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The bombings in Madrid (2004) and London (2005) and the murder of the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004 alerted European governments to their susceptibility to terrorism perpetrated by unassimilated Muslim immigrants. Whether they had pursued multicultural immigration policies or regulated their immigrant communities closely, European countries began adopting stricter measures in the attempt to contain - if not transform - 'radical' Islam. There appears to be a convergence toward a rigid model that includes highly-visible deportations, demonstrations of support for pro-government Muslim leaders, and infiltration of mosques and Muslim communities, as well as sponsoring or endorsing programs to train Euro-friendly imams. This study examines the development and diversity of such policies as they affect imams in various European countries with special reference to immigration policy, domestic surveillance and education programs in France, Britain and the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, the eponymous progenitor of the contemporary Nurculuk movement, was arguably the most influential, if woefully under-researched, Turkish Muslim thinker of the twentieth century. Nurculuk, a faith-based movement consisting of an estimated seven million followers worldwide, stands out from other contemporary Muslim religious and ideological groupings not only for its uncompromising focus on the renewal of individual rather than collective faith, but also for its eschewal of any kind of religiously legitimized violence or militancy for the sake of politico-ideological ends. This article is an attempt at an overview of Nursi's idiosyncratically irenic approach to the highly contentious issue of jihad, itself key to our understanding of the staunch apoliticism he espoused in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The premise of this article is that we can learn something about the spirituality as well as other orientations of Bediüzzaman Said Nursi and the movement he inspired by taking a comparative perspective. Among other twentieth-century movements in the Muslim world, it has been suggested that the 'faith' movement of Maulana Muhammad Ilyas, also known as the Tablighi Jamaat, would be the most apt for comparison. This study therefore highlights comparable and contrasting aspects of these two movements in order to shed light on Nursian spirituality. It will consider, for example, the lives of the founders, the contexts in which their activities arose, their teachings and practices, and the subsequent development of the respective movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Said Nursi was a scholar and teacher who made many original contributions to contemporary thought, some of which relate to Christianity and the West. His long life spanned several historical periods, which led inevitably to there being differences in his stance towards the West. This article focuses on the last twenty years of Nursi's life, which included the Second World War and post-war period, during which, within the framework of revealed religion, Nursi advocated reconciliation with the West and cooperation with pious Christians in combating the spiritual and moral depredations of aggressive atheism. He posited that such an approach was foreseen in hadiths about the end of time. A second theme of the article is Nursi's desire to bring together, and present as a new way of teaching the essential qur'anic 'truths of faith', various traditional Islamic sciences and modern science. The reconciliation of science and religion, the recombining of these two branches of knowledge, was one of Nursi's lifelong aims, which he intended to achieve with the Risale-i Nur (the body of work that reflects his mature thought), and which in his later years he looked on as a sort of reconciliation with Western civilization in principle. Thus, reconciliation between Muslims and Christians and between Islam and the West, as advanced by Nursi, should be seen in the wider context of his thought generally. Also mentioned is Nursi's concern that 'awakened humanity' would find the peace and prosperity it yearned for in Islam, and his hope that the Risale-i Nur, which embodies his thought and methods, would contribute to the achievement of this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

That we live in a world of racial, cultural, ideological and religious differences is a fact of existence. Our awareness of this is not new. What is new, however, is the growing appreciation of these differences and the realization that in a significant sense difference is creative and so must be celebrated. Nevertheless, difference is also challenging. At the present time, no student of religion can avoid asking the pressing question of what attitude to take towards people of 'other' religious traditions. This article will investigate how this question has been approached within the culture(s) of Islam. It will argue that the attitude of Muslims towards the people of other religious traditions is not fixed, even within the same time and place. The current context of society and the state of affairs (social, political, demographic, etc.) affects this doctrine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

