“The Argument from Scripture” (Dalīl al-Naql): Muslim Perceptions of the Bible in the Early Ottoman Period (16th–17th Centuries)

• Applicant: Professorin Lejla Demiri, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Roman Catholic Theology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 398344141

Religious diversity of the early Ottoman period led Muslim and Christian scholars to theologically explore and critically engage with the ideas and beliefs of one another. They read the Scriptures of the ‘Other’ and thus contributed to the de/sacralisation of the Qur’an and the Bible through their mutual criticism and/or acceptance of one another. This project particularly focusses on the Muslim use of biblical materials as proof texts (dalīl al-naql) and interpretation of their own scriptures and those of the ‘Other’. Although there is extensive and profound written evidence of Muslim-Christian theological encounters from this period, these have not yet received much scholarly attention. By closely analysing the selected representative texts of Muslim-Christian theological discussions, the project will shed new light on Muslim perceptions of the ‘Other’ and self-identity. This raises the question of exegetical approaches and methods both with regard to the Bible and the Qur’an and how the practices of sacralisation and desacralisation were effectuated. Approaches from practical theory shall therefore be used to explore and help trace the use of biblical and qur’anic texts respectively, to contextualise scholarly interactions, and ultimately to better understand the related social and interreligious relations. The proposed project ‘The Argument from Scripture’ engages with a range of disciplines, such as theology, interreligious studies, history as well as textual hermeneutics, and has implications for Islamic theology, Comparative theology, Interreligious Studies, intellectual history of Islam, Interdisciplinary Studies, history of Muslim-Christian relations and Ottoman Studies. The project aims to facilitate a better understanding of the Muslim theology of the religious ‘Other’, especially Christianity, in the 16th and 17th centuries, as embedded in more general processes of interpretation, use and critical engagement with ‘Other’ normative texts, i.e. their de/sacralisation. In dialogue with other subprojects, it contributes to the study of the complex tensions between inclusion and exclusion, as well as the subtle parallels and distinctions between Muslim perceptions of the Qur’an and the Bible, and thus enrich the discourses surrounding the processes of canonisation and decanonisation.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 2828: De/Sacralization of texts