A CRITIQUE OF MO×AMMED ARKOUN’S VIEWS ON THE QUR’ÓN, SUNNAH AND RELIGIOUS THOUGHT

Abstract

This study critically analyses the writings of late Mohammed Arkoun, an Arab–Muslim whose post-modernist influence on contemporary Muslims sparked considerable controversy. A content analysis explores his historicist approach to the Qur’Én, which employed a method ostensibly used to remove the concept of Divinity from the text. He assumed that the holy book suffered from omissions, fabrications, distortions and interpolations between oral transmission and written documentation. This misperception is critiqued in detail in addition to his views on the Sunnah’s legal status and his desire to simultaneously integrate secularism with religion and politics in Muslim societies. The study concludes with an appraisal of his thought and cautionary advice.