Higher seminar: Presentation of PhD project

Title: Hermeneutical conservatism and exegetical revisionism in the writings of Aḥmad Subḥī Manṣūr

Abstract: The hermeneutical considerations and implications within the Qurʾānist tendency in modern Islamic thought is a field that remains largely unexplored. In my forthcoming dissertation I will discuss these issues through the prism of the Qurʾān-alone movement in Egypt, with special attention devoted to the contemporary thinker Aḥmad Subḥī Manṣūr.

In my presentation I will argue that Aḥmad Subḥī Manṣūr has constructed a theoretical framework for the interpretation of Scripture that remains largely conservative in its conceptualization and epistemology. However, certain  axiomatic claims combined with a Qurʾānist reductionism of what can be considered to constitute Scripture nonetheless allows for a revisionist form of exegesis. An exegesis that is mainly utilized in the service of a liberal interpretation of the Qurʾān.

Please indicate your attendance by sending a note to the chair Jaqueline Berndt: jberndt@su.se

Erik Sundblad is a PhD candidate in Middle Eastern languages and cultures at Stockholm University.