Islamic Studies and Quranic Research in the Contemporary World

Islamic Studies and Quranic Research in the Contemporary World

A Critique of Luxenberg's view on Arabic Script

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Forough Parsa 1
Zahra Nabaei 2
1 Associate Professor, Institute of Quranic Studies, Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran
2 Expert at the Institute of Quranic Studies, Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/iscw.2023.712652
Abstract
Christophe Luxenberg is the pseudonym of the author of the Siro-Arami reading of the Qur'an (The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran).
Luxenberg claims that at the time of the emergence of the Qur'an, the Arabic language and script did not possess a known nature. Basically, the Qur'an has been propagated in the Syriac language, script and alphabet. Before him, Alphonse Mingana believed in the existence of a Syriac origin for the language and script of the Qur'an. The script, as a cultural phenomenon, has been studied from different aspects. In particular, extensive research has been done on the Arabic script by writers and linguists as well as archaeologists. by relying on the studies of some scholars specially on Robert Hoyland about the background of the Arabic script, this essay has reached to the conclusion that Luxenberg's views are merely propaganda claims against Islam and the Holy Quran and there are several archaeological evidences, including several inscriptions in Arabic language, criticizing Luxenberg's view.
Keywords
The Quran
Arabic Script
Luxenberg
Mingana
Robert Hoyland
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  • Receive Date 15 November 2022
  • Revise Date 17 July 2023
  • Accept Date 06 July 2023
  • First Publish Date 21 September 2023
  • Publish Date 21 September 2023