Translating the Qur'an in an Age of Nationalism (Book report)

The title is a book in the Quranic field, by M. Brett Wilson published by Oxford University Press in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies as one of the Qur'anic Studies Series. The following is a report of the book.

Overview

• Explains the key debates on the printing and translating of the Qur'an

• Provides a unique window through which to view the formation of modern Islam, and the impact of nationalism and print technology upon Middle Eastern societies

• Brings fresh perspective to the seminal Islamic debates, using untapped sources which bridge the gap between the Arabic and Turkish debates

• Aids the understanding of how Muslims integrated religious and national identities

• Illustrates the key issues for Muslim communities and intellectuals during a period of modernization and political crisis

Description

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1:'The Mother of Civilisation': The Printing Press and Illegal Qur'ans

2:Ottoman Editions of the Qur'an

3:Vernacular Commentaries and the New Intellectuals

4:The Politicization of Qur'anic Translation: From the New Arabism to the Young Turks

5:Translation and the Nation

6:Caliph and Qur'an: English Translations, Egypt Debates, and the Search for a Centre

7:The Elusive Turkish Qur'an

Author Information

M. Brett Wilson, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Macalester College

Brett Wilson is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Macalester College. He holds a PhD in Religion with a specialization in Islamic Studies from Duke University. His scholarship has appeared in the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Comparative Islamic Studies, and The Encyclopaedia of Women in Islamic Cultures.

Reviews and Awards

"Wilson's book is a rare example of scholarship in which the fields of Islamic Studies and Ottoman/Turkish intellectual history converge together. His use of archival sources, publications, and texts in Turkish and Arabic enables the author to link Ottoman/Turkish intellectual history with that of the larger Islamic world...Translating the Qur'an is a must-read for those who want to explore the issue of the 'Turkish Qur'an' in its wider context, as well as related debates about the need for Islamic reform as a necessary element of modernisation and progress in the Muslim world in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries." - Umut Azak, Journal of Qur'anic Studies

"Translating the Qur'an is a rich book offering vivid accounts of Muslims' engagement with the Qur'an in modern times. It is a major accomplishment that provides a compelling perspective on how the theological, literary, social and economic aspects of Qur'an translation come into play in modernity. Wilson also offers a wide array of suggestions for further research and thinking, demonstrating that the question of translation offers unique and important tools for thinking about local and translocal manifestations of Islam in global world." - Yunus Doğan Telliel, The Journal of Ottoman Studies

"Translating the Qur'an is a fascinating addition to the study of Islam in late Ottoman and early republican Turkey." - Guy Burak, Journal of Islamic Studies

"The research is impeccable and the presentation excellent. This book wonderfully addresses one of the most important religious and cultural issues of the time." - Ali Abd al-Malik, The Islamic Quarterly

"Brett Wilson's book is a timely contribution to a field that is only just starting to emerge ... highly recommended." - Johanna Pink, Review of Qur'anic Research

"Translating the Qur'an takes the reader through the intricate debates, historical moments, and personages centrally involved in the production of the Turkish Qur'an." - Micah Hughes, Marginalia