Formulation of the claim
The foundational texts in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam see themselves as addressing all of humanity and not being confined to any particular group.
Explanation
Within Arkoun’s thought, this claim is not understood as a purely religious description, but as a common feature of the major monotheistic religions: each presents itself within a comprehensive horizon that transcends ethnic or local belonging. The claim thus becomes part of its discursive structure, not merely a detail in its history.
This universality is tied to the authority and meaning conferred by the foundational text; its effect does not stop with the group of founders or the first followers, but aspires to guide all of humanity. From this perspective, Arkoun reads this claim within a broader network of questions about truth, authority, and dissemination.
Its place in the book’s argument
This atom appears in the context of comparing the three monotheistic religions, where Arkoun emphasizes that each of them builds itself on a totalizing discourse that goes beyond narrow historical boundaries. It therefore falls within his thesis about the universal human dimension of religions, and about the way foundational texts become a reference with a universal reach.
Limits of the claim
This atom should not be loaded with a final judgment on the realization of universality in historical reality, nor reduced to a mere missionary slogan. It describes a structural claim in the foundational texts, not a final outcome of their impact or truthfulness.