Islam and Other Faiths

Abstract

My first reaction to this eminent book of collected articles and lectures given by Professor Ismail Raji al-Faruqi is one of frustration that I was not able to meet the man. He died in 1986. I would have loved to have known him, for I found in reading this book that so many of his thoughts and ideas coincided with my own hopes concerning the future of Islam and its relationship with the other peoples of the Book, especially the Christians. I was a Christian theole gian and teacher until my conversion to Islam in 1986. Professor Ismail's book provides a good cross-section of his contribution to the study of comparative religion and covers a wide spectrum of interreligious issues, spanning more than two decades of his work. Essays which deal directly with other faiths, Christianity and Judaism in particular, were specifically selected but they should be seen against the background of his huge contribution to the study of religions through his many other eminent publications. Here, the volume concentrates on those aspects of Islam which the Ahl al-Kitab (the People of the Book) have in common rather than their differences. I have long felt that this was the correct way forward. As a former Christian who initially came to Islam by studying the teachings of Jesus rather than the Qur'an, I was always aware of the commonality of the faith and its develop ment through the prophets of Judaism to Christianity, to its deviation through Trinitarianism, and through the Prophet of Islam who was sent to bring new understanding of Tawhid and the way to find the Straight Path to God. Therefore, I was horrified and disturbed when I ran into the walls of hostility and misunderstanding from all sides-particularly the hostility of Muslims toward Christians and Jews, theological hostilities and racist ones, too. Much of this was and is caused by the complete ignorance of the practicing members of one faith for the others, a situation that will still take years to remedy. However, scholars such as Professor Ismail are trailblazers in this field, and I repeat my disappointment that I missed knowing him personally. He was a Palestinian, born in 1921, and graduated from the American University of Beirut in 1941; he served as District Governor of Galilee in Palestine. He left Galilee as a refugee in 1948 when Palestine was partitioned; ...