Over the course of the past two centuries; the central text of Islam has undergone twin revolutions. Around the globe; Muslim communities have embraced the printing and translating of the Qur'an; transforming the scribal text into a modern book that can be read in virtually any language. What began with the sparse and often contentious publication of vernacular commentaries and translations in South Asia and the Ottoman Empire evolved; by the late twentieth century; into widespread Qur'anic translation and publishing efforts in all quarters of the Muslim world; including Arabic speaking countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This is remarkable given that at the dawn of the twentieth century many Muslims considered Qur'an translations to be impermissible and unviable. Nevertheless; printed and translated versions of the Qur'an have gained widespread acceptance by Muslim communities; and now play a central; and in some quarters; a leading role in how the Qur'an is read and understood in the modern world. Focusing on the Ottoman Empire and Turkey; and following the debates to Russia; Egypt; Indonesia; and India; this book tries to answer the question of how this revolution in Qur'anic book culture occurred; considering both intellectual history as well the processes by which the Qur'an became a modern book that could be mechanically reproduced and widely owned.
#434547 in Books 2012-02-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.00 x 1.20 x 8.70l; 1.52 #File Name: 0198078005512 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Great thought-provoking scholarly volume -- but watch out for the Indian print!By Rufus FuscusThis scholarly volume is both very thoughtful and thought-provoking; with contributions by some of the foremost scholars on Ashoka and the Maurya Empire. But you may want to make sure you get the US/UK print of this book. A number of sellers who are offering this title for a fourth of its regular price are actually selling the Indian print of this book. The Indian version is printed in rather cheap recycled paper; it's poorly bound; and it contains substandard reproductions of the illustrations -- a far cry from the UK US printed volume. Caveat emptor!
