Poverty and Wealth in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Nathan R. Kollar is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at St. John Fisher College, USA, retired Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Education, University of Rochester, USA, and Co-founder and Chair of the Board of the Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue at Nazareth College, USA. Muhammad Shafiq is Executive Director of the Brian and Jean Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue and Professor of Islamic and Religious Studies at Nazareth College, USA. He holds the IIIT Chair in Interfaith Studies at Nazareth College.

“This book is an excellent comparison and contrast of each of these religions. … Overall, the comparison and contrast were done well and from a purely unbiased standpoint. I think that everyone should understand other cultures and how they view the major aspects of society. This book helps every Christian, Jew, or Muslim understand the views that the others hold to.” (Justin Dilliplane, Resolved for Christ, resolvedfc.blogspot.de, January, 2018)

• Introduction; Nathan R. Kollar.- PART I: Personifications of Poverty and Wealth.- 1. Reading Job 19:2-22: A Symbolic-Interactionist View of Poverty; Thomas Decker.- 2. The Story of Qarun (Korah) in the Qur’an and Its Importance for our Times; Zeki Saritoprak.- 3. Mughal Munificence: Care and Concern for the Poor in Islamic Hindustan from Tuladan to the Taj; Michael D.Calabria.- 4. Mary’s Magnificat: the Anawim and Church on the Margins; C. Denise Yarbrough.- Part II Doctrines about Poverty and Wealth.- 5. Socioeconomic and Gender Justice in the Qur’an: Modern Challenges; Zainab Alwani.- 6. Gospel Readings on Poverty and Affluence in Most Eastern and Western Churches; Regina Boisclair.- 7. Orthodox Christianity and Islam on Economic Justice: Universal Ideals and Contextual Challenges in Russia; Andrii Krawchuk.- PART III. Spiritual Traditions about Poverty and Wealth.- 8. From Possessio to Paupertas: The Emergence of Religious Poverty as a Critical Spiritual Component of Medieval Christianity; Michael Cusato.- 9. Poverty, Wealth and the Doctrine of Al-Fana’ in the Qur’an; Hussam S. Timani.- 10. Prophetic Ethics As Monotheistic Spirituality; Steven Kepnes.- 11. Christian Ethics: the “Non-Person” and the Insights of Liberation Theology for a Twentieth-First Century World; Curt Cadorette.- 12. A Spirituality for Rich and Poor: Contemporary Catholic Ideals for Economic Justice; Marvin L. Krier Mich.- PART IV. Sharing Our Wealth.- 13. Geography-Based Giving in Jewish Tradition; Malka Zeiger Simkovich.- 14. Poverty and Wealth in Islam’s Sacred Texts; Abdullah F. Al Lheedan.- 15. Overflowing Riches: Generosity, Divine and Human; Clare Amos.- Conclusion; Nathan R. Kollar.