A History of Christian-Muslim Relations
The relationship between the Christian and Muslim worlds has been a long and tortuous one. Over the course of the centuries the balance of power has swung in pendulum fashion—at times the initiative seems to have lain with the Muslim community, with the Christian world simply being compelled to react to developments outside itself, while at other points the opposite has been true and Muslims have found themselves having to respond to Christian challenges in different forms. Today Christians and Muslims comprise the world's two largest religious communities. Although they can coexist fairly peacefully, at times they still engage in violent confrontation, such as in the recent conflicts in Bosnia and the Sudan. This book investigates the history of the relationships between Christians and Muslims over the centuries, from their initial encounters in the medieval period, when the Muslims were the dominant group, through to the modern period, when the balance of power seems to have been reversed. This much-needed overview of the Christian-Muslim encounter places the emphasis on the context within which perceptions and attitudes were worked out and provides a depth of historical insight to the complexities of current Christian-Muslim interactions on different continents.
1100460057
A History of Christian-Muslim Relations
The relationship between the Christian and Muslim worlds has been a long and tortuous one. Over the course of the centuries the balance of power has swung in pendulum fashion—at times the initiative seems to have lain with the Muslim community, with the Christian world simply being compelled to react to developments outside itself, while at other points the opposite has been true and Muslims have found themselves having to respond to Christian challenges in different forms. Today Christians and Muslims comprise the world's two largest religious communities. Although they can coexist fairly peacefully, at times they still engage in violent confrontation, such as in the recent conflicts in Bosnia and the Sudan. This book investigates the history of the relationships between Christians and Muslims over the centuries, from their initial encounters in the medieval period, when the Muslims were the dominant group, through to the modern period, when the balance of power seems to have been reversed. This much-needed overview of the Christian-Muslim encounter places the emphasis on the context within which perceptions and attitudes were worked out and provides a depth of historical insight to the complexities of current Christian-Muslim interactions on different continents.
16.95 In Stock
A History of Christian-Muslim Relations

A History of Christian-Muslim Relations

by Hugh Goddard Honorary Professorial Fel
A History of Christian-Muslim Relations

A History of Christian-Muslim Relations

by Hugh Goddard Honorary Professorial Fel

Paperback

$16.95 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

The relationship between the Christian and Muslim worlds has been a long and tortuous one. Over the course of the centuries the balance of power has swung in pendulum fashion—at times the initiative seems to have lain with the Muslim community, with the Christian world simply being compelled to react to developments outside itself, while at other points the opposite has been true and Muslims have found themselves having to respond to Christian challenges in different forms. Today Christians and Muslims comprise the world's two largest religious communities. Although they can coexist fairly peacefully, at times they still engage in violent confrontation, such as in the recent conflicts in Bosnia and the Sudan. This book investigates the history of the relationships between Christians and Muslims over the centuries, from their initial encounters in the medieval period, when the Muslims were the dominant group, through to the modern period, when the balance of power seems to have been reversed. This much-needed overview of the Christian-Muslim encounter places the emphasis on the context within which perceptions and attitudes were worked out and provides a depth of historical insight to the complexities of current Christian-Muslim interactions on different continents.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781566633406
Publisher: Dee, Ivan R. Publisher
Publication date: 09/05/2000
Pages: 224
Product dimensions: 5.61(w) x 8.64(h) x 0.65(d)

About the Author

Hugh Goddard is reader in Islamic theology at the University of Nottingham and author of Christians and Muslims: From Double Standards to Mutual Understanding and Muslim Perceptions of Christianity.

Table of Contents

Preface to the second edition vii

Mote on transliteration and dates viii

Chronology ix

Map 1 The Christian and Muslim worlds c. 830/215 46

Map 2 The Christian and Muslim worlds today 158-9

Introduction 1

1 The Christian background to the coming of Islam 5

Early Christian thinking about other religions 5

The history of the Christian Church in the Middle East 11

2 The Islamic impact 17

Muhammad's contacts with Christians 17

The Qur'an's view of Christians 21

Precedents for Muslim treatment of Christians 26

3 The first age of Christian-Muslim interaction (-c. 830/215) 30

Christian responses to the coming of Islam 30

Muslim treatment of Christians I 37

4 The medieval period I: confrontation or interaction in the East? 45

Contacts and exchanges 45

Developing mutual perceptions 50

Muslim treatment of Christians II 59

Conversion to Islam 61

5 The medieval period II: confrontation or interaction in the West? 71

Western Christian reactions to the coming of Islam 71

The Crusades 75

Alternative perceptions of Islam 83

The transmission of knowledge from the Islamic world to the West 87

6 The changing balance of power: mission and imperialism? 98

The growth of European power 98

The establishment of Christian missions 101

The heyday of European influence 111

Muslim responses 114

7 New thinking in the nineteenth/thirteenth and twentieth/fourteenth centuries 127

The growth of Western academic study of Islam 127

Changing Christian thinking about Islam 133

Changing Muslim thinking about Christianity 141

8 Dialogue or confrontation? 157

The Dialogue movement 157

The political context 166

Fellow-pilgrims? 167

9 The twenty-first/fifteenth century 176

Confrontational approaches 176

Collaborative approaches 190

Conclusion 203

Bibliography 213

Index 215

What People are Saying About This

DAVID KERR

Appropriately designed to give an introductory overview of the encounter of Christianity and Islam...
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews