Those who study the Koran must also study the Bible, so frequent are the references, themes and figures which bring us back to the Old and the New Testaments. Reciprocally, those who study the Bible cannot ignore the ties that bind it to the Koran. It is only by accepting this stringent condition that people from Jewish, Christian and Islamic backgrounds can hope to have an honest and open dialog. This ebook begins with Jacqueline Chabbi from the University of Paris VIII, who focuses on the chronology of the constitution of the Koran and the historical context in which Islam originated. Geneviève Gobillot, from the University of Lyon III, delves into the text of the Koran to illustrate its various and complex links with the Bible. Emilio Platti from Cairo and Maurice Borrmans from Rome then examine biblical figures in the Islamic tradition, and finally Alain George from the University of Edinburgh discusses the production of the Koran in Syriac workshops.
