The matter of Christian–Muslim relations cannot be ignored these days. While the term itself may not appear all that often, relations between the two faiths and their reciprocal perceptions are undeniable influences behind many current conflicts, declarations of mutual recognition and peace negotiations, not to mention the brooding hatred of religious extremists. Since 9/11, relations between the two faiths have, in one form or another, hardly been away from the news.
This Handbook contains fundamental information about the major aspects of relations between Christians and Muslims. Its various sections follow the history from the early seventh century to the present, the major religious issues that have led to disputes between the two faiths, and the political implications of religious differences at various stages through history, as well as in the present. It includes analysis of scriptural and theological themes and explores the characteristics of relations at important points in history and also in various parts of the world today. Chapters are devoted to the most significant intellectual interpretations and encounters, the main armed clashes, including the Crusades, and the important documents issued by each faith that in recent years have led the way towards new developments in recognition and acceptance.
With chapters written by some of the foremost experts in the field, the book traces the largely dark history of relations and explains the underlying reasons why Muslims and Christians have found tolerance and respect for the other difficult. It is an excellent resource for understanding the past and for highlighting lessons for future relations between the world’s two largest religions.
1. Introduction, David Thomas Part 1 Historical 2.Christians in the World of Late Antiquity 300-600, Daniel Reynolds 3.The Christian Context of the Qurʾān, Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila 4. Christianity in the Qurʾān, Pim Valkenberg 5. The Bible in the Qurʾān, Sidney H. Griffith 6. The dynamics of the qurʾānic account of Christianity, Pim Valkenberg 7.Muḥammad and Christianity, David Cook 8.a Christians in the Muslim Arab world, David Thomas 8.b Christians in Muslim Spain, Charles Tieszen 9.The Pact of ʿUmar, Milka Levy-Rubin 10. The first Arabic-speaking Christian theologians, Sandra Toenies-Keating 11. Early Muslim attitudes towards the Bible, David Bertaina 12. Early Christian attitudes towards Islam, Mark I. Beaumont 13. The Byzantine Empire and Islam, Johannes Pahlitzsch 14. The Crusades, Alex Mallett 15. Arts in the Eastern Mediterranean before the Crusades, Lucy-Anne Hunt 16. Christians and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula, 1000-1600, Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala 17. Christians under the Fāṭimids, Ayyūbids, and Mamlūks, Christopher J. van der Krogt 18. Early and medieval Muslim attitudes towards Christian doctrines, Jon Hoover 19. Christian conversion to Islam, Clint Hackenburg 20. Christians and Muslims in one another’s legal texts, David M. Freidenreich 21. Mutual influences and borrowings, Alexander Treiger 22. The theological dynamics of medieval Christian-Muslim relations, Stephen R. Burge 23. European reactions to the fall of Constantinople, Nancy Bisaha 24. Christians and Muslims in Mughal India, Alan Guenther 25. The end of empire and the era of mistrust, Richard Sudworth&
Biography
David Thomas is Professor of Christianity and Islam at the University of Birmingham, UK. He specialises in Islamic thought and Christian–Muslim relations. He is director of Christian–Muslim Relations, a Bibliographical History, a project that traces the history of engagements between followers of the faiths as reflected in their writings.
'David Thomas has augmented his already outstanding list of publications devoted to the study of interreligious relations with a new volume, the Routledge Handbook on Christian-Muslim Relations. Having worked for years to lead Brill’s multi-volume project Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History, Thomas has a privileged sense of the top scholars in different subfields and he marshals an impressive roster of them for this handbook.'
Jason Welle, OFM
Islamochristiana 43 (2017)
