Includes indexes.

Part I, Formation of the Quranic Text --The historical context / Fred M. Donner -- Creation of a fixed text / Claude Gilliot -- Alternative accounts of the Quran's formation / Harald Motzki -- Part II, Description and Analysis -- Themes and topics / Daniel A. Madigan -- Structural, linguistic and literary features / Angelika Neuwirth -- Recitation and aesthetic reception / William A. Graham and Navid Kermani -- Part III, Transmission and Dissemination -- From palm leaves to the Internet / Fred Leemhuis -- Inscriptions in art and architecture / Sheila Blair and Jonathan Bloom -- Part IV, Interpretations and Intellectual Traditions -- The tasks and traditions of interpretation / Jane Dammen Mcauliffe -- Multiple areas of influence / Alexander Knysh -- Western scholarship and the Quran / Andrew Rippin -- Part V, Contemporary Readings -- Women's readings of the Quran / Asma Barlas -- Political interpretation of the Quran / Stefan Wild -- The Quran and other religions / Abdulaziz Sachedina.