Locating the Qur’an in the Epistemic Space of Late Antiquity

Why do we need a scholarly reading of the qur’an? not perhaps for the sake of a spiritually deeper muslim understanding. but maybe for the sake of reclaiming the qur’an’s universal significance, to remind of its message as raḥmatan li’l-ālamīn, as addressed ultimately to all mankind. and perhaps, most importantly, for preserving its integrity, correcting present misconceptions. the scholarly reading of the qur’an today then is a politically relevant task. in the following, i wish to highlight what is presently at stake in qur’anic studies, what are the pitfalls we have to beware of and how we can break a path through the thicket of contradicting scholarly positions in order to restore the image of the qur’an as a text that concerns culturally and religiously committed individuals in general.