Presentation

The Qurʾan Seminar is a research project organized by the International Qurʾanic Studies Association (IQSA). At the heart of the project is the collaborative study of selected Qurʾanic passages. Of particular interest to this study are the following questions:

1. The structure of the Qurʾan (its logical, rhetorical, and literary qualities, or naẓm)
2. The Qurʾan’s intertextual relationships (with both Biblical and other literary traditions)
3. The Qurʾan’s historical context in Late Antiquity

The methodology of the Seminar is Qurʾanist inasmuch as scholars are encouraged to address the Qurʾan directly and to not rely on classical exegesis as a lens through which to view the text.

The Qurʾan Seminar website has two principal elements. First, the website includes a database of passages of the Qurʾan with commentaries from a range of scholars. This database is meant to be a resource for students and specialists of the Qurʾan alike. The commentaries might be quoted and referenced by citing the corresponding url. Access to the Qurʾan Seminar website is open to all members of IQSA.

Second, the website includes an active forum in which additional Qurʾanic passages are discussed. At regular intervals the material on the forum will be saved and moved to the database, and new passages will be presented for discussion on the forum. As a rule the passages selected for discussion are meant to be long enough to raise a variety of questions for discussion, but short enough to lend that discussion coherence. Passages have also been selected with the following criteria in mind:

1. Passages on themes of central importance to the text itself
2. Passages which collectively represent a diversity of literary genres
3. Passages of interest to the academic field of Qurʾanic Studies

The beginning point for most new discussions is the annual meeting of IQSA, during which time sessions of the Qurʾan Seminar take place. As a rule the passages discussed during those sessions will be presented on the forum section of the Qurʾan Seminar website during the following year. Those interested in the Qurʾan Seminar are encouraged to submit proposals to participate in those sessions The Call for Papers is regularly announced in December, with the Annual Meeting taking place the following November (for more information on how to become a member of IQSA see http://iqsaweb.org).

For more information on the Qurʾan Seminar contact mehdi.azaiez@theo.kuleuven.be