Der Koran. Primus Verlag Gmbh, Darm- Stadt, 1999

411 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – ARABICA - ISLAM 412 ARABICA - ISLAM ZIRKER, Hans — Der Koran. Primus Verlag GmbH, Darm- stadt, 1999. (21 cm, X, 230). ISBN 3-89678-121-9. DM 39,80/sFr 37,-. Hans Zirker’s Der Koran: Zugänge und Lesarten is a thoughtful, if somewhat eccentric, study of the Qur}an by a Catholic theologian for a Catholic readership. That Zirker’s analytical framework is rooted in his Catholicism does not necessarily preclude scholarly preoccupations, but it does raise the question of where his work might fit in the academic study of Islam. His approach to the study of the Qur}an is informed by three questions that he believes to be funda- mental to a Christian appreciation of the Qur}an: how are Christians addressed in the Qur}an; given the role of the Qur}an in the historical activity of the Church, how can an understanding of the Qur}an contribute to Christian self-interpretation; and finally (more argument than question) the analysis of Islam must be rooted in an objective (sachgerecht) understanding of the Qur}an (pp. 1-2). This last argument is admirable, if also banal considering the modern study of Islam; how it applies to Zirker’s endeavors is decidedly obscure. The growing importance of interfaith dialogue to the mission of the Catholic Church unquestionably finds its modern day impetus in the declarations of the Vatican II Council of 1965, particularly, with regard to Islam, Article 3 of the Nostra Aetate. Zirker takes as his point of departure three possible interpretations of the Council’s (intentionally vague?) statement on Islam, which is essentially a procla- mation of “esteem” for Muslims that emphasizes mutual tenets and downplays differences, especially the differing views of Jesus. The most damaging interpretation, to Zirker’s mind, is that the Council acknowledges the Muslim belief in the Revelation of God only insofar as it accords with Bibli- cal beliefs. The two other possible interpretations are that if the Qur}an is considered Revelation, it may also be accorded the status of the Word of God, or the vague nature of the Council’s findings might simply be an admission that the Church lacks the jurisdiction to proclaim on the status of the Qur}an (pp. 17-20). The program of action that Zirker constructs from his rumination on the Council’s statements is, however, most peculiar. He argues that a proper understanding of the Qur}an 413 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LVII N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 2000 414 cannot emerge from “the unbiased sobriety… of the critical Zirker concludes by outlining the “Bases for Christian study of the history of religions and literature” but only from assessment” in Chapter V. Here he opts for the third inter- a faith-based approach (p. 20). Such a pronouncement under- pretation of the Vatican II Council’s statement on Islam, i.e. mines Zirker’s call for an “objective” study of the Qur}an it falls outside the authority of the Church to decide on the but it also has the unfortunate effect of excluding his work significance of the Qur}an (p. 185). Ultimately, a Christian from serious academic review. Zirker’s readings in the reading of the Qur}an serves only Christians in their engage- Qur}an are further articulated by his insistence that the ment with their own faith. The “Theology of Religions” Qur}an be a “universal Book” the preconditions for reading school of Christian theology, in its efforts toward interfaith which cannot be informed solely by the reader’s adherence dialogue, allows for two options in confronting other reli- to Islam. To stress the universal nature of the Qur}anic mes- gions. Zirker outlines these options as “inclusivist theology” sage is reasonable. But Zirker also argues that “a reading of and “pluralist theology” respectively (pp. 186-7). The for- the Qur}an that does not stem from the hermeneutical pre- mer assesses the truth of another religion in terms of the cor- suppositions of the Islamic understanding of revelation… respondences its beliefs have with Christian views (“mutual might view the differences [between Islam and Christianity] theologizing”); the latter recognizes each religion as a valid as reconcilable” (p. 25); to engage in this Christian exege- response to revelation (“mutual appreciation”). Zirker argues sis does not require the consent of Muslim theology (ib.). that neither is satisfactory, but stops short of suggesting The problems faced by a Christian in reading the Qur}an are another. The vague exhortation to the Christian reader to not superfluous; not the least are the Qur}anic claim to super- study the Qur}an attentively and perhaps in very specific sede earlier scriptures and the reduction of the role of Jesus ways approach it as the Word of God (p. 189) is conserva- to