This challenging and provocative book reimagines the justification, substance, process, and study of education in open, pluralistic, liberal democratic societies. Hanan Alexander argues that educators need to enable students to embark on a quest for intelligent spirituality, while paying heed to a pedagogy of difference. Through close analysis of the work of such thinkers as William James, Charles Taylor, Elliot Eisner, Michael Oakeshott, Isaiah Berlin, Martin Buber, Michael Apple and Terrence McLaughlin, Reimagining Liberal Education offers an account of school curriculum and moral and religious instruction that throws new light on the possibilities of a nuanced, rounded education for citizenship. Divided into three parts - Transcendental Pragmatism in Educational Research, Pedagogy of Difference and the Other Face of Liberalism, and Intelligent Spirituality in the Curriculum, this is a thrilling work of philosophy that builds upon the author's award-winning text Reclaiming Goodness: Education and the Spiritual Quest.

Converso and Morisco are the terms applied to those Jews and Muslims who converted to Christianity in large numbers and usually under duress in late Medieval Spain. The Converso and Morisco Studies series examines the implications of these mass conversions for the converts themselves, for their heirs (also referred to as Conversos and Moriscos) and for Medieval and Modern Spanish culture. As the essays in this collection attest, the study of the Converso and Morisco phenomena is not only important for those scholars focusing on Spanish society and culture, but for all academics interested in questions of identity, Otherness, nationalism, religious intolerance and the challenges of modernity. Contributors: Luis F. Bernabe Pons, Michel Boeglin, Stephanie M. Cavanaugh, William P. Childers, Carlos Gilly, Kevin Ingram, Nicola Jennings, Patrick J. O'Banion, Francisco Javier Perea Siller, Mohamed Saadan, and Enrique Soria Mesa.

Muthuraj Swamy provides a fresh perspective on the world religions paradigm and 'interreligious dialogue'. By challenging the assumption that 'world religions' operate as essential entities separate from the lived experiences of practitioners, he shows that interreligious dialogue is in turn problematic as it is built on this very paradigm, and on the myth of religious conflict. Offering a critique of the idea of 'dialogue' as it has been advanced by its proponents such as religious leaders and theologians whose aims are to promote inter-religious conversation and understanding, the author argues that this approach is 'elitist' and that in reality, people do not make sharp distinctions between religions, nor do they separate political, economic, social and cultural beliefs and practices from their religious traditions. Case studies from villages in southern India explore how Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities interact in numerous ways that break the neat categories often used to describe each religion. Swamy argues that those who promote dialogue are ostensibly attempting to overcome the separate identities of religious practitioners through understanding, but in fact, they re-enforce them by encouraging a false sense of separation. The Problem with Interreligious Dialogue: Plurality, Conflict and Elitism in Hindu-Christian-Muslim Relations provides an innovative approach to a central issue confronting Religious Studies, combining both theory and ethnography.

In this study, Vevian Zaki places the Arabic versions of the Pauline Epistles in their historical context, exploring when, where, and how they were produced, transmitted, understood, and adapted among Eastern Christian communities across the centuries. She also considers the transmission and use of these texts among Muslim polemicists, as well as European missionaries and scholars. Underpinning the study is a close investigation of the manuscripts and a critical examination of their variant readings. The work concludes with a case study: an edition and translation of the Epistle to the Philippians from manuscripts London, BL, Or. 8612 and Vatican, BAV, Ar. 13; a comparison of the translation strategies employed in these two versions; and an investigation of the possible relations between them.

The Religious Polemics of the Muslims of Late Medieval Christian Iberia examines the corpus of polemical literature against the Christians and the Jews of the protected Muslims (Mudejars). Commonly portrayed as communities in cultural and religious decay, Monica Colominas convincingly proves that the discourses against the Christians and the Jews in Mudejar treatises provided authoritative frameworks of Islamic normativity which helped to legitimize the residence of their communities in the Christian territories. Colominas argues that, while the primary aim of the polemics was to refute the views of their religious opponents, Mudejar treatises were also a tool used to advance Islamic knowledge and to strengthen the government and social cohesion of their communities.

The Character of Christian-Muslim Encounter is a Festschrift in honour of David Thomas, Professor of Christianity and Islam, and Nadir Dinshaw Professor of Inter Religious Relations, at the University of Birmingham, UK. The Editors have put together a collection of over 30 contributions from colleagues of Professor Thomas that commences with a biographical sketch and representative tribute provided by a former doctoral student, and comprises a series of wide-ranging academic papers arranged to broadly reflect three dimensions of David Thomas' academic and professional work - studies in and of Islam; Christian-Muslim relations; the Church and interreligious engagement. These are set in the context of a focussed theme - the character of Christian-Muslim encounters - and cast within a broad chronological framework. Contributors, excluding the editors, are: Clare Amos, John Azumah, Mark Beaumont, David Cheetham, Rifaat Ebied, Stanislaw Grodz SVD, Alan Guenther, Damian Howard SJ, Michael Ipgrave, Muammer Iskenderoglu, Risto Jukko, Alex Mallett, Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala, Lucinda Mosher, Gordon Nickel, Jorgen Nielsen, Claire Norton, Emilio Platti, Luis Bernabe Pons, Peniel Rajkumar, Peter Riddell, Umar Ryad, Andrew Sharp, Sigvard von Sicard, Richard Sudworth, Mark Swanson, Charles Tieszen, John Tolan, Davide Tacchini, Herman Teule, Albert Walters.

Combining insider and outsider perspectives, Women in Lebanon looks at Christian and Muslim women living together in a multicultural society and facing modernity. While the Arab Spring has begun to draw attention to issues of change, modernity, and women's subjectivity, this manuscript takes a unique approach to examining and describing the Lebanese "alternative modernities" thesis and how it has shaped thinking about the meaning of terms like evolution, progress, development, history, and politics in contemporary Arab thought. The author draws on extensive ethnographic research, as well as her own personal experience.

This title includes an assessment of the influence and impact of the Islamic scholar and activist Fethullah Gulen, and those who are inspired by him, on contemporary Islam. This edited collection deals with the challenges and opportunities faced by Muslims and the wider society in Europe following the Madrid train bombings of 2003 and the London Transport attacks of 2007. The contributors explore the challenges to the concept and practice of civility in public life within a European context, and demonstrates the contributions that can be made in this regard by the thought and practice of the global movement associated with the Turkish Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen. The importance and distinctiveness of teaching of Gulen and the practice of the movement is that it is rooted in a confident Turkish Islamic heritage while being fully engaged with modernity. It offers the possibility of a contextualised renewal of Islam for Muslims in Europe while being fully rooted in the teachings of the Qu'ran and the Sunnah of the Prophet. This volume is an important contribution to the study of the movement, which advocates the freedom of religion while making an Islamic contribution to the wider society based on a commitment to service of others.

Jews, Christians and Muslims all trace their history and spiritual raison d'etre to their common tribal ancestor, Abraham. Their religious identities are interrelated and even dependent on each other. Jesus lived as a Jew and Christianity was born in the heart of Judaism. Early Christianity was inherently Jewish, referring to the same scriptures-the Tanach, later called the "Old Testament"-and holding to the same messianic promises. Mohammed, the prophet of Islam, knew both Christianity and Judaism. The Qur'an contains material indebted to the Old Testament and Jewish tradition, as well as stories and teachings from the New Testament; and Mohammed himself met Jews and Christians alike during his lifetime. Furthermore, the three religions share many fundamental ideas and beliefs. They testify to the same memory of Abraham; value the same divine law; urge the same ideal of righteousness; and proclaim the same hope of peace for the earth and salvation for humankind. Despite this shared heritage, the three Abrahamic faiths have sometimes been more closely identified not for what they offer to save the world but for what they bring to destabilise it. It is one of the depressing paradoxes of religion- supposedly a force for good-that it is all too frequently the occasion for conflict instead of peace, generosity and better treatment of one's neighbor. The contributors to this volume start from the premise that there is a price to be paid by the "sons of Abraham": whether Jews, Muslims or Christians. And that is the cost of learning how to be brothers through mutual and attentive engagement. Mature interfaith discussion offers respect for a shared heritage while also recognising points of distinctiveness. This book explores what articulating such regardful difference, as well as commonality, might mean for the future of faith relations. Including provocative reflections by Elie Wiesel, Irving Greenberg, Hans Kung and others, the book makes a vital contribution to dialogue. In its searching analysis of issues of peace, justice, hope and forgiveness, it will engage all students and scholars of interfaith studies.

This volume gathers together studies on various ""engagements"" between Judaism and Christianity. Following an introduction on ""my odyssey in New Testament interpretation,"" Professor Davies examines such topics as the nature of Judaism, canon and Christology, Torah and dogma, law in Christianity, and the promised land in Jewish and Christian tradition. Part II focuses on Paul and Judaism, with special attention to Paul and the exodus, Paul and the law, and the allegory of the two olives in Romans 11:13-24. Part III looks at the background and origins of the Gospels, centering specifically on Matthew and John. Part IV takes up an exclusively American engagement with Judaism, that is, the Mormon's claim to be Christian and their assertion that they are genealogically connected with Jews and therefore physically a recovered, restored, and reinterpreted Israel. The volume concludes with a discussion and critique of ""mystical anti-Semitism,"" that is, ascribing to ""The Jews"" (not to ""Jews"") the central role in the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, leading to a view of ""The Jews"" as essentially satanic or demonic. This collection of seminal essays by a preeminent New Testament scholar highlights the encounter of two great religious traditions and stimulates the dialogue between them. W. D. Davies was Emeritus Ivey Professor of Advanced Studies and Research in Christian Origin at Duke University. He was the author of many books, including Paul and Rabbinic Judaism and Jewish and Pauline Studies.

This volume contains a variety of essays that deal with the complex relationships between Judaism and Christianity. From the Jewish side, particularly in Orthodox circles, there is the position maintaining the independence of Judaism from outside influences including Christianity. Traditional Christian theology, on the other hand, held to a supercessionist view in which Judaism was seen merely as a historical preparation for the later revelation of Christianity. Was there no real interaction? When and how did Judaism and Christianity became two distinct religions? When did the 'parting of ways" take place, if indeed there really was such a parting of ways? The present volume takes a bold step forward by assuming that no historical period can be excluded from the interactive process between Judaism and Christianity, conscious or unconscious, as a polemical rejection or as tacit appropriation.

Seamon explores the historical, theological, and societal dynamics of religious intermarriage as a way to introduce scholars to the myriad of factors that have contributed and will continue to contribute to the complete transformation of religion and Christianity in the twenty-first century.

Many people now see religious violence as one of the defining characteristics of the modern world. Instructors are often asked about it in their courses that deal with religion. Classroom discussion of violence committed in the name of religion can either open the door to a more subtle appreciation of complex and divisive social realities or allow students to display the kind of ignorance, prejudice, and recalcitrance that can derail critical analysis. The etiology of religious violence requires the kind of careful distinctions that instructors must work hard to communicate even in the best of classroom circumstances. Teaching Religion and Violence is designed to help instructors to equip students to think critically about religious violence, particularly in the multicultural classroom. The book is organized into two sections. The first, "Traditions," addresses topics and methods appropriate for teaching violence in particular religious traditions. Each essay provides a solid starting point for the instructor developing a new course on violence in one tradition. The overarching aims of the second section, "Approaches," are to suggest alternative rubrics for initiating or furthering discussion of religion and violence and to aid instructors in demonstrating the wide applicability of the questions and concepts developed here. The volume as a whole and each of the essays is firmly grounded in the theoretical literature on religion and violence, in the theory of pedagogy, and in the collective experience of its authors.

This book provides an edited text, introduction, and the first English translation of a central document in the history of religious coercion in late antiquity: Severus of Minorca's Letter on the Conversion of the Jews. The Letter describes the forced conversion of the Jews of Minorca to Christianity in AD 418, allegedly under the influence of St. Stephen's relics. Although ostensibly a hagiographical work, the Letter is fundamentally an anti-Jewish document, and therein lies its interest for historians. It offers a fascinating perspective on Jewish-Christian relations in a Mediterranean town, and on the motives for religious intolerance in the unsettled age of the Germanic invasions. In addition, its wealth of information about a diaspora Jewish community in the Western empire makes it unique among the surviving sources.

Kenneth Cragg was one of the West's most gifted interpreters of Islam and one of the most well-known figures of the Middle Eastern Church. During his 45 years in the Middle East, Cragg was an assistant Bishop of Jerusalem and scholar, he focussed on the Christian understanding of other faiths, particularly Islam. A major figure in Christian-Muslim conversations he was a prolific writer whose books became a forum of intellectual debate about Islam and Christian-Muslim relations. This set re-issues two of his lesser-known but no less important books, which illustrate his deep knowledge of the Qur'an and his lifelong interest in Islamic and Christian theology.

For the first time classic readings on Jesus from outside of Christianity have been brought together in one volume. Jesus Beyond Christianity: The Classic Texts features significant passages on Jesus from Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. The fifty-six selections span two millennia of thought, including translated extracts from the Talmud and the Qur'an, and writings by Mahatma Gandhi and the 14th Dalai Lama.
The volume features fresh translations of important texts, 'Key-Issues' introductions, questions for discussion and guides for further reading. Importantly, each set of readings ends with an entirely fresh reflection from a leading scholar in the field. Every care has been taken to present these often controversial passages in a manner consistent with the aims of their authors; accompanying notes directly address challenging issues.
This unique collection of readings promises to become an essential resource in the study of the world's religions, providing rich guidance for anyone seeking to understand the central convergences and debates between religious traditions.

Interfaith Just Peacemaking is a collected work by 27 Jewish, Muslim and Christian scholars and religious leaders on the ten 'practice norms' of the peacemaking paradigm called 'Just Peace.'Just Peace theory, like the paradigm it most resembles, Just War theory, is a list of specific practices that are applied to concrete contexts.