Böcker av Georges Tamer

The fourth volume of the groundbreaking Handbook of Qurʾānic Hermeneutics comprises 29 chapters dealing with the hermeneutical approach to the Qurʾān by Muslim authors of the 19th and 20th centuries. These authors had to deal with the changes and influences of modernity on Muslim society. Scientific progress and related developments in the natural sciences and humanities posed new questions and challenges to the traditional interpretation of the Qurʾān. The confrontation with the colonial period also shaped the way of thinking of some of these authors and their hermeneutical work. This led them to a search for identity and a reassessment of their own traditions and beliefs. Authors in this volume reflect on these historical experiences in their interpretation of the Qurʾān. The hermeneutical approaches to the Qurʾān in this volume are, thus, closely linked to the social, political, and intellectual conditions in which the authors have done their work. They represent a response to the challenges and changes of their time. By critically engaging with modernity, scientific progress, and the colonial legacy, these authors contributed to understanding and interpreting Islam in a new context.

The sixth volume of the series "Key Concepts of Interreligious Discourses" investigates the roots of the concept of "person" in Judaism, Christianity and Islam and its relevance for the present time. The concept of "person" lies at the core of central ideas in the modern world, such as the value and development of personal identity, the sanctity of human person and the human rights based on that. In societies that are shaped by a long Christian tradition, these ideas are associated often with the belief in the creation of man in the image of God. But although Judaism shares with Christianity the same Biblical texts about the creation of man and also the Qurʾān knows Adam as the first human being created by God and his representative on earth, the focus on the concept of "person" is in each one of these religions a different one. So, the crucial question is: how did the concept of "person" evolve in Judaism, Christianity and Islam out of the concept of "human being"? What are the special features of personhood in each one of these traditions? The volume presents the concept of "person" in its different aspects as anchored in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It unfolds commonalities and differences between the three monotheistic religions as well as the manifold discourses about the meaning of "person" within these three religions.

The second volume of the series "Key Concepts in Interreligious Discourses" points out the roots of the concept of ''human rights'' in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It shows how far the universal validity of ''human rights'' opposes in some crucial points with religious traditions. The volume demonstrates that new perspectives are introduced to the general discussion about human rights when related to religious traditions. Especially the interreligious viewpoint proves that a new kind of debate about human rights and its history is necessary.

The present volume offers the first scholarly discussion of Gunter Luling's (1928-2014) work. Luling's views, long passages of the Qur'an are originally mere reworking of pre-Islamic Christian hymns have not received the scholarly attention they deserve, since they were published at the beginning of the 70s of the previous century. Luling attempted to reconstruct an "e;Ur-Qur'an"e; in order to show that Islam emerged in a Christian context in Mecca. He also believed that Muhammad converted from Trinitarian Christianity to paganism and that the Kaaba was a church. Luling's hermeneutical approach to the Qur'an and other Arabic sources on early Islam is, for the first time, the subject of the studies included in the present book. In addition, the volume offers interesting insights in the law case which accompanied the publication of Luling's work.

Die Studien zur Geschichte und Kultur des islamischen Orients / Studies in the History and Culture of the Islamic Orient (STIO) ist die Reihe der "e;Beihefte"e; zur Zeitschrift Der Islam. Beide werden von der Abteilung fur Geschichte und Kultur des Vorderen Orients, Asien-Afrika-Institut, Universitat Hamburg herausgegeben. Die Abteilung wurde im Jahre 1908 noch vor der Universitat Hamburg gegrundet. Sie war unter ihrem ersten Direktor C. H. Becker das erste wissenschaftliche Zentrum in Deutschland, in dem die Lehre und Forschung sich auf die historischen und kulturwissenschaftlichen und nicht allein die philologischen Aspekte bei der Erforschung der islamischen Welt konzentrierte. Viele fuhrende Experten der deutschen Islamwissenschaft haben hier gelehrt und/oder studiert. Mit dem gleichen hohen Anspruch und der gleichen hohen Qualitat wie Der Islamhaben die "e;Beihefte"e; zahlreiche Arbeiten uber die Geschichte und Kultur der islamischen Welt publiziert, die jeweils Meilensteine in ihrem Feld darstellten. Die seit 2004 erscheinende "e;Neue Folge"e; der Beihefte baut auf dieser Tradition auf und bietet eine Plattform fur die Publikation von Studien uber die Geschichte und Kultur der islamischen Welt vom Beginn des Islams bis in die heutige Zeit. Mit Band 27 abgeschlossen, Fortsetzung der Reihe unter dem Titel "e;Studies in the History and Culture of the Middle East (SME)"e;.