The Meaning of the Concept in This Book
The Society of the Book is a concept that brings together Judaism, Christianity, and Islam within a single horizon of submission to a founding book. It is used here to highlight that the monotheistic religions can be viewed historically as societies formed around a book, rather than as separate and closed essences.
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
The concept serves the book’s argument by comparing the monotheistic religions from within their own history, instead of isolating each religion from the others. Through it, it becomes clear that the book was not only a spiritual text, but was also linked to power and knowledge, and that understanding it requires moving beyond inherited interpretations.
How It Works within the Atlas
This concept is connected to several pathways within the atlas: it intersects with the idea that Qur’anic discourse derives its efficacy from organizing the community and expanding symbol and meaning, and with the claim that monotheistic societies form a single Society of the Book. It is also linked to the discussion of the book as a field of power and knowledge, to the idea of an expanded Society of the Book, and to the perspective that makes reading the Qur’an part of a critical project for renewing religious thought.