Meaning
Muhammad Shahrur holds that distinguishing between Islam and faith, between the Muslim and the believer, and between religion and religious community is necessary for understanding religion correctly. Conflating these concepts leads to sectarianism and excommunication rather than pluralism and acceptance.
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: Critical.
- Argument movement: It traces sectarianism back to a semantic conflation of foundational concepts.
- Central terms: Islam, faith, sectarianism, excommunication.
- Degree of centrality: Central.
This atom shows that the problem begins with conflating foundational terms, not with the text itself. It thus makes conceptual clarity a condition for reducing excommunication and opening space for pluralism and acceptance.
Links That Aid Reading
- Muhammad Shahrur: the Qur’an in Contemporary Thought
- Critique of Heritage, Jurisprudence, and Exegesis
- Islam
- Faith
Evidence
- Supporting text: “He distinguishes between Islam and its associated semantic terms: Islam/faith, Muslim/believer, religion/religious community, and considers conflating them a cause of sectarianism and excommunication.”
Location of Evidence in the Book
- Book: The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought.
- Location: In the first section of the book, within the general introduction to his intellectual project.
- Type of evidence: Close witness.
- Verification aid: “a new and scientific approach”
- Reading note: This passage is suitable evidence because it introduces the reader to the background of his method of distinguishing among religious terms and avoiding their conflation.
Degree of Documentation
- Level: Directly documented.
- Meaning of the level: The atom rests on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Limits of reading: The wording above is an analytical summary and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness has been transcribed word for word.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is argumentative; it supports, or prepares the way for, a broader conclusion in the chapter.
Note to the Reader
The atom is a critique of the logic of classification, not of the basis of faith.