http://www3.nd.edu/~reynolds/index_file ... cation.pdfAs I see it, four different layers of meaning can be associated with the Ara- bic word tahrlf. Accordingly, I use a different English phrase or term for each layer.
First, I use the phrase "scriptural falsification" (as in the title of this paper) as an overarching topical description for everything that the Arabic term tahrïfmghi entail.
Second, I use the phrase "textual alteration" to describe the common accusation of medieval (and modern) Islamic literature that the Jews and Christians really erased (or destroyed) some or all of the true scripture and rewrote it (tahrlf al-nass).
Third, I use the term "misinterpretation" for the accusation that the Jews and Christians do not properly understand their own scripture {tahrlf al-ma^ânl).
Fourth, I use the phrase "they shift words out of their contexts" to trans- late as literally as possible the Qur'anic phrase (related to tahrlf) yuharrifuna l-kalima 'an mawädi'ihi, for reasons that I will explain below.
Not sure if this helps anything!