Orientalists and those responsible for compiling the Leiden Quran Encyclopedia (EQ) claim that in recent decades, unlike their predecessors, they have adopted a moderated, fair, and unbiased approach towards the Holy Quran.
The main question of this research is to what extent this claim aligns with reality. The examination of the EQ’s approach to important issues, including the influence of contemporary culture on the Quran, is because it has been translated into Persian in Iran and published without any critique.
Verifying the above claim can help readers understand how to approach the content of EQ articles. By analyzing these articles, it is found that although the authors have acted sympathetically in some articles, in others they have shown bias and, with the presumption of negating the divine origin of the Quran, have subtly and respectfully conveyed the influence of its contemporary culture on the Quran to the audience.
From a comprehensive, unbiased perspective on the Quran, it becomes clear that the Quran, in confronting the ideas, beliefs, and customs of the age of Ignorance and the culture of its time, has acted in three ways: some mental and behavioral deviations of the pre-Islamic era are negated without any exception; some norms and values aligned with human nature, mostly derived from previous divine religions, are affirmed; and some are corrected.