Decolonizing Quranic Studies: A Critique of Mohammed Arkoun's Hermeneutics

Abstract

This paper contains a description of the analysis of the decolonization of Qur'anic studies manifested in criticism of Arkoun’s thinking in the concept of hermeneutics that he offers. Arkoun’s thinking, which is influenced by Western epistemology, can result in the collapse of Islamic epistemology, and it appears in Arkoun’s magnum opus, namely Naqd al-ʻAql al-Islāmī, which of course leads to the realization of epistemic colonization in the study of the Qur'an. Therefore, this research wants to tear it down by using a decolonization approach to Qur'anic studies. By using library research, this research is qualitative. The result of this research is that in the concept of hermeneutics offered by Arkoun, many of the results of his analysis are at odds with the study of the Qur'an that has been built on the foundation of Islamic epistemology. Among the aspects related to the study of the Qur'an that are very controversial are the authenticity and sanctity of the Qur'an, the variation of qirā’āt, the historical context of the verse (asbāb al-nuzūl), and the problem of Qur'anic tadwīn. The basic reason is the infatuation with Western epistemology whose excessive use results in syncretism and eclecticism of methodology, and what is worse is epistemological colonialism. Decolonization does not mean skepticism of Western epistemology, but there must be an effort to filter the contemporary methodology offered by the West, so that it does not have an impact on the fall of the dignity of Islamic epistemology, let alone on doubts about the transcendence of scripture and the destruction of faith.