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Contemporary Muslim-Christian Encounters

Contemporary Muslim-Christian Encounters

Developments, Diversity and Dialogues

Edited by: Paul Hedges

272 Pages

Paperback
ISBN: 9781350022539
Published By: Bloomsbury Academic
Published: January 2017

$39.95

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Review
Author(s)
Author Interview

Edited volumes are advantageous in their offer to the reader of a range of voices on a topic. In Contemporary Muslim-Christian Encounters: Developments, Diversity and Dialogues—a collection inspired by, but not limited to, papers given at a conference on “Interfaith Dialogue in Modernity and Post-Modernity” at the University of Winchester, UK, in 2008—Paul Hedges adds another eleven voices to his own. This team, on which activists outnumber academics, comprises three women and nine men. That we find—in addition to the four authors based in the UK and three in the US—a contributor each from New Zealand, South Africa, Norway, Singapore, and Malaysia, means that Hedges has provided a much broader contextual perspective on positive Christian-Muslim encounter than is often the case. This in itself makes Contemporary Muslim-Christian Encounters worthy of inclusion in syllabi for courses on Christian-Muslim relations, dialogue, or collaboration. But this book has value beyond academia per se. Tightly edited, all chapters are only16-18 pages. While the uniqueness of each authorial voice is maintained, so is a consistency of readability. Thus religious leaders, seasoned interreligious relations practitioners, and newcomers to dialogue all will find something useful. Readers looking for brief histories of Christian-Muslim theological encounter will benefit from essays by David Thomas on “Dialogue before Dialogue” (chapter 1) and by Paul Hedges on “The Contemporary Context of Muslim-Christian Dialogue” (chapter 2). Complementing these, Reuven Firestone’s piece on the origins of the notions of divine election and “elective monotheism” highlights two medieval thinkers—one Jewish, one Christian—as exemplars of “avenues of engagement” with Muslims and others “that avoid the temptation to rationalize difference” (chapter 3). While they are placed later in the book, an additional two essays might well be read after these as next steps: Clare Amos’s account of Vatican and World Council of Churches interfaith initiatives, born in the latter half of the 20th century and continuing to develop in the 21st (chapter 12); and Douglas Pratt’s analysis of three 21st century dialogical initiatives—the annual Building Bridges Seminar, the Theologisches Forum Christentum-Islam, and various forms of response to the open letter A Common Word Between Us and You (chapter 8). Two authors take up topics not as frequently addressed. Khaleel Mohammed (chapter 4) offers a frank “study of the present state of affairs” with regard to Muslim attitudes toward and involvement in interreligious dialogue—the challenges, but also the evidence of new ways forward. Anne Hege Grung (chapter 5) observes what is rarely stated so clearly: while all Christian-Muslim dialogues “share the fact that people involved are gendered,” reflection on gender is not necessarily a factor. The inclusion of her discussion on the bearing of “gender, gender perspectives, and feminisms” on Christian-Muslim engagement—and specifically the challenges and intersections of methodologies when exploring this theme—is refreshing. Some readers may see a synopsis of her own work, having to do with dialogical scripture-study among Norwegian Christian and Muslim women on the theme of gender justice, a project that could indeed be replicated elsewhere. Presenting methods perhaps less broadly replicable, but no less interesting, are essays by Yusuff Jelili Amuda on a rationale firmly grounded in shariah towards interreligious conflict resolution in Nigeria “for protection of children” (chapter 6) and by Jean-Daniel Kabati on interreligious peacebuilding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (chapter 7). Contextual studies also include reflections by Ray Gaston (chapter 9) and Clinton Bennett (chapter 10) that provide insight into practical responses—in the UK and US respectively—to anti-Muslim behavior and well-funded anti-Muslim initiatives. Looking at the topic of peacebuilding from a more global vantage-point, Shirin Shafaie (chapter 11) surveys the diversity and effectiveness of faith-based initiatives—Muslim and Christian—towards nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. In short, while more than half of this book’s chapters rehearse information readily found elsewhere, they do so engagingly, succinctly, and even creatively, thus providing a helpful starting point for discussion and further exploration. Not surprisingly for an edited volume of this sort, there is some overlap of topics covered and examples cited from one essay to the next. (We read, for example of A Common Word in chapters 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, and 12.) Instructors will turn this to an advantage, asking their students to take note of the ways in which recurring themes and examples are handled. Activists and others may not notice such overlaps at all, if their purpose in reading this book is to glean from it what applies most directly to their own situation. If this volume has a serious weakness, it is that only three of twelve chapters have been authored by Muslims. Perhaps this is mitigated somewhat by the inclusion of an essay by a Jewish scholar—unusual for collections of essays on Muslim-Christian concerns. Be all of this as it may, readers of Hedges’s book, whatever their purposes, will have access to a thought-provoking collection of perspectives on the history, methodology, theology, and practice of Christian-Muslim dialogue in a variety of contexts. Lucinda Mosher is Faculty Associate at the Hartford Seminary. Lucinda Mosher
Date Of Review:

March 29, 2018

Despite the fact that encounters between Muslims and Christian have been explored by scholars for decades, if not centuries, many characterizations of such encounters abound with outdated and often ill-informed stereotypes, both about the relationship between Islam and Christianity as well as about interreligious dialogue in general. Paul Hedges’ anthology, Contemporary Christian-Muslim Encounters, attempts to expand and nuance understandings of Christian-Muslim dialogue. This book traverses different times and places in which Muslims and Christians have interacted and employs a diverse array of theoretical frameworks, providing readers with a more contemporary look at fundamental questions and concerns important to anyone who studies or engages in interreligious dialogue. On November 20th, 2017, at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Boston, I had the pleasure to meet with Dr. Hedges to discuss his recent book. –Kirsten Boles, Assistant Editor

KB: What was your aim in putting together this anthology?

