Het Bijbelse referentiekader van de contemporaine Nederlandse vertalers van de Koran

This dissertation investigates the role that Biblical reference frameworks have played in the creation of the three contemporary Dutch Quran translations of Kramers (1956), Leemhuis (1989) and Verhoef (2015). The research consists on the one hand of a theoretical part in which a number of themes (religious translation, Arabic translation tradition, Qur'an translation, inimitability of the Qur'an, etc.) are treated from a historical and theological point of view. On the other hand, a translation analysis of the research corpus is performed, in which forty-four Quranic concepts are examined etymologically, terminologically, theologically, exegetically and comparatively. This research aims to contribute to the study of the Qur'an as the essence of the Islamic religion. Understanding the Qur'an depends on the nature of the Qur'an translations produced. How can the translator translate the Qur'an text correctly, how can he bring the original meaning of the Qur'an closer to the reader. This research is aimed at different target audiences: Muslims and non-Muslims, teachers and students, consultants and imams and others. The forty-four examined Quranic concepts are carefully selected. They cover all kinds of aspects of Islamic theology and jurisprudence that ordinary (non-) Muslims need to understand the truth of the Qur'an, which is indispensable for interfaith dialogue. This research is not limited to a certain discipline. In principle, the intention is to analyze the possible impact of the Biblical reference frameworks on the three Qur'an translators mentioned above, but the nature of the research body requires combining elements from different disciplines. It is impossible to approach the research question from a single angle. In addition to translation studies, there are linguistics, theology, exegesis and history. The boundaries between these disciplines are blurring. There are no visible lines in between in this study. You start with history and you end with theology. You deal with translation studies and you suddenly find yourself in exegesis. This theoretical and thematic inter- and multidisciplinary approach requires a multidimensional methodology. In addition to establishing a corpus-based qualitative approach, qualitative literature research is also conducted, using descriptive, analytical and comparative methods. This study reveals that the Dutch translations of the Qur'an made by modern Arabists have undergone an apparent shift from a purely apologetic instrument to defend their own (Christian) faith to an intellectual mechanism with the aim of getting to know Islam. These translators have the same Christian background. The Biblical reference framework that is rooted in their upbringing and thinking, will normally also be present in their translation of the Qur'an, but not in the apologetic sense of their predecessors. That is, they were fully aware of 'the importance' of the Bible in approaching the Qur'an, because both writings are of the same monotheistic origin, and have various narrative, ritual, moral, and eschatological parallels.

Publication year:2019

Accessibility:Closed