Muslims and Christians Face to Face

Abstract

Muslims and Christians Face to Face is an academic research work that observes the various response of Muslims to Christianity and Christians to Islam. It is written by Kate Zebiri, who is a lecturer in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. In the first chapter, "Factors Influencing Muslim-Christian Relations," Zebiri discusses the four factors that affect Mu Jim and Christian perceptions of each other. The first factor is what the Qur'an says about Christians and Christianity, and the way in which the Qur'anic material has been interpreted. With regards to this factor the author discusses the Qur'anic awareness of religious plurality, the Qur'anic perception of Jesus, the earthly end of Jesus in the Qur'an, and what the Qur'anic verses say about the salvation of the People of the Book in the hereafter. Moreover, Zebiri tries to draw attention to the difference between what the Qur'an says about Christians and Christianity, and the way in which the Qur'anic material has been interpreted, and the difference between the commentators' and jurists' positions toward Christianity, in both the classic and contemporary periods. The second factor is the history of Muslim-Christian relations and the affect of historical memory. Here the author describes the relation between the Arab Muslim conquest and the Byzantine Christian Empire; the situation of Christians under Muslim rule; the affect of the Crusades on the Muslims' attitudes to Christianity; the development of the Christian attitude to Islam from ignorance during the European Christendom, to anti-Muslim polemic attitude to conduct studies on Islam based on reliable sources after the Renaissance, to using Islam as a theme in internal Christian polemic during the time of the Reformation, to admiring Islam for its own sake in the Enlightenment; and finally, the attitude of both liberal and conservative Christians to Islam today. The third factor is the relationship between Christian missions and imperialism and the influence this has on the Muslim attitude toward Christianity today. With regards to this factor, the author explores the interrelationship between Colonialism and Christian missions, and how it has been implanted in the Muslim consciousness and become part of the anti-Western discourse. The fourth factor is Christian and Muslim views on dialogue. In this pare the author shows the Christian acknowledgment of Islam as a result of the Christian ecumenical movement She states that Muslims have been slow to initiate and participate in organized dialogue. In addition, she mentions that many Christians and Muslims see dialogue as antithetical to their mission or da'wah, believing that one compromises the other ...