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muhammad shahrur’s life and workxxvCritics of Shahrur had two options: to ignore his book, thus expressingcontempt through ostentatious silence, or to criticise it publicly,although this implied a tacit acknowledgement of its significance.More and more critics opted for the latter. Two further publicationsin 1991—now available in book format—one by SalÊm al-J§bÊ 21 , theother by MuÈammad Haytham Isl§mbålÊ, 22 tried to discredit thebook by ‘discovering’ its Marxist, secular, and materialistic underpinnings.This, in turn, caused a critical reaction by leftist intellectuals,such as Naßr \§mid Abå Zayd, 23 •ayyib TÊzÊnÊ, 24 •§riq Ziy§da, 25and #AlÊ NåÈ, 26 who all tried to distance themselves from Shahrur’sbook by demonstrating its lack of real Marxist and secular-materialistanalysis. SalÊm al-J§bÊ’s polemical assault was also criticised by othernaqdiyya fÊ mu"allaf ‘al-Kit§b wa’l-Qur"§n’— al-Maw·å# al-th§nÊ: al-Èudåd fi’lisl§m”(A Critical Reading of the Book ‘The Book and the Qur"an’—the SecondTopic: The \udåd Limits in Islam); 3. “Qir§"a naqdiyya fÊ mu"allaf ‘al-Kit§bwa’l-Qur"§n’— al-Maw·å# al-th§lith: al-sunna” (A Critical Reading of the Book ‘TheBook and the Qur"an’—the Third Topic: The Sunna) Nahj al-Isl§m 46 (December1991): 35–43; 47 (March 1992): 136–44; 48 (June 1992): 84–95; 4. “Qir§"a naqdÊyafÊ mu"allaf #al-Kit§b wa’l-Qur"§n"— al-Mau·å# al-r§bi#: qa·§y§ fi’l-#aqÊda (A CriticalReading of the Book ‘The Book and the Qur"an’—the Fourth Topic: Problems ofDoctrine) Nahj al-Isl§m 49 (September 1992); 5. “Qir§"a naqdÊya fÊ mu"allaf ‘al-Kit§bwa’l-Qur"§n’— al-Mau·å# al-kh§mis: qa·§y§ fi’l-fikr (A Critical Reading of the Book‘The Book and the Qur"an’—the Fifth Topic: Problems of Thinking) Nahj al-Isl§m 50(December 1992).21SalÊm al-J§bÊ, al-Qir§"a al-mu#§ßira li-Duktår MuÈammad ShaÈrår: Mujarrad tanjÊm—kadhaba al-munajjimån wa-law ßadaqå (The Contemporary Reading of Dr. MuhammadShahrur: Pure Astrology—Astrologers Lied Even If They [Spoke] Sincerely),(Damascus: Ak§d, 1991).22Isl§mbålÊ, MuÈammad Haytham. al-Radd #al§ al-Duktår ShaÈrår fÊ mas’alat lib§sal-mar"a (Refutation of Dr. Shahrour with regards to the Issue of Women’s Dress),(Damascus: D§r al-#Ilm, 1992—2nd ed., 1994).23Naßr \§mid Abå Zayd, “Lim§dha ãaghat al-talfÊqiyya #al§ kathÊr minmashrå#§t tajdÊd al-isl§m,” (Why have Patch-ups come to dominate so many Projectson the Renewal of Islam?) Al-Hil§l (October 1991): 17–27; “ al-Manhaj al-naf #Ê fÊfahm al-nußåß al-dÊniyya,” (The Utilitarian Method in the Understanding of ReligiousTexts) Al-Hil§l (March 1992).24Tayyib •ÊzÊnÊ, “FÊ mun§qashatihi li’l-isl§m wa-mushkilat al-taqaddumal-ijtim§#Ê” (About his Discussion of Islam and the Problem of Social Progress)Al-Usbå# al-adabÊ (The Magazine of the Arab Writers’ Organization—al-Ittiȧdal-Kutt§b al-#Arab), no. 204 (1990): 12.25•§riq Ziy§da, “•ar§fa fi’l-taqsÊm wa-ghar§ba fi’l-ta"wÊl” (Strange Division andGrotesque Interpretation) Al-N§qid 45 (March 1992): 57–60.26#AlÊ NåÈ, “Al-Kit§b wa’l-Qur"§n, Mu"allifuhu: MuÈammad Shahrår—Qir§"a#ilmiyya: #aßriyya am m§·awiyya,” (‘The Book and the Qur"an’, its Author: MuhammadShahrur—A Critical Reading: [Is is] Modern or Pre-Modern?) Al-Fikr al-#ArabÊ4 (Summer 1994): 192–209.