The Qur’an’s Composition: Assessing Andrew Bannister’s Oral-Formulaic Study of the Qur’an
This paper assesses Bannister’s work by examining the following. First, the Qur’an’s use of Biblicist material and how that material is linked to the historical roots of the Islamic tradition will be examined to see if the use of that material reflects the characteristics of an oral text. Second, the merits of using OLT as the theoretical basis for establishing the orality of the Qur’an will be analyzed. Third, an examination of Bannister’s sophisticated computer analysis of the Qur’an, which he used to detect the level of oral-formulaic content, will be carried out. I will not offer much of a critique here. My purpose is to summarize his findings and let the reader decide their potential usefulness.
This paper assesses Bannister’s work by examining the following. First, the Qur’an’s use of Biblicist material and how that material is linked to the historical roots of the Islamic tradition will be examined to see if the use of that material reflects the characteristics of an oral text. Second, the merits of using OLT as the theoretical basis for establishing the orality of the Qur’an will be analyzed. Third, an examination of Bannister’s sophisticated computer analysis of the Qur’an, which he used to detect the level of oral-formulaic content, will be carried out. I will not offer much of a critique here. My purpose is to summarize his findings and let the reader decide their potential usefulness.
This paper assesses Bannister’s work by examining the following. First, the Qur’an’s use of Biblicist material and how that material is linked to the historical roots of the Islamic tradition will be examined to see if the use of that material reflects the characteristics of an oral text. Second, the merits of using OLT as the theoretical basis for establishing the orality of the Qur’an will be analyzed. Third, an examination of Bannister’s sophisticated computer analysis of the Qur’an, which he used to detect the level of oral-formulaic content, will be carried out. I will not offer much of a critique here. My purpose is to summarize his findings and let the reader decide their potential usefulness.