For some time now, Islamic studies, like most cultural and social sciences, have been dominated by a methodological debate. At the center of this debate is the question of the theoretical nature of Islamic research and its methodology. Many of the models and theoretical approaches presented have hardly been generalized and remain tied to specific issues. This book therefore seeks to outline the horizon within which a fundamental reorientation of Islamic studies seems conceivable and meaningful. The three main parts of the book address the far-reaching consequences of historicist and positivist scientific thinking for the development and manifestation of Oriental studies, the challenges of intercultural comparison and interdisciplinarity, as well as discourse analysis and other related approaches.