British attitudes towards Islam and Muslims are examined on the basis of 104 public opinion polls conducted between 1988 and 2006, 90 of them since 2001. Many of these surveys were undertaken at national crisis points of one sort or another for which Islam and Muslims could not avoid being seen as causal factors. Nine high-level conclusions are drawn from this evidence. There has been increasing Islamophobia, not least since 2001. A stereotypical picture of British Muslims in the eyes of the majority population has emerged, Muslims being seen as slow to integrate into mainstream society, feeling only a qualified sense of patriotism, and prone to espouse anti-Western values that lead many to condone so-called Islamic terrorism. To an extent, these stereotypes reflect the reality of Muslim views, as displayed in 29 polls conducted among the British Muslim community, mainly since 2001. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The method of dichotomization (division/classification process) has been used to formalize our maps of reality and to make predictions based on those maps. This method indicates the structure and nature of information processing within the human brain. Whether in forms of opposition or complementarity, dichotomies have performed an important function in Muslim theology as a method of producing concept, knowledge and thought. The method of dichotomization has contributed to the formation of a certain epistemology, ontology and methaphysic in Muslim theology. By using the dialectical method based on dichotomies, Muslim theologians have created a third term, or mode, or value, different from dialogical Aristotelian logic, thus overcoming the dichotomies and reaching a synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The English Catholic historian Christopher Dawson (1889-1970) and the former president of Iran, Ayatollah Mohammed Khatami (b. 1943) have made passionate appeals for an international programme of order and dialogue that transcends nationalism, power politics, and strictly materialist ends. Although Dawson's musings were written over half a century before Khatami's speech to the United Nations in 2000, his tone and choice of themes are remarkably similar to those in Khatami's paper: Western culture; metahistorical dialogue; art as dialogue; cultural intrusion and homogenization; religious mysticism; and the resurgence of religion in global politics. A comparison of the vision of these two men is a timely and important contribution to interreligious dialogue. Further, Dawson's thoughts on global history, Europe, and international relations provide excellent insight into the changes in the Western mind which occurred during the twentieth century, Pope Benedict XVI's views on Europe and Muslim-Christian dialogue, and possibilities for common ground between religious groups and cultures. Perhaps most important of all, the parallels between Dawson's and Khatami's concerns and hopes, in spite of their differences, represent an important conversation between Christians and Muslims at a time when it is desperately needed by both groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article argues for the need to look beyond the texts used within the context of interreligious dialogue, and to focus just as much on the context and the way in which the texts are expected to be heard. It focuses specifically on Christian-Muslim dialogue at an event in Iran where the author was present. By looking at the use of rhetoric and pragmatics within his own contribution to this event, he raises questions about the way in which those contributing to dialogue communicate with the many different audiences involved, and the way in which their messages are received by those audiences. By focussing on this one event, the aim is to show what might be achieved through this kind of analysis and to call for more work to be done in this kind of way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article sets out to identify the causes of Christian-Muslim conflicts in Northern Nigeria and suggest strategies for peaceful co-existence among the adherents of the two religions. It is based on in-depth interviews with the community and religious leaders and a survey of media coverage of the crises. The article examines the sudden upsurge of violent conflicts between Christians and Muslims in Northern Nigeria in general and Kaduna State in particular. Analysts posit that these conflicts arise from clashes of values and claims to scarce resources, power and status. The article examines how non-Muslims view the emirate system of administration with its Islamic origin, the Sharica system of law operating in the Northern States, and the effects of these on Christian-Muslim relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa, like many other nation-states in sub-Saharan Africa, has been a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious state for more than a century. This mosaic character of South African society stimulated Archbishop Desmond Tutu to aptly describe it as 'the rainbow nation'. The population of South Africa's rainbow nation numbers in the region of 44.8 million, and is predominantly Christian. Other members of this nation belong to numerous other religious traditions, including Muslims, who make up roughly 1.5% (less than one million) of the total population. Despite their small numbers, Muslims have played a prominent role in South African society before and throughout the twentieth century, and their relationship with the majority Christian society, particularly within the African, Coloured and Indian communities, may generally be described as cordial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with concerns and hopes regarding something commonly known as Christian missionary activity, which in Africa has tended to see Muslims as rivals in a race for the souls of the adherents of African indigenous religions. After explaining the meaning of a dialogue-based approach to missionary work, the focus is on matters concerning the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) and its new involvement in Chad. Such an analysis is essential if the SVD is going to change the perception of Christian