The Contemporary Reading of Heritage in the Thought of Mohammed Arkoun

Abstract

This study explores the contemporary methodologies employed by Mohammed Arkoun in his reading of Islamic heritage and examines how he utilized modern intellectual approaches to redefine the relationship between tradition and contemporary reality. It argues that Arkoun's project is not based on a single methodological framework but rather on an interdisciplinary approach combining linguistics, historical analysis, anthropology, and historical psychology. These methodologies constitute the interpretive tools through which Arkoun sought to transcend traditional readings of heritage and develop innovative strategies of interpretation inspired by modern Western scholarship. The paper further highlights the critical and hermeneutical dimensions of his thought, emphasizing his commitment to liberating reason from dogmatic constraints and promoting critical inquiry into religious and cultural traditions. It concludes that Arkoun's contemporary reading of heritage represents an intellectual project aimed at reconciling the authenticity of Islamic heritage with the demands of modernity through the application of contemporary human and social science methodologies