Machine summary:
From the beginning, this non-Muslim author highlights the diversity of approaches and manages to present accessible “insider’s” views.
Close readings continue with two feminist approaches by Asma Barlas and Kecia Ali. Barlas, whose methodology for reading scripture is shared by this reviewer, states: “How the text speaks to you depends on what ques- tions you’re asking it” (p.
It should be encouraging to all read- ings that the record of the author’s conversation with Barlas includes the Biblical story (Genesis 22), which supports her assertion that our scriptures are interconnected.
As a Christian reviewer, it is worth pointing out that the person of Mary is more developed in the Qur’an than the Bible, for the former often contains additional elements that do not appear in the latter.
9:5 (one of the “kill verses” so beloved of ex- tremists and those who have a problem with Islam), that it is “one of the most misunderstood verses of the Qur’an and so it offers an excellent opportunity for exploring an appropriate methodology for reading the Qur’an” (p.
Part 6, “Justice,” reflects the strong Qur’anic (and Biblical) theme on this subject.
Amina Wadud, a Muslim scholar well worth reading and listening to, contributed an essay on “Intimacy and Compassion,” a theme that she sees in Q.
” He describes how the Qur’an is addressed both to the Prophet and to each of its readers: “It’s intimately part of the Prophet’s life, yet when I read it, it speaks to me.