Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

In reply to Irfan Khawaja. On Ahmed”s view, or on the view he claims was historically common within Islam, the Qur’an is like a message whose firm is partly determined by the capacities and limitations and preconceptions of the receiver. S…

In reply to Roderick T. Long. The assumption I was making was that Muhammad made a literal transcription of the pre-text, contributing nothing of his own beyond the enunciation of words dictated to him from Le Auteur. So on my view, the Qur’anic …

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In reply to Roderick T. Long. Your warning about the dangerous jihadi phenomenon reminds me of a conversation I had with my mother last night. I told her I wanted to visit Iran. She was quite alarmed. “Don’t go there! It’s full of Shi…

In reply to Irfan Khawaja. Well, your response might be appropriate to someone who said that the Qur’an text was deliberately composed to be read nonliterally. But that’s not Ahmed’s view. Ahmed’s view (or the view he attribu…

In reply to Roderick T. Long. I have yet to read Shahab Ahmed’s book. It’s on a long “to-read” list. LikeLike

In reply to Roderick T. Long. I think there’s a presumption in favor of a literal reading based on what the text itself says, repeatedly, about its own aims and methods. The Qur’an announces itself as divine guidance, more or less directly …