The Encyclopaedia of the Qur’an and the Orientalist terminology of Islam: The imposition of translated equivalents to avoid translation. A case of teleology in research and translation

The only scientific paradigm that Western scholars have created for Islam and its culture is Orientalism. But it is a paradigm that has certain shortcomings, particularly in regard to the understanding of terms in Arabic and its translation in European languages. This deficiency is most evident when we talk about the studies on the Koran. The research presented here examines some of the issues relating to the translation of the Quranic texts into Western languages. Likewise, we research how this understanding and translation constitute a fundamental element in creating and developing theories?whether orientalist or not? about any Arabic, Islamic or Oriental topic. With this objective in mind, we have used an example taken from the Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān by Brill publishers in Holland and compiled by Georgetown University in Washington. It shows Islamic terminology we could consider orientalist. In addition, the article attempts to demonstrate the existence of a bibliographical gap in such an important topic as the treatment and translation of Islamic terminology and, in particular, of the Koranic terminology, above all within the framework of Orientalist studies.