Daniel J Crowther, Shirin Shafaie, Ida Glaser, Shabbir Akhtar, editors

Paperback

9780367410209

Qur’anic Conversations

In the current political and social climate, there is increasing demand for a deeper understanding of Muslims, the Quran and Islam, as well as a keen demand among Muslim scholars to explore ways of engaging with Christians theologically, culturally, and socially.

This book explores the ways in which an awareness of Islam and the Quran can change the way in which the Bible is read. The contributors come from both Muslim and Christian backgrounds, bring various levels of commitment to the Quran and the Bible as Scripture, and often have significantly different perspectives. The first section of the book contains chapters that compare the report of an event in the Bible with a report of the same event in the Quran. The second section addresses Muslim readings of the Bible and biblical tradition and looks at how Muslims might regard the Bible – Can they recognise it as Scripture? If so, what does that mean, and how does it relate to the Quran as Scripture? Similarly, how might Christian readers regard the Quran? The final section explores different analogies for understanding the Bible in relation to the Quran. The book concludes with a reflection upon the particular challenges that await Muslim scholars who seek to respond to Jewish and Christian understandings of the Jewish and Christian scriptures.

A pioneering venture into intertextual reading, this book has important implications for relationships between Christians and Muslims. It will be of significant value to scholars of both Biblical and Quranic Studies, as well as any Muslim seeking to deepen their understanding of the Bible, and any Christian looking to transform the way in which they read the Bible.

Contents

Part 1: Intertextual Conversations

Part 2: Questions about Texts

Part 3: Analogical Explorations