Saeed (Abdullah) -ed.-, Approaches to the Qur’an in Contemporary Indonesia, Oxford, Oxford University Press/Institute of Ismaili Studies, ("Qur’anic Studies Series"), 2005, 336 p. ISBN 9780197200018

The author

Abdullah Saeed, Sultan of Oman Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies and Director of the Centre for the Study of Contemporary Islam, University of Melbourne

Presentation

This compilation for an English-speaking readership of writing by Muslim intellectuals demonstrates the variety of ways in which the Qur’an is studied in contemporary Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country. The thirteen essays come from established and emerging scholars and address topics such as new methods of approaching the Qur’an, Islamic law reform, human rights, inter-faith relations, the struggle by women for equal rights, and the use or misuse of Qur’anic symbols. They reflect the interests and approaches of a new generation of Indonesian Muslim scholars who seek guidance from the religious texts within a contemporary context. The writings represent a creative effort to project new ideas and to affirm that Islam and the Qur’an are in a broad sense compatible with the aspirations of Indonesian Muslims today. This volume of essays is the first to demonstrate the variety of scholarship on the Qur’an in the English language.

Content

Introduction , Abdullah Saeed The Methodology of Tafsir and Access to the Qur’an , Dawam Rahardjo Hamka’s Method of Interpreting the Legal Verses of the Qur’an: A Study of his Tafsir Al-Azhar , Milhan Yusuf A Contextual Approach to the Interpretation of Qur’an , Taufik Adnan Amal and Samsu Rizal Panggabean Purposive Exegesis: A Study of Quraish Shihab’s Paradigm of Qur’anic Interpretation , Kusmana and Muhammadiyah Amin The Social Relations of Inter-Religious Believers: Muhammadiyah’s Thematic Exegesis of Qur’anic Teachings , M. Amin Abdullah Indonesian Interpretation of ’The Verse of Bequests’ , Ratno Lukito Punishment in Islamic Penal Law: A Reinterpretation of its Implementation for the Fornicator and the Thief , K. H. Ibrahim Hosen Indonesian Muslim Women’s Movement and the Issue of Polygamy: ’Aisyiyah Interpretation of Qur’an 4:3 , Ro’fah The Tax for the People: Tax with the Spirit of Zakat , Masdar Farid Mas’udi Controversy around H. B. Jassin’s Appreciation of the Qur’an: A Study of his ’Al-Qur’an Al-Karim Bacaan Mulia and Al-Qur’an Berwajah Puisi’ , Yusuf Rahman The Qur’anic Principle of Pluralism and Peace , Nurcholish Madjid The Use and Abuse of Qur’anic Verses in Contemporary Indonesian Politics , Azyumardi Azra The Qur’an and Five Aspects of Education

(Source : Oxford University Press)