qur'an in the Muslim Academy examines what it is like to study and teach the Qur'an at academic institutions in the Muslim world, and how politics affect scholarly interpretations of the text. Guided by the author's own journey as a student, university lecturer, and researcher in Iran, Malaysia, and New Zealand, this book provides vivid accounts of the complex academic politics he encountered. Majid Daneshgar describes the selective translation and editing of Edward Said's classic work Orientalism into various Islamic languages, and the way Said's work is weaponized to question the credibility of contemporary Western-produced scholarship in Islamic studies. Daneshgar also examines networks of journals, research centers, and universities in both Sunni and Shia contexts, and looks at examples of Quranic interpretation there. Ultimately, he offers a constructive program for enriching Islamic studies by fusing the best of Western theories with the best philological practices developed in Muslim academic contexts, aimed at encouraging respectful but critical engagement with the Qur'an.

About the Author
Majid Daneshgar, Ph.D. is a Research Associate at the Orientalisches Seminar, University of Freiburg, Germany. He is also an alumnus of the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS), where he worked on textual censorship in Islamic literature. He is interested in method and theory in the study of religion, critical thinking theories, and Islamic intellectual and exegetical progress, as well as Malay Islamic studies. His publications include Islamic Studies Today (2016), The Qur'an in the Malay Indonesian World (2016), and Tantawi Jawhari and the Qur'an (2017).

Reviews
Approaches to the academic study of the Qur?an differ considerably. This is no surprise, but Majid Daneshgar shines light upon some of the most pressing differences observed through his experience in western institutions and those that are in Muslim majority countries. * Charles M. Ramsey, Mission Studies *
Daneshgar, like all authors, no doubt hopes that his book will generate discussion of the issues it raises and have an impact. ... It is a conversation that should be pursued. * Peter G. Riddell, Reading Religion *
Studying the Qur'an in the Muslim Academy offers a timely, vital, and much needed contribution to the field of Islamic studies... * Mohsen Feyzbakhsh, University of Tehran, Method and Theory in the Study of Religion *
Majid Daneshgar's Studying the Qur'an in the Muslim Academy...is a provocative work, to be sure. * Aaron W. Hughes, University of Rochester, Method and Theory in the Study of Religion *
In general, this book delivers an important invitation to rethink Qur'anic studies, and Islamic studies in a broader sense, in the Muslim world.... I am hopeful that this book sparks this much needed and productive conversation in the future. * Lien Iffah Naf'atu Fina, University of Chicago Divinity School, Method and Theory in the Study of Religion *
This provocative study combines the intellectual autobiography of a scholar schooled in Qum, Kuala Lumpur, and Otago with a close look at the culture of Qur'anic studies in Muslim universities. * Jane McAuliffe, Georgetown University *
In this fascinating study, Daneshgar...deftly navigates the impasse between Western and Muslim scholarship on the Qur'an. * Aaron W. Hughes, University of Rochester *
This insightful analysis of 'Islamic apologetics,' from a first-hand witness, is an invaluable testimony on the current intellectual debates in the Islamic world, particularly in South-East Asia and Iran. * Guillaume Dye, Free University of Brussels (ULB) *



Book Information
ISBN 9780190067540
Author Majid Daneshgar
Format Hardback
Page Count 200
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 482g
Dimensions(mm) 242mm * 161mm * 19mm