Formulation of the claim
The duality of unbelievers and believers affects the structure of Qur’anic discourse and its social history.
Explanation
In Arkoun’s thought, this duality is not presented as a merely rigid doctrinal opposition, but as a discursive form that leaves traces in language and in the organization of meaning within the Qur’anic text. For this reason, Arkoun draws attention to the fact that its presence goes beyond the level of direct confessional classification.
This duality is also linked to the way the community takes shape in history, and to the manner in which Qur’anic discourse produces its basic distinctions. From this perspective, dualities become part of the structure of religious discourse, not merely isolated words detached from it.
Its place in the book’s argument
This atom falls within Arkoun’s interest in analyzing the vocabulary of Qur’anic discourse in terms of both its linguistic and its social functioning. It is connected to his aim of showing that some of the text’s central oppositions are not neutral, but active in shaping religious and historical consciousness.
Limits of the claim
This atom should not be taken as a comprehensive judgment on all uses of the terms unbelief and faith in the Qur’an, nor as reducing doctrinal meaning to the social dimension alone. The point here is to highlight the effect of the duality in discursive construction, not to deny its religious significance.