1st Edition

Islam and Other Religions Pathways to Dialogue

Edited By Irfan Omar Copyright 2006
    222 Pages
    by Routledge

    222 Pages
    by Routledge

    This collection of essays assesses various dimensions of dialogue between Islam and other religions, especially Christianity. This book celebrates the work of Professor Mahmoud Ayoub and reflects the themes that are central in his scholarship spanned over the last three decades and which are more relevant than ever at the inauguration of the twenty-first century. The themes reflected are the Qur’an and hadith, theology and philosophy, and Islam’s interaction with other religions. Ayoub needs no introduction to those familiar with and engaged in inter-religious dialogue in general and Muslim-Christian-Jewish dialogue in particular. He is a well-known Muslim scholar and historian of religion, currently director of the Islamic studies program in the department of religion at Temple University in Philadelphia. His broad area of interest is of course Islamic studies but he has also exerted considerable scholarly efforts in comparative religion. As evidenced from Dr. Ayoub’s works, he moves with ease between philosophy and mysticism, scripture and tradition and between Islam and other religions. As a Muslim, Ayoub has provided a model of being religious which combines openness to others without compromising rigorous historical scholarship. Contributors to this volume include some of his close friends and colleagues, as well as former students both Muslim and Christian. This book was previously published as a special issue of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations.

    1. Preface: A Word on Mahmoud Ayoub  Michael Sells  2. Introduction: Pathways to Dialogue, The Journey of Mahmoud Ayoub  Irfan A. Omar  3. Christians, Muslims, Jews, and their Religions  Jacques Waardenburg  4. Eschatology: Some Muslim and Christian Data  Willem A. Bijlefeld  5. Two Traditions, One Space: Orthodox Christians and Muslims  Rev. George C. Papademetriou  6. Christian-Muslim Relations into the Twenty-First Century  Alwi Shihab  7. Symbolism and Allegory in the Qur’an: Muhammad Asad’s Modernist Translation  Abdin Chande  8. A Versatile Mathal: ‘The Man Who Hired Laborers’  Marston Speight  9. Knowledge, Women and Gender in the Hadith: A Feminist Interpretation  Sa‘diyya Shaikh  10. Faith and Unfaith in Pre-occultation Shi‘ism: A Study in Theology and Social History  L. Clarke  11. The Notion of Necessary Being in Fakhr al-Din al-Razi’s Philosophical Theology  Salahuddin Kafrawi 12. ‘The Poorest Form of Theism:’ Schopenhauer, Islam and the Perils of Comparative Hermeneutics  Douglas L. Berger  13. Prophetic Models in Islamic and Christian Spirituality According to Ibn ‘Arabi and Meister Eckhart  Etin Anwar

    Biography

    IRFAN A. OMAR IS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ISLAM AND WORLD RELIGIONS AT MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY IN MILWAUKEE. HE IS THE AUTHOR OF SEVERAL ARTICLES IN SCHOLARLY JOURNALS AND IS CO-EDITOR OF HEIRS OF ABRAHAM (ORBIS 2005, FORTHCOMING).