The "Late Antique Qur'an": Jewish-Christian Liturgy, Hellenic Rhetoric, and Arabic Language

Is the Qur’an an exclusively Islamic text? In this talk, Angelika Neuwirth, a Professor at the Freie Universität Berlin and a Member (2009) in the School of Historical Studies, contends that it is both Islamic and late antique. Before the Qur’an was recognized as Muslim scripture it was communicated to an audience whose education was based on late-antique traditions—Judeo-Christian, Hellenic, and Arabian. Read as a movement within this triangle, the Qur’an turns out to be a Near Eastern–European text.

Support for this lecture was provided by the Dr. S. T. Lee Fund for Historical Studies.