در روزهای چهارم تا ششم ماه جولای سال آتی میلادی کنفرانسی با عنوان «مطالعات قرآنی: روش‌ها، زمینه‌ها و تفسیرها» در کشور تونس برگزار می‌گردد. علاقه‌مندان به شرکت در این کنفرانس می‌باید چکیده سخنرانی خود را تا تاریخ سی و یکم مارس سال آتی میلادی به این کنفرانس ارسال نمایند. 

Académie Tunisienne des Sciences, des Lettres et des Arts Département des Sciences islamiques and International Quranic Studies Association (IQSA) are co-hosting the International Qur’an Conference on “Qur’anic Studies: Methods, Contexts, and Interpretations” at the Beit al-Hikma in Carthage, Tunisia on July 4-6, 2017.

Qurʾanic studies (`Ulum al-Qur’an), which developed between the 2nd/8th and 9th/15thcenturies represents one of the cornerstones of the Islamic sciences. `Ulum al-Qurʾan can be defined as the science that analyses the themes, forms and purposes of the Qurʾanic text. This conference aims to examine the principles, methods and the nature of the knowledge stemming from Qurʾanic sciences. Thus, it is the epistemologicalstatus of Qurʾanic studies that will be discussed. To this end, we will be interested, for example, by the various interpretations of the famous verse 16:89: wa-nazzalnā ʿalayka l-kitāba tibyānan li-kulli šayˈin (« We have sent down the Book to you as a clarification of all things ») or the questions of the emergence, the categories and concepts or the evolutions of Qurʾanic sciences (medieval, modern and contemporary).

Alongside this epistemological reflection, the symposium will focus on methodologies of qurʾanic analysis from traditional Qurʾanic sciences or from the latest developments in qurʾanic studies. We will analyse their assumptions, their applications and their consequences for our current understanding of the text. Particular attention will be paid to the recent developments in Qurʾanic studies in Europe and North America. The context of the emergence of the Qurʾan and the formation of the canonical text will be discussed in light of new sources: Early Qurʾanic manuscripts, unpublished or little known arabic sources, or Arabian graffiti of the 7th century. The intertextual relationship between the Qurʾan and earlier scriptural traditions in the broader context of late antiquity will also be highlighted. Here we would like to emphasize the work of rewriting and re-appropriation of biblical and parabiblical texts by the Qurʾan and Islamic exegesis. Finally, using new tools of contemporary linguistics and methods from Biblical studies, we will will raise the question of the specificities of the text in terms of argumentation, polemics and composition.

A third complementary approach to epistemological and methodological reflections will focus on Qurʾanic themes and interpretive issues they raise. An overarching theme of quranic « polemics » in the Qurʾan will be chosen. Through classical and modern exegetical literature, we will consider the rhetorical forms borrowed, the historical development of interpretation, as well as conflicts in interpretation and their implications. We will pay particular attention to the critical contributions that attempt to contextualize polemic in terms of the narrow context of tribal Arabia or more generally Late Antiquity.

The meeting will therefore focus on the following three areas:

1. Epistemology: The Place of the Qurʾanic Studies in Islamic sciences

2. Methods and Tools (Presuppositions, Applications and Purposes)
   1. Classical
   2. Contemporary
3. Themes and Interpretations: Qurʾanic polemics
   1. Classical
   2. Contemporary

The colloquium will be held on July 4-6, 2017. Venue: The Academy “Beït al-Hikma” at Carthage.

We have the honor and the pleasure to solicit our colleagues to collaborate and present papers related to these plan. They are kindly invited to submit an abstract (about 500 words) including name of the proponent, title, and description of the proposal, beforeDecember 31, 2016, to the following e-mail address: mehdi.azaiez@kuleuven.be. They will be informed of the acceptation of their proposals before March 31, 2017.