prophet. Rather than grapple with these issues, Zirker tive and even admirable, but mostly echoes the cautious state- advocates a hermeneutical approach to the Qur}an that is con- ments of Vatican II. sciously and outspokenly at odds with the Muslim under- Zirker’s work, because of his explicitly stated aims and his standing of revelatory scripture. The deconstructionist ten- Catholic presuppositions, cannot form a part of an introduc- dencies in Zirker’s interpretations of the Qur}an appear to be tory curriculum to the study of the Qur}an in the various dis- directly related to his explicit attempt to avoid confronting ciplines of the humanities, but if there is such a thing as a those problems. By removing his exegesis from the social secular humanistic study of religion that is non-reductionist, and historical contexts in which the Qur}an is and must be Zirker’s work might form part of the material for an anthro- situated, Zirker can re-invent the meanings of the text in iso- pological or sociological study of emergent theories of dia- lation. This is at the heart of his advocacy of the Freiheit der logue in post-Vatican II Catholic environments. Otherwise it Leser, the model for which Zirker finds in the controversial is best left to its intended Christian readership. and marginal theories of the modern literary critic NaÒr Îamid Abu Zayd (pp. 181-184). By not confronting the Yale University David C. REISMAN problematic elements of the Qur}an’s portrayal of Jesus and December 1999 of Christians, Zirker presumably believes he is doing a ser- vice to the larger goal of interfaith dialogue. What results, ** however, is an exegesis of a non-existent or at least wholly * transformed scripture. Zirker’s re-invention of the Qur}an as deconstructed text TALMON, Rafael — Arabic Grammar in its Formative Age. and his preoccupations as a Christian reader presumably (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics, XXV). E.J. determined the thematic arrangement of his readings. His Brill Publishers N.V., Leiden, 1997. (24 cm, X, 437). ISBN choices of themes to address are not unjustifiable but they do 90-04-10812-2; ISSN 0081-8461. Nlg. 218.00/US$ appear to be wholly uninformed by the centuries of Muslim 136.25. exegesis brought to bear on the Qur}an, and so miss elements of characterization and interpretation that should find a place Al-Îalil b. AÌmad is certainly one of the more enigmatic in the modern study of the Qur}an. For instance, Chapter II, early medieval Islamic scholars. Medieval biographers were “God’s Scripture in the world of signs” (pp. 26-50) lacks unable even to verify the approximate date of his death, entirely a discussion of the theory of i{gaz, or the inimitabil- although we know it was some time during the second half ity of the Qur}an, which has made of the Qur}an the central of the 2nd century A.H. His significant contribution to a num- “sign” of MuÌammad’s prophetic mission in both theologi- ber of important fields of adab, however — prosody, lexi- cal and literary works of Islamic culture. Chapter III, “Rev- cography and grammar — has never been in doubt. Modern elation as Communication” (pp. 51-102) draws superficially scholarship has been fascinated with this character since the upon speech-act theories and the by now (if only!) discred- early part of the 20th century A.D. but until recently this inter- ited literary obfuscations of Ferdinand de Saussure. Chapter est had not culminated in many major studies of him. Rafael IV, “Cosmic Order according to the framework of the Book” Talmon’s work under review here is certainly one of the most (pp. 103-174) surveys the geography, time, actors, religious comprehensive monographs even to be written about al-Îalil obligations and eschatology of the scriptural world. Through- b. AÌmad. out, Zirker presents extracts of the received German transla- This work is an addition to the prestigious and valuable tions of the Qur}an (listed on p. 209), followed by his analy- series of works entitled Studies in Semitic Languages and sis. The highly developed hermeneutical theories of Biblical Linguistics. It contains four main chapters and two appen- criticism may have served in an interesting manner as sub- dices. Talmon sets out with the main premise that the Kitab stitute for those of the Islamic tradition, but they are wholly al-{Ayn (henceforth KA), which is generally held to be the absent from Zirker’s exegesis. His methods and findings are first comprehensive Arabic dictionary, is as valuable for the uniquely his own. grammatical information and data it contains as it is for its 415 BOEKBESPREKINGEN – ARABICA - ISLAM 416 lexicographical richness which makes it the most important also those who require access to almost any facts about al- dictionary of the early period, and maybe one of the most Îalil’s life and career.

Load more