Review & Expositor

Christian engagement with Islam poses the question: what theological sense can we make of a supersessionist approach to our own tradition? This essay sketches a Christian interpretation of Islam that combines the respectful encounter with religious pluralism and the hope for Christian ecumenism. Christians may thus view Islam in part as spreading the same faith and truth that Christians seek to follow. Simultaneously, Christians may view Islam as a profound and integral alternative to Christian faith and practice. The author briefly examines implications of this combined approach for a Christian understanding of Muhammad and the Qur'an.

Muslim-Christian Dialogue in the U.S. is, thankfully, a growing enterprise, but at the same time it lacks depth. In both communities, but particularly in the Muslim community, there is some wariness about the motives and candor of the other. Muslims generally have realized the importance of explaining their tradition to fellow Americans. Their account of Islam, strong on its spirituality and morality, usually lacks acknowledgment of its history and diversity. Many Christians are committed to hospitality to Muslims and usually initiate the encounters. Many are regretful of past and present hostile treatments of Islam and Muslims, but often have difficulty presenting the core faith that unites all Christians beneath the quite evident divisions in the church. One possible path to a deeper understanding between Muslims and Christians is through an intensive and focused examination of our Scriptures.

This essay will be an introduction to interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Christians. It will begin with autobiographical information about how the author, a Canadian Muslim of Pakistani origins, came to be a professor of theology in a Jesuit university in Southern California. It will then move to a discussion of problematic verses in the Qur'an that would seem to discourage interfaith dialogue, and then discuss those verses that promote alliance between Muslims and Christians. Next, I will discuss inclusive and exclusive views in both Islam and Christianity with reference to Jesus as a focal point for dialogue between Muslims and Christians. The essay will end with a discussion of pluralism.

This essay explores what it means for Christians to honor the Prophet Muhammad in the midst of public insults to Muhammad and Muslims. How might Muhammad be our neighbor, whom we are called to love, rather than our archenemy? The author outlines the complex roles and images of Muhammad as a paradigmatic figure for Muslim life, as well as the theological issues that surround the concept of prophecy in Islam and Christianity. He argues that we need to listen for and relate to the Muhammad carried by Muslim neighbors, in order to discern the multiple ways of Islam and to accept the challenge of mutual witness to God's ways in the world.

Muslim American women are making an impact on Muslim culture and thought while facing challenges from both the broader community and the Muslim community. Living in the richly diverse Muslim American community, they propound varied approaches and solutions to their challenges. They are in a privileged position with an American legacy of critical thinking and freedom and their Islamic legacy of autonomy and spiritual agency.

In June 2006, a group of high school youth from Oakhurst Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia went on an interfaith spiritual pilgrimage to Morocco, a country whose population is over 99% Muslim. This is their story.

This article summarizes the journey of a pastor and a congregation in seeking out interfaith dialogue. That dialogue has posed many challenges—especially in connection with the events of 9/11—but also has had many positive outcomes, including not only a broader awareness of and appreciation for a variety of other faiths, but also a deeper understanding of the distinctive values and commitments of “living life Christian.”

Department of Classics and World Religions Ohio University, Athens, OH