Muhammad Shahrur (April 11, 1938 – December 21, 2019) was a Syrian engineer, researcher, and thinker. He was a professor of civil engineering at Damascus University and the author and theorist of what has been called “the contemporary reading of the Quran.” Shahrur began writing about the Quran and Islam after his return from Moscow. Some accused him of adopting Marxist thought due to his youth spent in the Soviet Union. In 1990, he published The Book and the Quran, in which he attempted to apply some new linguistic methods in an attempt to find a new interpretation of the Quran. This sparked intense controversy that lasted for years, and many books were published discussing the ideas contained in his book and attempting to support or refute them. Muhammad Shahrur has gained many supporters and opponents for his ideas in many countries.