Author Description

This compilation for an English-speaking readership of writing by Muslim intellectuals demonstrates the variety of ways in which the Qur'an is studied in contemporary Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country. The thirteen essays come from established and emerging scholars and address topics such as new methods of approaching the Qur'an, Islamic law reform, human rights, inter-faith relations, the struggle by women for equal rights, and the use or misuse of Qur'anic symbols. They reflect the interests and approaches of a new generation of Indonesian Muslim scholars who seek guidance from the religious texts within a contemporary context. The writings represent a creative effort to project new ideas and to affirm that Islam and the Qur'an are in a broad sense compatible with the aspirations of Indonesian Muslims today. This volume of essays is the first to demonstrate the variety of scholarship on the Qur'an in the English language.