This valuable book is the first to bring together theory and policy with analysis and expertise on practices in key areas of the public realm to explore what religious literacy is, why it is needed and what might be done about it. It makes the case for a public realm which is well equipped to engage with the plurality and pervasiveness of religion and belief, whatever the individual's own stance. It is aimed at academics, policy-makers and practitioners interested in the policy and practice implications of the continuing presence of religion and belief in the public sphere.

Analyses the complexities of Christian-Muslim conflict that threatens the fragile democracy of Nigeria, and the implications for global peace and security. In northern Nigeria, high levels of ethnic diversity have coincided with acute polarization between Muslims and Christians, increasingly fuelling violent conflict. The climate of insecurity threatens northern Nigeria's development, accentuates the inequalities between it and the rest of the country, and undermines the attempt to stabilize democracy in the country. Externally, fears have also been expressed that Islamist movements in northern Nigeria form part of a wider network constituting a threat to global peace and security. Refuting a "clash of civilizations" between Muslims and Christians, the authors of this new study highlight the multiplicity of Muslim and Christian groups contending for influence and relevance, and the doctrinal, political and historical drivers of conflict and violence between and within them. They analyse three of the most contentious issues: the conflicts in Jos; the Boko Haram insurgency; and the challenges of legal pluralism posed by the declaration of full Sharia law in 12 Muslim majority states. Finally, they suggest appropriate and effective policy responses at local, national and international levels, discussing the importance of informal institutions as avenues for peace-building and the complementarities between local and national dynamics in the search for peace. Abdul Raufu Mustapha is Associate Professor in African Politics, University of Oxford. David Ehrhardt is Assistant Professor of International Development at Leiden University College. Companion volume: Sects & Social Disorder: Muslim Identities &Conflict in Northern Nigeria edited by Abdul Raufu Mustapha (James Currey 2014) Nigeria: Premium Times Books

Does it still matter which foot you dig with in today's Republic of Ireland? "Outside the Glow" examines the relationship between Protestants and Catholics and the notion that southern Protestants are somehow not really Irish. From extensive interviews with representatives of both confessions, Heather K. Crawford demonstrates that there are still underlying tensions between the confessions based on 'memories' of events long buried in the past. By looking at various aspects of everyday life in today's Republic - education, marriage, segregation, Irish language, social life - she shows how these residues of religious, ethnic and cultural tension suggest that to be truly Irish is to be Catholic, and that consequently Protestants - and other minorities - cannot have an authentic Irish identity.

"Flawless . . . [Makdisi] reminds us of the critical declarations of secularism which existed in the history of the Middle East."-Robert Fisk, The Independent Today's headlines paint the Middle East as a collection of war-torn countries and extremist groups consumed by sectarian rage. Ussama Makdisi's Age of Coexistence reveals a hidden and hopeful story that counters this cliched portrayal. It shows how a region rich with ethnic and religious diversity created a modern culture of coexistence amid Ottoman reformation, European colonialism, and the emergence of nationalism. Moving from the nineteenth century to the present, this groundbreaking book explores, without denial or equivocation, the politics of pluralism during the Ottoman Empire and in the post-Ottoman Arab world. Rather than judging the Arab world as a place of age-old sectarian animosities, Age of Coexistence describes the forging of a complex system of coexistence, what Makdisi calls the "ecumenical frame." He argues that new forms of antisectarian politics, and some of the most important examples of Muslim-Christian political collaboration, crystallized to make and define the modern Arab world. Despite massive challenges and setbacks, and despite the persistence of colonialism and authoritarianism, this framework for coexistence has endured for nearly a century. It is a reminder that religious diversity does not automatically lead to sectarianism. Instead, as Makdisi demonstrates, people of different faiths, but not necessarily of different political outlooks, have consistently tried to build modern societies that transcend religious and sectarian differences.

The Middle East always seems to dominate international news and global politics. For all of the media exposure, however, most of us consider the religious life of that volatile region only in terms of Muslims and Jews. Serving to correct that misperception, Who are the Christians in the Middle East? chronicles the history and current state of the many various Christian communities in that part of the world.Reflecting dramatic changes in the region, including massive population shifts, this second edition of the Baileys' seminal 2003 volume updates their carefully collected data on churches, church leaders, and contacts, making their one-of-a-kind resource an even more useful gold mine of information.

