Ideological horizons in English translations of the Qur'an: Reassessing and extending Robinson's framework

Although earlier scholarship has acknowledged the influence of ideology on Qur'an translation, systematic examinations of intra-Muslim variation remain limited. Robinson's (1997) pioneering study marked a turning point by identifying four distinct hermeneutic horizons (Sunni, Shi'i, Ahmadi, and Rationalist) through a focused analysis of verses where theological commitments are most likely to surface. The present study aims to evaluate the broader applicability and continued relevance of Robinson's typology. To fulfil this objective, ten contemporary English translations representing the same four orientations were examined through a comparative analysis of twelve doctrinally contested Qur'anic passages. This methodology enables systematic tracing of lexical, structural, and paratextual choices that reveal how theological orientations are expressed or muted across horizons, and whether Robinson's patterns persist in a larger and more modern dataset. The findings confirm that Robinson's four horizons remain visible across the expanded corpus, though with notable variations in degree and expression.