mission from an exercise in religious imperialism to a dialogical way of searching together for the signs of God's presence. The latter will involve closer contact with Muslims and hopefully will incline SVD missionaries to a more thorough adoption and implementation of a dialogical way of carrying out their ministry, one based on profound and conscious respect for others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1994 genocide has become a major factor in Rwandan history. At its root lie both ethnic and religious dimensions. These events are considered in the context of a long history of tension and conflict between segments of the population. Religion having contributed to the radicalization of social identities through the involvement of the religious leadership in the genocide, the article analyses Christian-Muslim relations in post-genocide Rwanda. Interviews with Christians and Muslims show that the hitherto marginalized Muslim minority has been able to protect victims and, in cooperation with other groups, has embarked on jihād to enhance and facilitate reconciliation. As a result, both Tutsis and Hutus have been turning to Islam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the changing relationship between independent Pentecostal and charismatic groups and radical Islamic movements in Northern Nigeria between the 1970s and the early years of the twenty-first century. All these groups, be they Christian or Muslim, represent a new dimension in religious fundamentalism in contemporary Nigeria. In spite of being internal revivalist groups within their respective religious traditions, they reflect negative attitudes toward each other. Their relationship has been marked by continuous competition for public space. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the demonization of Islamic groups was a feature of Pentecostal discourse. Through their involvement in political activities under the umbrella of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), evangelicals and Pentecostals developed a common front in the face of Muslim fundamentalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article evaluates religious education strategies in view of the need to cope adequately with prejudices between Muslims and Christians in Tanzania against the historical background of the two traditions and contemporary events. It shows that religious prejudice is the result of religious instruction provided within both communities, and is due either to negative stereotypes or ignorance of the tradition of the other. The challenge is to critically analyse the teaching contents, aims and methods of religious instruction of each tradition in order to unearth prejudicial elements, and to recommend ways and means of coping with them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines contemporary paradigms, events and modes of communal behaviour which represent and reflect historical perspectives and shifts in Christian-Muslim relations in Kenya, which have been variously characterized by conflict, concord, polemics and dialogue, based on archival records, official documents and interviews. Since Muslims and Christians co-exist side by side in Kenya, they are compelled to respond to the challenges of this reality. Events involving Muslims and Christians as influenced by colonial history and the struggle for independence, and various ways in which the communities are participating in a new nation, are considered with reference to constitutional debates regarding Islamic courts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid political rise of the National Islamic Front is examined within a broader and more complex context, particularly as it pertains to relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in Sudan during the period from 1989 to the present. The regime's decision to change the nature of the South-North conflict into a jihad confrontation was determinative for the future of Islam in the Sudan, even though the regime's jihad discourse has been characterized by ambiguity and confusion. The Islamists have not produced a policy statement or a juristic work addressing the status of non-Muslims in the Sharica-based state and society they envisage, in spite of the 1991 Criminal Act and the 1998 Constitution of the Republic of Sudan. As a result, non-Muslims in Sudan are facing a difficult and testing time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socio-economic developments in Africa in an era of globalization, the rise of charismatic and evangelical Christianity, and the call for Islamization and application of the Sharica in parts of Africa are in danger of creating tension and destroying the apparently peaceful co-existence between the two faith communities. The article offers a conceptual basis for the relationship between Christians and Muslims from the Islamic perspective, addressing the need for Christians and Muslims to work in concert and the inherent problems that must be faced, and makes recommendations to foster a better relationship. Since any discussion of the contemporary is rooted in the past, reference is made to historical situations in order that Muslims and Christians may learn from history. Examples from Nigeria and the Sudan, where there has been polarization of Muslims and Christians, and where the problem is endemic, seek to illustrate the point, together with personal experiences and observations from Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Christian-Muslim relations, even at the best of times, have always been disturbingly marred by suspicion, accusations and counter-accusations over interpretations of history and experiences. This has been further confounded by the very complex nature of the colonial histories on the African continent, where the destruction of existing civilizations, empires and emperors provided the foundation stones for the establishment of the colonial states that later emerged. The article provides insights into some of the major issues that serve as constraints in Christian-Muslim relations in some of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It reviews issues of Christian-Muslim relations against the backdrop of the return of democracy in most of sub-Saharan Africa in the last ten or fifteen years and points out some policy issues that African states will need to address to lay a foundation for dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking into consideration that Christians and Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa live intermingled in family, clan or ethnic groups, this article takes cognizance of the effect of the teachings of each tradition about their own identity and their perception of the other. It also seeks to take into account the Roman Catholic principles of inter-religious dialogue as enunciated by the Second Vatican Council in the documents Nostra Aetate and the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christians, as well as Unitatis Reintegratio, the Decree on Ecumenism, and Dominus Iesus. In view of the fact that these are seen as a source of tension, the question arises as to whether they are being interpreted correctly or applied in the spirit intended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muslims are defined as Muslims by their sacred law; as such, they constitute a religious community delineated, theoretically and practically, according to a notion of jurisprudence. The comprehensive nature of that law has led many to doubt the ability of Muslims to integrate into non-Muslim societies, and the confusion remains in various ways in the present day, with many continuing to question it. Both Muslims and non-Muslims appear to be aware that for a large number of Muslims in the EU sacred law is not only useful but imperative for understanding their current situation. Looking at how jurists and intellectuals understood the role of Shari[image omitted] in both the past and the present is therefore of great interest to scholars and students in the field of Islamic studies in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia is a democratic secular federation with Islam as its official religion. Over the last few decades, this unique model of tolerance and accommodation has been undergoing astounding developments politically, socially and economically. Intense intra-Muslim struggles coupled with increased state-mobilized Islamizing efforts have produced disturbing knock-on effects on non-Muslim minorities. Religion is so profoundly interwoven with race, ethnicity, politics and economics that it is impossible to speak of one without touching upon the others. This article aims to elucidate key practical issues affecting Christians living in a majority Islamic context. It further proposes significant policy options for managing Muslim-Christian relations in twenty-first-century Malaysia. Education is crucial for promoting interreligious harmony, religious freedom, and respect for people of different traditions. More collaborative endeavours through interfaith dialogue should help Malaysians transcend cultural, racial, linguistic and religious barriers. Both Christian and Muslim faith communities need to learn more about and from each other and to move forward towards nation-building and a common destiny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their claims to be religions of peace, Christianity and Islam each have a history of considerable violence, based on scriptural precedents that are taken as sanctions for hostilities. The teachings of the two faiths bear initial similarities in the perceptions of the world they offer, but beyond this there are drastic differences. These basic teachings have fuelled the most negative attitudes between the faiths. In Christianity, these have usually focused on the Prophet, whom Christians have seen as a charlatan, and the Qur'an, which they have seen as a pastiche of the Bible. The attitude in Islam has been less intemperate, focused on demonstrating the lack of reason in Christian doctrines and the inconsistencies within them. Rather than seeking to discover what the others actually believe, Christians and Muslims have usually projected upon the other perceptions derived from their own teachings. The way forward lies in abandoning this, and in followers of the faiths learning about the other in a spirit of respectful, agnostic inquisitiveness, freed from preconceptions and open to the possibility that the other may be true. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of Christian-Muslim relations in Germany today is an increasingly important subject for study and analysis. In this article the authors give a short expository description of the religious context of Germany, noting salient factors of church-state relations and the role of religion. This sets the scene for an overview of Islam, followed by an exploration of aspects of Christian-Muslim relations within Germany. A discussion of some key issues with respect to the specifics of Islam in present-day Germany, and aspects of relations with this Islam, will also be included. The article does not provide exhaustive coverage; rather it attempts to introduce a non-German readership to the contemporary phenomenon of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations in Germany, which, arguably, is of considerable significance to the broader European experience as well as of importance to the understanding of Islam and its relations to wider non-Muslim societies in regional contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Christians who lived under Muslim rule in al-Andalus are known as Mozarabs. As immigrants from al-Andalus to the Christian kingdoms in the north, Mozarabs are depicted in current historiography as transmitters of Arabic and Muslim culture. Nevertheless, when the Mozarabs were observed by the Christian expansion southward, surprisingly, they are presented as isolated amidst the post-conquest order. Based on the case of Toledo, the first important city conquered by the kingdom of Castile in 1085, the present article shows how the Mozarabs had introduced Muslim notarial practices into the Christian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is the initial paper of a longer project that aims to chart the progress of Christian–Muslim dialogue in western Sydney, Australia. The first part provides the context for aspects of Muslim settlement, organization and practice in Australia. Following a brief overview of interfaith dialogue, the second part offers an exposition and analysis of the objectives and motivation of the three organizers of Christian–Muslim dialogue in the west of Sydney, and assesses the initial outcomes of the dialogues. The style of the exposition is discursive, allowing the voices of the organizers to be heard. The analysis is offered under the rubrics of inter-cultural diversity and interfaith dialogue. No validation of the organizers' perceptions against those of the participants is attempted.It is shown that the organizers' instinct to promote dialogue interaction on the human and social level attracted a great deal of interest from a wide audience. The structure employed for the gatherings was recognized by politicians and community leaders as an effective model for wider community-building exercises. Difficulties identified include responding to resistance to the dialogues, and deepening the dialogue experience for participants. The selection of the appropriate audience, format and forum for future gatherings is crucial to the ongoing success of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Turkish academics have been increasingly interested in discussing the historicity of the Qur'an. Some revisionist academics think that the Qur'an was revealed in precise historical circumstances and primarily responds to such circumstances. Thus qur'anic commands in general are not universal and do not, therefore, satisfy the demands of all Muslims for all time. So a new understanding is inevitable. Having used both Muslim and non-Muslim sources, they try to develop a new methodology to transform qur'anic prescriptions for the present day. The scholars who adopt an anti-historical approach to the Qur'an hold the view that, by historicizing the content of the Qur'an, revisionist academics create an artificial problem. They believe this is not an internal Muslim problem but that this controversy was injected into the Muslim world with the promulgation of both modernity and Western influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropomorphism is a topic that has attracted much attention from both medieval Muslim theologians and modern Western scholars. By examining the development of the medieval Muslim Rationalist-Traditionalist discourse surrounding this issue, and Western academic discussions of that discourse, I shall attempt to explain why the issue of anthropomorphism has repeatedly dominated discussions on Islamic theology. I will also attempt to show how various associations made with Muslim Rationalism and Traditionalism have influenced Western perceptions of these movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For centuries the Spaniards have celebrated ‘Moors and Christians’, a popular enactment of the arrival of Islam in Spain and the subsequent Reconquista of the peninsula by Catholic forces. In this article we shall analyze how this celebration has evolved from being a religious commemoration and has become a secular holiday through which the population project their image of Muslims, drawing on historical perceptions. In addition, the changes introduced into ‘Moors and Christians’ during the past decades reflect developments in Spanish society in relation to gender issues, as well as adjustments to accommodate the increasing Muslim population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marriage between Muslim men and Christian or Jewish women has been a recognized though controversial phenomenon through Islamic history. Qur'anic permission is given (Q 5:5) but the normative condition in Shari c a is that Islam should predominate over another faith, particularly in the identification of children. In Britain and other Western countries the prevailing cultural and legal context of autonomy in relationship formation and choice of marriage partner means that Muslim–Christian marriages may happen without conformity to religious rules or familial preference, for example in the case of Muslim women marrying non-Muslim men. Nevertheless, amongst those surveyed, Muslim identification remained strong even where marriages were deemed transgressive. Amongst Christian partners, faith identification (of parents and children) was more likely to be treated as autonomous and personally negotiable in the context of marriage. The experience of hybridity and liminality in these marriages may influence attitudes to faith itself and there was evidence of both ‘universalizing’ and ‘particularist’ faith responses amongst couples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the growth of the Muslim presence in Ireland, covering its origins and the rapid development of Islamic institutions and communities, both Sunni and Shi c i, over the past fifteen years. It traces the stages in the development of schools and mosques, the involvement of the Muslim community in Irish public life and recent initiatives in interfaith dialogue, and proceeds to an assessment of the present situation in what has become the world's most globalized country. The history of Muslim communities in Northern Ireland is also briefly described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medieval Muslims attached great importance to learning the hidden meanings of dreams which, they believed, might disclose the true character of the dreamer and others or predict the future. The popularity of dream interpretation in the Islamic Middle East is reflected in the large number of manuals devoted to the subject. They provide a valuable picture of common information, misinformation and social attitudes on a wide range of topics, including Christianity and Christians. By contrast, Christian dream interpreters were frequently regarded with suspicion in the Byzantine Empire and very little of their work has survived. The present study looks at views of each other's faith in the work of two major interpreters, one Muslim and one Christian, from the tenth to eleventh centuries, an influential period in a very conservative tradition where interpretations would commonly be repeated for centuries in many different compilations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1915, entire Armenian villages were burnt to the ground, residents being evacuated, murdered, or sent on forced death-marches. Armenian sources claim that as many as two million Armenians were murdered. These questions live on in present-day Muslim and Christian interaction. What should our response be to this relationship between past and present? This article explore how these unresolved histories affect present-day Muslim Turks and Christian Armenians in their faith and identity development. It considers the prospect of improved Turkish–Armenian relations as they relate to history and the role that religion might play in fostering reconciliation. Lastly, it suggests how these events might be instructive to Muslims, Christians, and Jews committed to interfaith partnerships for human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article identifies two fundamental outlooks and basic orientations of Christians living among Muslims in the context of the Middle East that result in two ways of being a Christian in that region. The origin of the two types, labelled the ‘Arab Christian’ and the ‘Eastern Christian’, is traced back to early Christian contacts with Islam, and the content of those two ways is explicated in their political, cultural and religious implications by briefly elaborating two contemporary Lebanese Christian conceptualizations of the two ways. It is argued that these two types provide a hermeneutical key not only for understanding the behaviour, actions and thought of Christians of the Middle East, but also for understanding and evaluating the perceptions of non-Middle Eastern writers and historians about the topic of Christians in that region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will look at the Sufi interpretations of Sūrat al-fāti&art1;a found in the early mystical Qur'an commentary known as the &art2;aqā'iq al-tafsīr by the well known Sufi, Abū c Abd al-Ra&art1;mān al-Sulamī (d. 1021). The Sufi tafsīr of this sūra will be read not only as a compilation of early mystical interpretations of the Qur'an, but also as a unique work by Sulamī himself. A close reading of the various Sufi authors' interpretations set out by Sulamī will show how his own positions concerning the fundamental Sufi concept of ma c rifa come about. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of Islam and its aversion to images has caused modern scholars to search for a theological basis in Islam's traditional sources. Much work has been done on the various hadiths that indicate that graven images are forbidden and particular verses in the Qur'an that allude to an aversion to them. However, little work has been done to understand this issue through the qur'anic parables and exegesis. This paper explores the issue of Islam and image through qur'anic exegesis, in particular, the story of Abraham as a youth breaking the idols in his polytheistic town. By tracing the commentary of some of the major exegetes of the Qur'an, such as al-&art6;abarī, al-Rāzī, Ibn Kathīr and Sayyid Qu&art5;b, this article considers how Islam has viewed images and how that view has either fluctuated or remained constant over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muslim–Christian relations are as old as Islam. Over the centuries the relationship between the two communities has sometimes been one of enmity, sometimes one of rivalry and competition. But there have also been periods of frank and fruitful dialogue and collaboration and even moments of sincere friendship, which were not overcome by conflicts. This article deals with instances of fruitful dialogue in the first four centuries of Islam when Muslims and Christians engaged in serious theological discussions. A number of factors in the early c Abbasid era favored such discussions, such as the cosmopolitan nature of Baghdad and its province, the caliphs' patronage of scholarship, the emergence of Arabic as a lingua franca and the deployment of dialectical reasoning (kalām) . But also, quite simply, there were matters that needed debating. In this article, the author selects three major themes of the theological encounter with the intention of demonstrating how religious ideas were developed over the centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the Universityof Leiden, a research group is investigating the formation of a communal identity among West Syrian (or Syrian Orthodox) Christians