situation led to a change in technique and approach. Hitherto translations of the Qur’ân and the orientalist writings in general had been meant essentially for European readers and the main purpose was to prevent the Europeans from being influenced by Islam. Now such writings were to be directed to the Muslims and other conquered peoples. Hence it became necessary to abandon the previous practice of open declaration of hostility to Islam and the adoption of at least a show of objectivity and impartiality. Also, it was essential to attack Islam not with a superficial knowledge of it but with a deeper and more thorough understanding of it. Such understanding was needed also for successfully administering the imperial dominions. This need for understanding better the history and customs of the Asians in general and the Muslims in particular led to the formation of specialist learned societies like the Asiatic Society of Bengal, formed in 1784, Société Asiatique of Paris, formed in 1822, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, formed in 1824 and the American Oriental Society, formed in 1842. These societies published learned and specialist journals as well as monographs touching the history, geography, cultures and religions of Asia.

All these developments led to a widening of the scope of Qur’ânic studies from merely its translations and "refutations" to the study of its history, language and text, the nature of Qur’ânic revelations, its exegeses, teachings, the supposed sources of it and of Islam, etc. Henceforth one constant argument advanced by the orientalists was that the Qur’ân and for that matter Islam was made up of ideas and precepts borrowed from Judaism and Christianity. The theory of Jewish origin of the Qur’ân and of Islam was first systematically advanced by Abraham Geiger in 1833 in his work Was hat Mohammed aus dem Judenthem aufgenommen? (1) Thenceforth the theme was expanded into a Judaeo-Christian origin by others, particularly in works dealing with the life of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). It is to be noted that the titles of works of this nature did not show themselves to relate to Qur’ânic studies; but they very much dealt with the subject of the Qur’ân.