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Conflict and polemic between Sunni Muslims and Shiites have a long history. In the contemporary era, this polemic has been accentuated by the conflictual situation in the Middle East, and it is also colouring the minority Muslim situation. This article is concerned with Islamic interpretations related to ‘othering’, taking as its main focus an analysis of publications on a Swedish Sunni website, ‘Maktabah Dâr-ul-Hadîth’, which has clear Salafi leanings. Reports show that Shiites currently feel threatened by Salafis in minority contexts and the material cited in this article ‘others’ Shiite Islam and Shiites (amongst others), creating a stereotypical image that may have the potential to influence sectarian violence in real life. Several of the texts on the website deal with theological issues concerning the alleged false beliefs of Shiites. However, the article does not focus on theological creed but rather onmanhaj, the programme for action, that is, the behaviour towards Shiites that is recommended in various situations, such as at work, in greeting Shiites or being invited to a Shiite wedding, thus affecting everyday situations. The analysis looks into what kind of ‘othering’ is promoted and what effect this othering might have if put into practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The miʿraj (Ascent) of the Prophet Muhammad was a foundational event in his life that established him as a major prophet who not only met the major previous prophets who had come before him but also arrived at the very throne of God. This article presents this narrative in the development of Islamic spirituality in the Middle Ages and shows how medieval Muslims interpreted it in relation to Muhammad's prophethood and his derived insight into the heavenly world (Paradise) that awaits the faithful. The main contribution of the article is to show how medieval Christians, especially those of the fifteenth century (Alonso de Espina, Pope Pius II, and Roberto da Lecce), viewed this narrative in light of Christian teaching. These Christian authors knew that this event in the life of Muhammad gave him religious authority and they therefore discredited it in their polemical works. Their polemical attack was not simply about the differences between the Muslim and Christian visions of Paradise, but also about the person and mission of Muhammad, the vision of God, other basic theological beliefs, and the role of spirituality, especially prayer, in religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Any invitation to probe the relationship between the nature of God and human violence done in God's name would seem to be welcome, whether extended by Muslims or by Christians. Medieval Muslim scholar Fakhr al-Dīn al-Razī considered this question along with several other themes relevant to Christian-Muslim conversation in his massive commentary on the Qur'an. Analysis of his treatment of these themes reveals the unique patterns of al-Razī's exegetical method, along with both the freedom and the limitations of his rationality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this article is on the treatment of the resurrection of Jesus in medieval Christian anti-Muslim polemical literature. It will also provide a glimpse of the Muslim perception of Jesus's resurrection or, actually, the 'ascension' of Jesus and the denial by Muslims of the resurrection of Jesus as Christians have understood it. The article will offer a brief review of the issue of the general resurrection of the dead and then focus on how the death and resurrection of Jesus are treated in the Qur'an. Especially important in this article is the presentation of Muslim belief with regard to the resurrection of Jesus in the thought of Pope Pius II, Nicholas of Cusa and Alonso de Espina, all significant Christian writers of the fifteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]