PH: One aim of the book is to respond to and reflect upon the fact that Muslim-Christian relations is a very pressing issue in today’s world. There is a lot of interest in this topic amongst scholars and people outside the academy today, so I thought it was important to contribute to the ongoing conversation. I also hope this book can fill some gaps in the existing literature concerning Muslim-Christian relations and perhaps be used as a textbook for those teaching in this area.

KB: What are some common misconceptions about the relationship between Muslims and Christians and about interreligious dialogue in general?

PH: A common misconception is to assume natural hostility between these two traditions. Certainly there have been long periods of conflict between them, but this history is mixed in with political affairs, with debates concerning boundaries and territories. This history of political and territorial disputes does not point to, as many conclude, an inherent hostility between Muslims and Christians. For instance, we see conflicts over land disputes and between ethnicities which often implicates religions in the mix even if it is not religious matters per se which are disputed. But you also see many periods of peace between Muslims and Christians. They have lived very happily alongside each other in many places and at various periods of time.

I guess also in terms of interreligious dialogue more generally, there is often a sense that such dialogue involves people of good will getting together, having tea and biscuits, and saying how much they love each other. There have been times when interreligious dialogue does look like that, which isn’t necessarily bad because at least it means there is a dialogue taking place and a relationship being built between these people. But there is also dialogue that addresses more difficult issues, dialogue that is more active—for example, peace building work, Christians and Muslims coming together to teach youth groups together and develop shared experiences.

KB: The second half of the book consists of case studies. What are some common themes that arise from this collection of case studies, and what do you think these recurring themes help demonstrate about interfaith dialogue between Christians and Muslims?

PH: It’s difficult to find common themes, because the case studies all look at different contexts and situations. In fact, in the introduction to the book one thing I suggest is that there is no single contemporary context. However, one common theme could concern the way people and institutions come together to fight against misunderstandings. One of the case studies focuses on the Democratic Republic of Congo and peace-building efforts there. Another is set in the UK, where Christian churches have responded to Islamophobia. For instance, in response to the English Defense League (a British far-right, nationalist, and Islamophobic movement) there are Christians and Muslims who have come together to create common bonds of community. Things are often still difficult between many of these communities, because, of course, there is still violence and conflict ongoing, but one of the major themes of these case studies is to show that that is not the full story, that these two traditions have co-existed in both positive and less positive ways.

KB: How do you think this book contributes to the study of interreligious relations? Do you think it also makes contributions to Christianity or Islam as individual disciplines?

PH: In terms of interreligious relations, this book attempts to look at the contemporary situation. There are a lot of historical studies out there, but these are slightly dated case studies. A lot of what is in the book is contemporary updates on some of the more outdated examinations of Muslim-Christian relations. For instance, we look at nuclear disarmament.

I do think there is something one can learn about both Christianity and Islam from this book. For example, with nuclear disarmament, the author of that chapter Shriin Shafiae is particularly looking at the Iranian context because that is, of course, an ongoing situation, and many people believe Iran is building up its nuclear program. With this case studies, Shirin looks at how nuclear armament fits into Shiite thought in which weapons of mass destruction would be an abomination: they would be immoral tools. It is important to look at how they reconcile that.

Regarding Christianity, perhaps understanding how dialogue takes place between Christians and non-Christians could help each learn more about not just the situations that warrant such dialogue, but also about how each tradition approaches and manages that dialogue.

KB: What is the one takeaway you hope your readers will glean from this book?

If you’ll permit me, I’ll take two. With regard to my own chapter, one important takeaway is a particular theoretical frame which I call the “Shifting Third.” When looking at Christian-Muslim relationships and the links between them, I argue that this relationship cannot be understood as a binary, because there is always at least one other group involved, and the way that that third group is related to the two traditions changes the relationship between them. For instance, I look at both Judaism and secularism and argue that in different contexts, secularism affects the ways in which this Christian-Muslim dialogue takes place. There is always a shift in dynamics—that is, the “Shifting Third”—which needs to be attended to instead of simply just focusing on a binary. Indeed, this applies beyond simply Christian-Muslim dialogue.

The other takeaway could be a broader sense of the contemporary situations that we see with regard to Muslim-Christian relations. We often go back to the historical context or perhaps theoretical issues, and while theoretical frameworks are an important part of the book, I also included case studies so as to bring the theory and the case studies together. This helps the reader better understand the diverse and conflicting dynamics in the world today and the relationship between these two traditions.