Multiplicity of Religious Communities: A Qur’anic Principle of Existence
Editorial verification status: This atom was extracted from an explanatory audiovisual source, and it has now been linked to the closest books within Shahrur’s project at the book level. When citing academically with precision, consult the original book and the original episode together.
Formulation of the claim
Shahrur asserts that the Qur’an affirms the existence of multiple religious communities and religions in human society, and that religious difference is not incidental but part of the principle of existence.
Explanation
He draws on verses such as the mention of those who believe, the Jews, the Sabians, the Christians, the Magians, and those who associate partners with God, and makes them the basis for understanding a plural civil society. The idea here is that the existence of these communities is not a historical error to be erased, but a reality acknowledged by God. He therefore rejects turning plurality into an exclusionary conflict. This grounding opens the door to a different reading of religion within the modern state.
Its place in the episode’s argument
This atom is the episode’s general theoretical entry point: accepting religious plurality as an existential norm, not a problem to be solved by coercion.
Scope of the claim
This idea does not mean doctrinal equality among religions, but rather acknowledgment of their existence and their right to coexist.
Brief witness
“God will decide between them on the Day of Resurrection… this is the principle of existence.”
Nearby links
- Shahrur - Islam
- Shahrur - the civil state
- Book: Islam and the Human Being