Retranslating the Bible and the Qur’an : Historical Approaches and Current Debates

Abstract

Significant contribution to the retranslation studies of religious texts.

Despite the lively scholarly discourse on retranslation and its manifest value for uncovering dynamics of cultural change, interpretation, and reception, the retranslation of religious texts has received only fragmented attention in recent years. By spanning both historical and current aspects, and by treating the Bible and the Qur’an together, this book breaks new ground and paves the way for future research on the myriad discursive and religious aspects of retranslation.

This carefully curated collection of articles compellingly argues that the retranslation of canonical religious texts is a multi-faceted phenomenon. With cases ranging in time from the early Reformation to the present, and traversing linguistic contexts from Russia to Sweden, Slovenia to Saudi Arabia, the essays capture diverse dimensions of retranslation work. The collection demonstrates that retranslations of such texts manifest in different forms, depending on the religious, political and societal circumstances, the targeted audiences, and the status of existing translations. Their reception too may vary greatly, depending on those same circumstances. Authored by specialists in the different fields of retranslation of the Bible and the Qur’an, each contribution illustrates this complexity and offers a fresh perspective and insight that help lay the groundwork for future research in this area of study.