ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book begins with an exploration of how ideas about Quranic studies in the West have been received by Iranian religious scholars, especially from the conservative camps. It outlines some of the main features of a contextualist approach to the Quran to give readers a sense of what contextualisation means. The book seeks to provide a contribution to the critical study of hermeneutics in contemporary Iranian-Islamic scholarship. It contributes to the general debate on secularism, public expression of religion, gender issues and religious pluralism among Muslims. The book highlights the evolving nature of the ideas of Iranian scholars on the interpretation of the Quran, with specific reference to the issues that have become important to modern sociopolitical debates. It explores the ideas of some Iranian scholars, especially from conservative circles, that have been developed in response to such studies from the West.
