Formulating the Claim
Arkoun sees Qur’anic discourse as transforming earthly historical conflict into a comprehensive theological conflict.
Explanation
In this claim, Arkoun points out that sacred language does not present conflict as a limited political or social event; rather, it frames it within a religious horizon that expands its meaning and gives it a total character. In this way, conflict moves from the level of historical facts to the level of a struggle over truth, legitimacy, and meaning.
This means that the Qur’anic reading, as Arkoun understands it here, does not merely describe a passing enmity; it reconstructs it within a theological discourse that makes it part of a comprehensive worldview. Language thus becomes a medium through which history is transformed into doctrinal significance.
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This atom appears within Arkoun’s discussion of how religious meaning takes shape inside Qur’anic discourse, where a historical event is read through terms that surpass it and reinsert it into a broader symbolic system. It is connected to what the book states about the relationship between events and sacred formulation, which gives them a dimension that exceeds their immediate context.
Limits of the Claim
This atom should not be taken as a final judgment on the Qur’an as a whole, nor reduced to a denial of its historical dimension. It concerns Arkoun’s method of analyzing discourse and how it operates in transforming conflict into theological meaning.