Interfaith Series – serie

The causes of global transitions are numerous and complex. Market globalization, technology, climate change and post-colonial political forces are all forging a new world. But caught up in the mix are some powerful religious narratives that are galvanizing peoples and reimagining political and social order. Some are repressive, fundamentalist imaginations such as the so-called Islamic Caliphate. Others could be described as post-religious such as the evolution of universal human rights out ofthe European Christian tradition. But the question of the compatibility of these religious world views, particularly those that have emerged out of the Abrahamic faith traditions, is perhaps the most pressing issue in global stability today. What scope for dialogue is there between the Jewish, Muslim and Christians ways of imagining the future? How can we engage with these multiple imaginations to create a shared peaceful future? This is an interdisciplinary volume of both new and well-knownscholars exploring how religious narratives interact with the contemporary geopolitical climate.

The familiar and heartwarming story of Christmas is one of hope, encapsulated by the birth of the infant Jesus. It is also a story that unites Christianity and Islam--two faiths that have often been at odds with each other. The accounts of the Nativity given by the Evangelists Luke and Matthew find their parallels in Surahs 3 and 19 of the Qur'an, which take up the Annunciation to Mary, the Incarnation from the Holy Spirit, and the Nativity. Christmas and the Qur'an is a sensitive and precise analysis of the Christmas story as it appears in the Gospels and the Qur'an. Karl-Josef Kuschel presents both scriptures in a convincing comparative exegesis and reveals startling similarities as well as significant differences. Kuschel explores how Christians and Muslims read these texts and reveals an intertwining legacy that serves as a base for greater understanding. Without leaving the realm of theology, Kuschel approaches his analysis in a theocentric way by emphasizing the shared belief that God is almighty, which, he argues, can act as a healing suture between Christianity and Islam. Christmas and the Qur'an gives the reader the chance to remember the message of hope that the birth of Jesus brings and invites to a dialogue between Muslims and Christians.

The Qur'an identifies Jesus as a sign of God, and he holds a place as one of the most important prophets in Islam. Looking at Jesus in Islam also reveals both deep differences from and rich connections to the view of Jesus in Christianity. In The Other Prophet, Mouhanad Khorchide and Klaus von Stosch explore and explain the position of the Qur'anic Jesus, with one scholar working from the Muslim and the other from the Christian theological perspective. Their combined research presents a history of Jesus' presence in the Qur'an and provides astute observations to deepen the understanding of both Christians and Muslims. Here we find that a common view of Jesus from the Muslim and Christian sides is not only possible but also expands our understanding of Jesus and his message.

Through a close analysis of the writings of four Lebanese theologians, the author outlines the challenges facing those in Arab Christian communities who seek to foster an accommodation and understanding between Christians and Muslims in the Arabworld. The author examines the current position of the Arab Christian communities in the face of rising Islamic fundamentalism in the Arab world, with particular reference to the weakened position of those communities in Lebanon in the aftermath ofthat country's civil war between 1975 and 1990. The author goes on to call for a re-evaluation by Arab Christians of their attitudetowards Arab Muslims and their faith, and for an engagement between the faiths based on mutual recognition of the shared traditions of Christianity and Islam and an understanding of the need for the faiths to act together in solidarity to addressthe socio-political and sociocultural challenges in the Arab world today. The author concludes by indicating the basis on which a shared spiritual quest for moral and political commitment can be realised.

This book is a translation of Muhammad Abduh’s Al-Islām wa-l-Naṣrāniyya maʿa al-ʿIlm wa-l-Madaniyya (Science and Civilisation between Islam and Christianity). Abduh was an Egyptian jurist, religious scholar, theologian and a reformer of Al-Azhar who died in 1905. His impact on modern Islam cannot be overstated. In fact, much of modern Muslim thought has either been a reaction for or against his ideas. Although numerous English studies have been done on him, only one treatise of his has been translated into English. That is, Risālat al-tawhīd (Theology of Unity) by Ishaq Masaʿad and Kenneth Cragg, in 1966.Far too little attention has been paid to the treatise translated here. Much less attention has been given to how this treatise impacts the Islamic theology of Christianity. Hence, this translation fills a serious gap in the genre of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations.