Relating the Muslim understanding of Moses in the Qur'an to the Epic of Gilgamesh, Alexander Romances, Aramaic Targums, Rabbinic Bible exegesis, and folklore from the ancient and medieval Mediterranean, this book shows how Muslim scholars authorize and identify themselves through allusions to the Bible and Jewish tradition. Exegesis of Qur'an 18:60-82 shows how Muslim exegetes engage Biblical theology through interpretation of the ancient Israelites, their prophets, and their Torah. This Muslim use of a scripture shared with Jews and Christians suggests fresh perspectives for the history of religions, Biblical studies, cultural studies, and Jewish-Arabic studies.
Biography
Brannon Wheeler is Associate Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, and Comparative Religion at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he is also Head of the Comparative Islamic Studies program. His research and teaching focuses on Islamic Law, Quranic Studies, and the History of Religions.
'This monograph by Brannon Wheeler is a welcome addition to the ever-expanding literature of tafsir or Qur'anic exegesis. The chief merit of the work lies in its exhaustive reassessment of the body of writings on Moses in the Islamic tradition' - Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies
