Islamic Thought Through Protestant Eyes

Early modern Protestant scholars closely engaged with Islamic thought in more ways than is usually recognized. Among Protestants, Lutheran scholars distinguished themselves as the most invested in the study of Islam and Muslim culture. Mehmet Karabela brings the neglected voices of post-Reformation theologians, primarily German Lutherans, into focus and reveals their rigorous engagement with Islamic thought. Inspired by a global history approach to religious thought, Islamic Thought Through Protestant Eyes offers new sources to broaden the conventional interpretation of the Reformation beyond a solely European Christian phenomenon. Based on previously unstudied dissertations, disputations, and academic works written in Latin in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Karabela analyzes three themes: Islam as theology and religion; Islamic philosophy and liberal arts; and Muslim sects (Sunni and Shi‘a). This book provides analyses and translations of the Latin texts as well as brief biographies of the authors. These texts offer insight into the Protestant perception of Islamic thought for scholars of religious studies and Islamic studies as well as for general readers. Examining the influence of Islamic thought on the construction of the Protestant identity after the Reformation helps us to understand the role of Islam in the evolution of Christianity.

This book elucidates how post-Reformation scholars used Islam as a foil to refine their Protestant identity. Karabela provides new sources for religious studies and Islamic studies scholars, which broadens the received interpretation of the Reformation as a solely European Christian phenomenon.

Early modern Protestant scholars closely engaged with Islamic thought in more ways than is usually recognized. Among Protestants, Lutheran scholars distinguished themselves as the most invested in the study of Islam and Muslim culture. Mehmet Karabela brings the neglected voices of post-Reformation theologians, primarily German Lutherans, into focus and reveals their rigorous engagement with Islamic thought. Inspired by a global history approach to religious thought, Islamic Thought Through Protestant Eyes offers new sources to broaden the conventional interpretation of the Reformation beyond a solely European Christian phenomenon. Based on previously unstudied dissertations, disputations, and academic works written in Latin in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Karabela analyzes three themes: Islam as theology and religion; Islamic philosophy and liberal arts; and Muslim sects (Sunni and Shi‘a). This book provides analyses and translations of the Latin texts as well as brief biographies of the authors. These texts offer insight into the Protestant perception of Islamic thought for scholars of religious studies and Islamic studies as well as for general readers. Examining the influence of Islamic thought on the construction of the Protestant identity after the Reformation helps us to understand the role of Islam in the evolution of Christianity.

What would happen if Christians and a Muslim at a university talked and disagreed, but really tried to understand each other? What would they learn? That is the intriguing question Peter Kreeft seeks to answer in these imaginative conversations at Boston College. An articulate and engaging Muslim student named 'Isa challenges the Christian students and professors he meets on issues ranging from prayer and worship to evolution and abortion, from war and politics to the nature of spiritual struggle and spiritual submission.

Avoiding the traps of sensational political exposes and specialized scholarly Orientalism, Carl Ernst introduces readers to the profound spiritual resources of Islam while clarifying diversity and debate within the tradition. Framing his argument in terms of religious studies, Ernst describes how Protestant definitions of religion and anti-Muslim prejudice have affected views of Islam in Europe and America. He also covers the contemporary importance of Islam in both its traditional settings and its new locations and provides a context for understanding extremist movements like fundamentalism. He concludes with an overview of critical debates on important contemporary issues such as gender and veiling, state politics, and science and religion.

This volume examines the writings of ten Muslim intellectuals, working in the Muslim world and the West, who employ contemporary critical methods to understand the Qur'an. Their work points to a new trend in Muslim interpretation, characterised by a direct engagement with the Word of God while embracing intellectual modernity in a global context. The volume situates and evaluates their work and responses to it among Muslim and non-Muslim audiences.

‘An honest and scholarly analysis of the Muslim Jesus, the Christian Jesus, and the diverging paths Muslims and Christians chose to follow.’ Anwar Mehammed, head of Islamic Studies, Ethiopian Theological College, Addis Ababa In his book The Islamic Jesus, Mustafa Akyol claims that Muslims may hail Jesus as the Messiah and the Word of God – but is that really the case? And how should Christians respond when they do? In this sensitive and nuanced exploration of Muslim beliefs about Jesus, Richard Shumack calls for Muslims and Christians to embrace constructive disagreement as the best way to both religious peace and eternal truth. For although Muslims and Christians both love Jesus. the Jesus of Islam points down a different road to that of Christianity. The Muslim Jesus wants to you to be a better person by walking a road of passionate devotion to God; the Christian Jesus wants you to be a whole new person by joining him on a road to crucifixion and resurrection. ‘If you care about Muslim-Christian relations, this book is significant.’ Dr Muhammad Kamal, Asia Institute, University of Melbourne ‘Excellent ... strikes the perfect balance between academic rigour and accessibility.’ Dr Peter Riddell, SOAS University of London

Any endeavor to lead Muslims to Christ comes with its own unique frustrations. Attempts to get Muslims into Gods Word often seem to go nowhere. Islam generates a steady stream of barricades and firewalls that systematically thwart efforts to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Ironically enough, the hidden opportunities to lead Muslims to Christ may actually be found in the very assaults Muslims make on core Christian doctrines. Islamic theology conforms to a certain pattern of spiritual reversal when contrasted against sound Christian doctrine. By recognizing these patterns, Christians can find new ways to interact with Muslims in a manner that is nonconfrontational without denying the exclusivity and power of the gospel. With prayer and love, the follower of Christ may use these antiparellels, or inversions, to find a unique and peculiar avenue to share the good news with Muslims.

In Between Heaven and Hell, eminent and up-and-coming scholars representing a diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints address the question of non-Muslim salvation: according to the Islamic ethos (however understood), what can be said about the status and fate of non-Muslims? Each of the volume's contributors responds to this often asked "salvation question"-a question with profound theological and practical implications-from different angles: while some limit themselves to its historical dimensions, others approach it as theologians and philosophers, while yet others focus on the relationship between this-worldly relations with Others and next-worldly conceptions of salvation. Collectively and individually, the essays in this volume advance our understanding of Islamic thought and Muslim societies and indeed the discourse on religious diversity. This groundbreaking volume does not conclude with neat resolutions; instead, it offers fascinating expositions, debates, and points of departure for further contemplation. Contributors include Mohammad Hassan Khalil, Tariq Ramadan, William C. Chittick, Farid Esack, Mohammad Fadel, David M. Freidenreich, Marcia Hermansen, Jerusha Lamptey, Bruce B. Lawrence, Muhammad Legenhausen, Yasir Qadhi, A. Kevin Reinhart, Sajjad Rizvi, Reza Shah-Kazemi, and Tim Winter.

This book is one of the many Islamic publications distributed by Ahlulbayt Organization throughout the world in different languages with the aim of conveying the message of Islam to the people of the world. You may read this book carefully and should you be interested to have further study on such publications you can contact us through www.shia.es Naturally, if we find you to be a keen and energetic reader we shall give you a deserving response in sending you some other publications of this Organization.