Approaches to the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍Muslims believe that the Holy 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 contains divine revelations to the Prophet Muhammed received in Mecca and Medina over a period of 23 years in the early 7th century CE. More in Contemporary Iran explores the importance of the reception of the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 in the religious, intellectual, political and artistic discourses in modern and contemporary Iran, from the nineteenth century to the present.
The chapters included in the volume have been written by some of the most authoritative specialists in the modern history of Iran. Their contributions span a wide range of subjects and themes, covering such varied ground as the examination of the trends in 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic exegesis that are currently prominent in Iran, the use of 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic themes in contemporary Iranian cinema, the concept of revelation as the basis of diverse political trends in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sufi mystical interpretations of the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍, the use of the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 in the arts, the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 as a living scripture in specific intellectual and social circles, and case studies of individual intellectuals.
Through this wide-ranging survey, the book aims to become a reference for anyone interested in the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍鈥檚 imprint on the religious, political, cultural and anthropological history of modern and contemporary Iranian society.
Notes on Contributors
Note on Transliteration, Conventions and Abbreviations
Preface and Acknowledgements
Map
Introduction
Alessandro Cancian
Section I: Power, Authority and Exegesis
1. The Rational-analytical 罢补蹿蝉墨谤 in Modern Iran: The Influence of the U峁Ｅ玪墨 School of Jurisprudence on the Interpretation of the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍
Seyfeddin Kara
2. Striving Beyond the Balance (补濒-惭墨锄腻苍): Spiritual Practice and the Qur’an in the 峁琣b膩峁璦b膩示墨 峁璦谤墨辩补
Sajjad Rizvi
3. Privileging the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍: Divorce and the Hermeneutics of Y奴suf 峁⒛乶i士墨
Liyakat Takim
4. Al-Amr bi鈥檒-ma士r奴f and the Semiotics of Sovereignty in Contemporary Iran
Neguin Yavari
5. The Limits of a 鈥楩ixed鈥 Qur’an: The Iranian Religious Intellectual Movement and Islamic New Theology
Banafsheh Madaninejad
6. Soroush鈥檚 Theory of Qur’anic Revelation: A Historical-Philosophical Appraisal
Yaser Mirdamadi
Section II: Alternative Approaches: Between Marginality and Legitimacy
7. A Sufi Defence of the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍: 岣sayn 士Al墨 Sh膩h鈥檚 Rebuttal of Henry Martyn
Reza Tabandeh
8. Abrogation and Falsification of Scripture according to Twelver Shi鈥榠 Authors in Iraq and Iran (19th鈥20th Centuries)
Rainer Brunner
9. Speaking the Secrets of Sanctity in the 罢补蹿蝉墨谤 of 峁f墨 士Al墨 Sh膩h
Nicholas Boylston
10. Exegesis and the Place of Sufism in Nineteenth-Century Twelver 厂丑颈鈥榠蝉尘See Shi鈥榓.: Sul峁乶 士Al墨 Sh膩h Gun膩b膩d墨 and his Bay膩n al-sa士膩da
Alessandro Cancian
11. In the Company of the Qur’an by Mu岣墨 al-D墨n Il膩h墨 Ghomshei
Leonard Lewisohn
Section III: The Arts, Material Culture and Everyday Life
12. A Contemporary Illustrated Qur’an: Zenderoudi鈥檚 Illustrations of Grosjean鈥檚 Translation (1972)
Alice Bombardier
13. Women, the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 and the Power of Calligraphy in Contemporary Iran
Anna Vanzan
14. The Divine Word on the Screen: Imaging the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 in Iranian Cinema
Nacim Pak-Shiraz
15. Notes on Ritual Prayer in Iran: 蚕耻苍奴迟 Choices among a Group of Shi鈥榠 Women
Niloofar Haeri
16. Twelver Shi鈥榠 Women鈥檚 Appropriation of the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 in Contemporary Iran
Ingvild Flaskerud
17. The Case of Mu岣mmad Ri岣嵞 Shajariy膩n between the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 and 谤补诲墨蹿
Giovanni De Zorzi
Bibliography
Index of 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Citations
General Index
鈥楾his essential work, composed of chapters authored by some of the world鈥檚 leading academics in Islamic and Iranian studies, provides a comprehensive analysis of how the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 is received in modern Iran. The collection鈥檚 range of topics has been carefully considered, shedding light on modern hermeneutical problems, mystical ways of perceiving the sacred text, and its significance in modern cultural forms including cinema and music, among others. The chapters have been researched with meticulous care to detail. Approaches to the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 in Contemporary Iran looks set to become a classic work.鈥
鈥 Lloyd Ridgeon, Reader in Islamic Studies (Theology and Religious Studies), University of Glasgow
Alessandro Cancian is a Research Associate in the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Studies unit at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. Dr Cancian鈥檚 areas of interest and expertise are the intellectual history of 厂丑颈鈥榠蝉尘, Shi鈥榠 Sufism in early modern times and the anthropology of Islam, 厂丑颈鈥榠蝉尘 and modern Iran. His monograph Sufism, 厂丑颈鈥榠蝉尘 and 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Exegesis in Early Modern Iran: Sul峁乶 士Al墨 Sh膩h Gun膩b膩d墨 and his 罢补蹿蝉墨谤 Bay膩n al-Sa士膩da (蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Studies Series) is due to be published soon. He is co-editing (with Nuha Alshaar) a volume on ethics for An Anthology of 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Commentaries (蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Studies Series). He holds a PhD in Anthropology, with a concentration on the Cultural Anthropology of Muslim Societies and the Anthropology of Religion, from the University of Siena. His dissertation was on the Shi鈥榠 theological colleges (hawza 士ilmiyya) in Syria. Among his recent publications is the monograph Alla scuola dell鈥橧mam: Storia dell鈥檈ducazione religiosa nell鈥橧slam sciita (At the Imam鈥檚 School: History of Religious education in Shi鈥榠 Islam; Rome, 2016).