Formulation of the Claim
Linguistic-semiotic analysis reveals the unthought in religious discourse.
Explanation
Arkoun sees this analysis as operating on the structures that govern religious reception, not on the apparent meaning alone. It aims to show what the Qur’an excludes and keeps outside the field of thought.
This means that reading does not merely follow words or rulings, but turns toward the linguistic, narrative, and intellectual mechanisms that shape what can and cannot be said within the religious system. In this sense, the “unthought” becomes part of the very object of analysis.
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This atom appears within Arkoun’s effort to broaden the tools used to read foundational texts, and to move from interpretation that confirms meaning to analysis that reveals the conditions of its production and its limits. It converges with his related theses on criticizing traditional reading and on the need to question what has remained beyond scrutiny because of inherited dominance over understanding.
Limits of the Claim
This atom does not mean that linguistic-semiotic analysis reduces religion to language alone, nor that it delivers a final judgment on the text or on religious history. Nor should it be taken as a call to abolish meaning, but rather to uncover what discursive construction obscures.