The Qur’an as Civilizational Nexus and Hermeneutical Matrix

Dear Colleagues,

The open-access journal Religions invites submissions for a Special Issue titled “The Qur’an as Civilizational Nexus and Hermeneutical Matrix,” to be edited by Peter Matthews Wright, JD, PhD, The Colorado College. This call is open to every scholar whose work as humanist, historian (including literary and art historians), social scientist, philosopher, theologian, psychologist, folklorist, or ethnomusicologist has brought them into scholarly conversation with the multiple ways in which the Qur’an has served its readers and auditors as both civilizational nexus and hermeneutical matrix across time, space, language, culture, and religious affiliation. By “civilizational nexus” I mean the following: In his magisterial three volume The Venture of Islam (1974), Marshall Hodgson acutely observed that Islamic civilization is the “direct heir and positive continuator” of the civilizations that preceded it in time. At the center of Islamic (and, therefore, Islamicate) civilization stands the Qur’an. As heir to previous civilizations and their literary remains (both sacred and secular), the Qur’an appropriates and inflects the stories and myths (from Biblical and extra-Biblical sources) with which it engaged. In the process, it offers alternative ways to 26 understand its literary inheritance.

Initially, this process connected the Prophet’s generation to the past, but the Qur’an’s hermeneutical contributions do not end there: for its own versions of those stories and myths have been interpreted in turn via Isra’iliyyat, ahadith, tafsir, fiqh, falsafah, visual art, poetry, novels and short stories, films, and song. Therefore, the Qur’an is also a “matrix” of interpretation in perpetuity: generating ever-expanding and never-ending ways of understanding the Irano-Semitic civilization in which it was revealed and the subsequent civilizations which it has helped to form and inform over the course of 15 centuries and counting. To engage the Qur’an in this fashion is to move beyond (without discounting) its role as a sacred text for Muslims and to acknowledge its world-historical significance. Marshall Hodgson paved the way for scholarship on the Qur’an to move in this direction but, until today, few specialists working on the text have followed his lead. Textual specialists are, of course, welcome to contribute to this volume, but the call is much broader in the hope that it may encourage others who have encountered a Qur’anic presence in their work an opportunity to share the results of those encounters. As a way to begin, it may be helpful to revisit what Hodgson had to say about Persian poetry in his Epilogue to The Venture, and substitute “the Qur’an” for “Islam” in the final sentence. This issue aims to connect the work of scholars who specialize in Biblical and other ancient Near Eastern traditions as reflected upon in the Qur’an with those who study the Qur’an in any context in which it is valued as a site of meaning- making. Examples of the former would naturally include the work of specialists like Gabriel Said Reynolds but also that of non-specialists like Jack Miles (God in the Qur’an, 2018). Examples of the latter are Norman O. Brown’s essays on Islam and and the Qur’an in Apocalypse and/or Metamorphosis (1991) and the lectures collected in The Challenge of Islam (2009). In making this coonection, the Special Issue will answer the challenge that Kenneth Cragg posed long ago not only to the scholarly community but to all educated readers: to recognize the Qur’an as a signal “event” that has shaped, and continues to shape, the spiritual heritage not only of Muslims, but of all humankind. We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200-300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor, Peter Wright , and cc: the Assistant Editor, Katarina Antonic (katarina.antonic@mdpi.com) of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the special issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Deadline for full manuscript submission: September 1, 2026

Dr. Peter Matthews Wright
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Islamic studies
• biblical studies
• literary history
• hermeneutics
• Qur’anic studies
• comparative literature
• history of religions