Rita Gross and Rosemary Radford Ruether have long been known for their feminist contributions to Buddhism and Christianity, respectively. In this book, they talk candidly about what these traditions mean to them in both their liberating as well as problematic aspects. Throughout the book, their life stories provide the rich soil, perhaps even the rationale, for their theological and spiritual development. Despite the marked differences in their life histories and their respective religious faiths, Gross and Radford Ruether achieve surprising unanimity on the paramount issue: what engaged Buddhism and enlightened Christianity can offer in the struggle to create a new future for the planet.

How did the vast Ottoman empire, stretching from the Balkans to the Sahara, endure for more than four centuries despite its great ethnic and religious diversity? The classic work on this plural society, the two-volume Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire, offered seminal reinterpretations of the empire's core institutions and has sparked more than a generation of innovative work since it was first published in 1982. This new, abridged, and reorganised edition, with a substantial new introduction and bibliography covering issues and scholarship of the past thirty years, has been carefully designed to be accessible to a wider readership.

Thomas Aquinas and Karl Barth are often taken to be two of the greatest theologians in the Christian tradition. This book undertakes a systematic comparison of them through the lens of five key topics: (1) the being of God, (2) Trinity, (3) Christology, (4) grace and justification, and (5) covenant and law. Under each of these headings, a Catholic portrait of Aquinas is presented in comparison with a Protestant portrait of Barth, with the theological places of convergence and contrast highlighted. This volume combines a deep commitment to systematic theology with an equally profound commitment to mutual engagement. Understood rightly and well, Aquinas and Barth contribute powerfully to the future of theology and to an ecumenism that takes doctrinal confession seriously while at the same time seeking unity among Christians. Contributors: John R. Bowlin Holly Taylor Coolman Robert W. Jenson Keith L. Johnson Guy Mansini, O.S.B. Amy Marga Bruce L. McCormack Richard Schenk, O.P. Joseph P. Wawrykow Thomas Joseph White, O.P.

In an age when "collisions of faith" among the Abrahamic traditions continue to produce strife and violence that threatens the well-being of individuals and communities worldwide, the contributors to "Encountering the Stranger"--six Jewish, six Christian, and six Muslim scholars--takes responsibility to examine their traditions' understandings of the stranger, the "other," and to identify ways that can bridge divisions and create greater harmony.

Leonard Grob is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Fairleigh Dickinson University. John K. Roth is Edward J. Sexton Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Claremont McKenna College. The other contributors are Rachel N. Baum, Margaret Brearley, Britta Frede-Wenger, Henry Greenspan, Peter J. Haas, Riffat Hassan, Zayn Kassam, Henry F. Knight, Hubert G. Locke, Rochelle L. Millen, Khaleel Mohammed, David Patterson, Didier Pollefeyt, B lent Senay, Sana Tayyen, and Bassam Tibi.

"The subject is critical. In our pluralistic world, the need to encounter the stranger is not only a question of hospitality. It is a matter of our survival. Given the enormity of our global issues, it is clear that no one nation, culture, or religion can solve the problems. We simply have to co-operate and collaborate." -Imam Jamal Rahman, author of "The Fragrance of Faith: The Enlightened Heart of Islam"

""Encountering the Stranger" is an exciting, rewarding book, a pathbreaking work full of theological treasures, insights, and stimulating ideas." -Martin Rumscheidt, Atlantic School of Theology

"This is an important scholarly event, a teaching tool, and a resource for clergy formation and informal adult religious studies. The prominence of the contributors will help the book reach a wide range of constituencies and the accessible presentation of the divergent perspectives gathered here will grip readers." -George R. Wilkes, University of Edinburgh"

In the twenty-first century, no one can ignore the complex paradigms connected with the precarious relationship between Christians and Muslims all over the globe. Since the seventh century, Christians and Muslims have interacted with one another in a variety of ways. This relationship is sated with both meaningful engagements and baffling ambiguities, running the gamut of constructive dialogue, lethargic encounters, open conflicts, and internecine violence. Nowhere is the need for interreligious cooperation, dialogue, and understanding more pressing than in the Christian and Muslim communities, which constitute approximately 60 percent of the world's population. Fractured Spectrum: Perspectives on Christian-Muslim Encounters in Nigeria deals with an important African dimension in Christian-Muslim relations. Nigeria, with its equal populations of Christians and Muslims, provides an auspicious case study for understanding the cultural, social, theological, economic, and political issues involved in Christian-Muslim encounters. The essays in this book, written by Christian and Muslim scholars who are actively engaged with the Nigerian context, examine some of the issues germane to Christian-Muslim relations in Nigeria.

The twentieth century was a fascinating period of profound political, social and economic changes in Indonesia. These changes contributed to the diversification of the religious landscape and as a result, religious authority was redistributed over an increasing number of actors. Although many Muslims in Indonesia continued to regard the ulama, the traditional religious scholars, as the principle source of religious guidance, religious authority has become more diffused and differentiated over time. The present book consists of contributions which all deal with the multi-facetted and multidimensional topic of religious authority and aim to complement each other. Most papers deal with Indonesia, but two dealing with other countries have been included in order to add a comparative dimension. Amongst the topics dealt with are the different and changing roles of the ulama, the rise and role of Muslim organizations, developments within Islamic education, like the madrasa, and the spread of Salafi ideas in contemporary Indonesia.

"This is an excellent and rare exploration of a sensitive religious issue from many perspectives - legal, cultural and political. The case studies from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand portray the important and exciting, yet very difficult, negotiation of Islamic teachings in the changing realities of Southeast Asia, home to the majority of Muslims in the world. Interreligious marriage is an important indicator of good relations between communities in religiously diverse countries. This book will also be of great interest to students and scholars of religious pluralism in a Southeast Asian context, which has not been studied adequately." - Zainal Abidin Bagir, Executive Director, Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS), Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia "The issue of Muslim-non-Muslim marriages has different connotations in the different Southeast Asian states. For example, in Thailand it is more a fluid cultural issue but in Malaysia it reflects great racial schisms with severe legal implications. This book is a welcome one as it examines the issue not only from the perspectives of various Southeast Asian nations but also from so many angles; the legal, historical, social, cultural, anthropological and philosophical. The work is scholarly, yet accessible. Underlying it, there is a vital streak of humanism." - Azmi Sharom, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Malaya

A six-day series of interviews between Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel and French journalist Philippe de Saint-Cheron, Evil and Exile probes some of the most crucial and pressing issues facing humankind today. Having survived the unspeakable evil of the Holocaust, Wiesel remained silent for ten years before dedicating his life to the memory of this tragedy, witnessing tirelessly to remind an often indifferent world of its potential for self-destruction. Wiesel offers wise counsel in this volume concerning evil and suffering, life and death, chance and circumstance. Moreover, the dialogue evokes candid and often surprising responses by Wiesel on the Palestinian problem, Judeo-Christian relations, recent changes in the Soviet Union as well as insights into writers such as Kafka, Malraux, Mauriac, and Unamuno.

This collection spans both the medieval and early modern period, describing the developments and day-to-day realities of relations between Jews, Muslims and Christians in Spain from the 9th to the 16th centuries. The essays discuss the historiography and the issues raised by the constantly shifting balance of ethnoreligious power, intellectual contact between cultures and social identity throughout the Iberian peninsula.