after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE. Of the anti-Chalcedonians, the Syrian Orthodox were probably least likely to form a national or ethnic community. Yet a group emerged with its own distinctive literature and art, its own network and historical consciousness. In a process of adoption and rejection, the West Syrians selected elements from the cultures to which they were heirs and from those with which they came into contact, thus defining a position of their own. In order to study this phenomenon, scholars from various disciplines and affiliated to two different faculties are working together. This paper discusses their research programme and its basic hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay provides an introductory discussion of the impact of the American war on terrorism on Malaysia, a Muslim country with a long record of parliamentary democracy and one of the most developed in the Muslim world. With a discussion of a possible decades-long US military and political engagement with the Muslim world as a background, the essay presents a detailed account of the impact of the US wars in Afghanistan, the Philippines and Iraq on Malaysian national politics, particularly on its political Islam. It is argued that the war on terrorism has benefited Mahathir Mohamad, helping to reverse his declining political fortunes following his sacking of Anwar Ibrahim as his deputy, which influenced his retirement from politics. The essay explains the reasons, external and domestic, for Malaysia's participation in the global war on terrorism and the extent of its involvement, including its leadership role in anti-terrorism in the Muslim world. It also discusses the views of Mahathir and Anwar on the roots of Muslim terrorism and what it will take to overcome this problem. Both believe the resolution of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is crucial to the defeat of terrorism in the Muslim world. The essay concludes with an examination of the possibility of Malaysia entering a new phase in its war on terrorism as Abdullah Badawi, Mahathir's successor, and Anwar appear to have convergent views on political Islam and on the importance of democracy as a tool to fight terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I believe that Hagar is a key religious figure and that meditation on her story can enrich the understanding of Jews, Christians and Muslims concerning the nature of the God whom we worship and what it means to do God's will in contemporary societies. The image of Hagar and her child in the desert is part of today's reality. The low-born, hard-working domestic labourer, used and misused and cast out by her employers, the single mother abandoned by the father of her child, the foreigner and refugee far from her native land, desperately trying to survive, frantic in her maternal concern for the safety of her child—this Hagar I have met many times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically Islam has been recognized as a religion that is logical. Christianity has long been recognized as having a number of beliefs or doctrines that could be described as paradoxical. Sixty-nine religious doctrines or beliefs were evaluated for paradoxical content and in terms of whether Islam and Christianity agreed or disagreed with respect to each doctrine or belief. It was hypothesized that disagreement between the two religions would be much more common with respect to paradoxical doctrines or beliefs. Nearly 90% of doctrinal agreement or disagreement could be traced to the paradoxical or non-paradoxical content of the beliefs evaluated. The relationship between agreement and paradox was very significant statistically. Implications for future Christian–Muslim dialogue are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the author's views on Christianity and Islam. The author says that the belief that God could have a son is, for the faithful Muslim, a belief suggesting that God needs something other than himself and is subject to the processes of limited bodies by begetting a child. Yet these anxieties do not belong only to Muslims. Egypt was, in the first centuries of the Christian era, the location of great debates on just such matters. Indeed, without the contribution of Egypt, Christian theology would have been infinitely poorer, for many of the greatest minds of that period were natives of Alexandria.

'Wearing a headscarf is my personal choice.' With this statement, Jasmina, a 16-year-old Moroccan daughter of immigrants, characterizes her position in Dutch society. The headscarf indicates her religion and, indirectly, her origins. In wearing it, she indicates to others that she is a Muslim and a member of the umma , the Muslim community. Her comment that this is her personal choice is indicative of the process of individualization that is taking place in western Dutch society, where people are increasingly faced with having to make their own decisions. The process of individualization implies detachment from collective relationships such as religious communities, but the choice to wear a headscarf appears to indicate a choice made in the opposite direction. In this article the author discusses this paradox from an anthropological perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers Christian evangelization among Muslims in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries and traces its relationship to the global and local dynamics of Western imperialism. Focusing on Egypt, where Anglo-American Protestant missionaries were active, the article examines why missionaries encountered fierce resistance from Muslim audiences despite the small number of Muslim conversions and how they inadvertently galvanized Egyptian anti-colonial nationalist and Islamist movements. Reflecting on this history of cultural encounter from a postcolonial perspective, the article then discusses the challenge of assessing missionary motives, social influences, and long-term legacies given the sharp differences of interpretation that have often prevailed among Christian and Muslim scholars and polemicists. It draws special attention to an Arabic postcolonial genre of anti-missionary treatises that portray Christian missionaries as neo-Crusaders whose legacies have posed a continuing threat to the integrity of Muslim societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muslims in the West, and in Britain in particular, have typically experienced cultural displacement, and thus seek creative cultural expressions and explicit practices as a form of self-identity. This paper explores the meaningful expressions of this identity from the perspective of architecture and urbanism. It discusses the development of culturally distinct neighbourhood landscapes in Birmingham, their morphological and architectural differentiation and the adaptations and transformations of space as a result of the interaction between the Muslim South Asian community and British built form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raising the standard of education in the country is a priority task for the Tanzanian government. However, it seems that completion of this task may cause political problems insofar as, since the colonial period, Christians have generally been more educated than Muslims and obtained better access to high administrative positions. If Muslims become as educated as Christians, will it not lead to a severe struggle for power between the two communities? Our analysis based on field research reveals that this is not very likely to be the case: neither the present-day situation nor the tendencies we trace point to a high probability that this negative scenario will materialize. A rise in the standard of education level of both Christians and Muslims will rather contribute to an increase in tolerance in Christian-Muslim relations in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, based on anthropological fieldwork in a township community in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2000, analyses genealogical data on the frequency of inter-religious marriages in a coloured Cape Muslim community, and presents two Muslim marital narratives in order to illustrate what the limits of tolerance for atypical marital situations with regard to normative Islamic precepts may be in this specific Muslim community. I argue that the high frequency of inter-religious marriages, as well as the high frequency of inter-religious marriages involving Muslim-born females, can only be explained by reference to a field characterised by socio-religious fluidity, and by reinstating a notion of social agency of Muslim females in the organisation of their own marriages. I describe Cape Muslim identities as hybrid, and Islam as non-determinative in the making of these identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cistercian, Trappist monk Thomas Merton (1915-1968), author of numerous books on Christian spirituality, monasticism and social commentary, was a forerunner in popular inter-religious dialogue in the twentieth century. In this connection, he is best known for his sympathetic explorations of themes from Asian religions, particularly Zen and other forms of Buddhism. This article calls attention to his studies in Islam, initially under the guidance of Louis Massignon (1883-1962), and particularly in Sufism. It highlights his interactions with a number of contemporary Muslim thinkers, and describes his decade-long correspondence with a Pakistani Muslim student of Sufi texts, a unique instance of a sustained dialogue in letters on religious themes between a Muslim and a Christian in modern times. The article also calls attention to the ways in which Merton took inspiration from Islamic sources in the development of his own spiritual teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the Second Vatican Council, Muslim-Catholic relations have taken monumental and historical steps in areas of inter-religious dialogue, in social and religious cooperation, and in collaborating in protecting human freedom. The 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council celebrated last year highlighted this courageous move towards recognizing each other's unique religious traditions. This paper examines Muslim-Catholic relations in recent history under the leadership of John Paul II, and especially within the context of the controversial Vatican document Dominus Iesus issued in 2000. It explores critical areas of concern in Dominus Iesus for Muslim-Catholic relations, as well as analyzing its merits in terms of inter-religious dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While much has been written on the role of ethnic and religious pressure groups in US foreign policy making, little has been noted of the participation of these groups in the British context. This paper examines the role of the British Muslim community in the making of British foreign policy. In particular, it examines the lobbying activity of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), which, though only established in 1997, has achieved prominence in political and media circles. This study reveals a disparity between the MCB's regular access to government ministers and officials under the New Labour tenure and its only limited influence in foreign policy making. More generally, it seeks to show the complexity of the relationship between domestic and foreign policy as well as between culture and politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]