God’s Other Book : The Qurʾān Between History and Ideology

Abstract

In God’s Other Book, Mohammad Salama presents a powerful critique of the ways we study and analyze early Islam and its sacred text, filling a glaring hole in our understanding of this formative environment. Interrogating the ideological framework of late antiquity, Salama exposes hidden assumptions that prevent scholars from truly placing Islam in its sociohistorical and cultural milieu. He offers an alternative theoretical and practical model focused on pre-Islamic Arabic cultural production. Foregrounding the indigenous Arab community of seventh-century Hijaz, Salama demonstrates how the Qurʼān played an organic role in commenting on, interacting with, and taking sides concerning matters of ethnicity, ethics, dress codes, and social habits. Only with renewed attention to the Qurʼān itself can Western readers engage ethically with Islamic studies and with the cultures and traditions of those who live according to another book. “This book is bold, timely, and uncompromising, demanding to be read carefully for its erudite argument. Through ample evidence, a reimagined interpretive frame, and analytical acumen, Salama offers insights into the irony of Western scholarship on the Qurʼān: its effort to draw the Muslim scripture into a late antique landscape overlooks reading practices sensitive to the text’s agency and indigeneity.” — Asad Q. Ahmed, Magistretti Distinguished Professor of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at University of California, Berkeley “In showing why the Qurʼān must be seen as an authentically Arabian and truly revolutionary literary accomplishment, Salama provides a welcome corrective to Euro-American Qurʼānic studies. A milestone in the field.” — Stefan Sperl, Professor Emeritus of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies at SOAS, University of London