There was an interesting Op-Ed piece today in the New York Times. It seems that the academy is beginning to study Quran like it had done to the Old Testament. The Op-Ed's prime example is that some believe that the promise of 72 virgins for giving up one's life really meant to be grapes and not virgins. However, what I found most interesting is the thinking that this new study will lead to an Islamic Reformation. Unfortunately, while it might be a good thing on the one hand, history has shown that reforming religion leads to the polarization of religion. It will lead to many becoming fundamentalist, so the hope of a "bright" future is not really in sight as a result of Quran Criticism. For more information about Quran Criticism, read the following book review. The reviewer concludes with the following warning:

It is hoped that an English translation of this work will soon appear.
Despite the sober revolution this book will no doubt create, one should not be
naïve to think that all Islamicists in the West will immediately take up and
respond to the scholarly challenges posed by any work of this kind. However,
just as Christianity (my addition - and Judaism) faced the challenges of nineteenth and twentieth century biblical and liturgical scholarship, so too will serious scholars of Islam, both East and West, benefit from the discipline Luxenberg has launched.