| Can we reform Islam? Can we read the Qur'an anew in today's environment while holding to its founding principles? In particular, can we propose a reading of the Qur'an that is respectful of its spirit and also favourable to the Muslim woman? These are the questions that have been raised for more than a century in the Muslim world. They represent the starting point of our research and constitute its substance. They also underlie its bipolarities---text and context, original and translation, tradition and modernity, man and woman, etc.; Answering these questions requires the investigation of two distinct schools of thought: Muslim reformism and Translation Studies. Adopting both an inductive and a deductive reasoning, our research begins with an examination of the various hermeneutical approaches proposed by the Muslim reformists, explains their objectives, and describes the social, political and cultural issues involved. It then considers the field of Translation Studies with the aim of bringing out theories or currents which could contribute to the evolution of reformist thought. Our research combines analysis and synthesis of the debate in which Muslim reformists and Translation theorists present their visions. We thereby, firstly, create a fruitful context for our reflections. Secondly, we identify the most efficient theoretical framework for our examination of the Qur'an and of its translations, especially with regard to verses related to the status of the Muslim woman.; The method of analysis, elaborated from all these theoretical and practical considerations, enabled us to make a productive critique of the Qur'an and of its translations. In cases where we felt a need to broaden the meaning of the Qur'an, we proposed an interpretation that was different from those of the translations, yet thoroughly supported. Beyond the analytical work that this research favours and the light it sheds on the Qur'an and its translations, it points to new horizons in our views of how the Qur'an may be read. It thereby may represent one of the responses to the questions raised here above.; Key words: Islam, Qur'an, original, interpretation, translation, discourse, manipulation, patriarchy, woman, resistance, modernity, tradition. |
