ABSTRACT
This chapter examines why the Bible was important to some Muslim authors, how Muslim authors used the Bible in their writings and how Muslim views of the Bible changed over time (note that ‘Bible’ refers to both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, unless specified). Biblical texts shaped Muslim identity, legitimated Islam as a scripture-based community and fashioned Muslim views of Christianity. Muslim use of biblical passages also reveals how Islamic culture reinterpreted and transformed earlier scriptures to reaffirm their confessional identity. By tracing how Muslims re-fashioned the Bible for their own ends, contemporary participants in Christian–Muslim dialogue might better understand the Bible’s different role in each tradition.