This collection of essays investigates signs of toleration, recognition, respect and other positive forms of interaction between and within religious groups of late antiquity. At the same time, it acknowledges that examples of tolerance are significantly fewer in ancient sources than examples of intolerance and are often limited to insiders, while outsiders often met with contempt, or even outright violence. The essays take both perspectives seriously by analysing the complexity pertaining to these encounters. Religious concerns, ethnicity, gender and other social factors central to identity formation were often intertwined and they yielded different ways of drawing the limits of tolerance and intolerance. This book enhances our understanding of the formative centuries of Jewish and Christian religious traditions. It also brings the results of historical inquiry into dialogue with present-day questions of religious tolerance. The book contains contributions by Ismo Dunderberg, Carmen Palmer, Michael Labahn, Nina Nikki, Anna-Liisa Rafael, Sami Yli-Karjanmaa, Galit Hasan-Rokem & Israel Yuval, Paul Middleton, Outi Lehtipuu, Elizabeth Dowling, and Amy-Jill Levine.

"Religious Pluralism in the West: An Anthology" presents a complete historical overview of the themes relating to religious intolerance, toleration and liberty. The issue of religious pluralism continues to be high on the agenda in our increasingly multicultural societies within both secular and religious spheres. This book will therefore be a valuable resource for students studying courses in religion, theology and the social sciences.

The readings contained within the anthology cover the attitudes of religious pluralism from antiquity to the present day. An interdisciplinary, as well as chronological, approach to pluralistic themes is adopted, and it is demonstrated how the issues so pertinent and visible in today's society have always been a cause for discussion and debate. One of the strengths of the book is that it shows the various ambiguities which a study of pluralism entails, so that intolerance may be viewed in a less moralistic light, while liberty is presented as being not without is own difficulties. "Religious Pluralism in the West: An Anthology" also includes a substantial introduction by the volume editor and suggestions for further reading.

This Reader brings together nearly 80 extracts from major works by Christians and Muslims that reflect their reciprocal knowledge and attitudes. It spans the period from the early 7th century, when Islam originated, to 1500. The general introduction provides a historical and geographical summary of Christian-Muslim encounters in the period and a short account of the religious, intellectual and social circumstances in which encounters took place and works were written. Topics from the Christian perspective include: condemnations of the Qur'an as a fake and Muhammad as a fraud, depictions of Islam as a sign of the final judgement, and proofs that it was a Christian heresy. On the Muslim side they include: demonstrations of the Bible as corrupt, proofs that Christian doctrines were illogical, comments on the inferior status of Christians, and accounts of Christian and Muslim scholars in collaboration together. Each of the six parts contains the following pedagogical features: -A short introduction -An introduction to each passage and author -Notes explaining terms that readers might not have previously encountered

The matter of Christian-Muslim relations cannot be ignored these days. While the term itself may not appear all that often, relations between the two faiths and their reciprocal perceptions are undeniable influences behind many current conflicts, declarations of mutual recognition and peace negotiations, not to mention the brooding hatred of religious extremists. Since 9/11, relations between the two faiths have, in one form or another, hardly been away from the news. This Handbook contains fundamental information about the major aspects of relations between Christians and Muslims. Its various sections follow the history from the early seventh century to the present, the major religious issues that have led to disputes between the two faiths, and the political implications of religious differences at various stages through history, as well as in the present. It includes analysis of scriptural and theological themes and explores the characteristics of relations at important points in history and also in various parts of the world today. Chapters are devoted to the most significant intellectual interpretations and encounters, the main armed clashes, including the Crusades, and the important documents issued by each faith that in recent years have led the way towards new developments in recognition and acceptance. With chapters written by some of the foremost experts in the field, the book traces the largely dark history of relations and explains the underlying reasons why Muslims and Christians have found tolerance and respect for the other difficult. It is an excellent resource for understanding the past and for highlighting lessons for future relations between the world's two largest religions.

This book reconstructs Hindu-Muslim relations from a European standpoint. Drawing from the Indian context, the author explores options for Western Europe - a region grappling with the refugee crisis and populist reactions to the growth of Muslim minorities. The author shows how India can serve not only as a model but also as a warning for Europe. For example, European liberals may learn not only from the achievements of Indian secularism but also from its crisis. Based on extensive interviews with Indians from diverse backgrounds, from politicians to social activists and from the middle class to slum dwellers, the volume investigates a wide range of perspectives: Hindu and Muslim, religious and secular, moderate and militant. Relevant, engaging and accessible, this book speaks to a broad audience of concerned citizens and policy makers. Scholars of political science, sociology, modern history, cultural studies and South Asian studies will be particularly interested.

Islam and the Orthodox Church in contemporary Russia are usually studied in isolation from each other, and each in relation to the Kremlin; the latter demands the development of a home-grown and patriotic 'religious traditionalism, as a bulwark against subversive 'non-traditional' imports. This volume breaks new ground by focusing on charismatic missionaries from both religions who bypass the hierarchies of their respective faith organizations and challenge the 'traditionalism' paradigm from within Russia's many religious traditions, and who give new meanings to the well-known catchwords of Russia's identity discourse. The Moscow priest Daniil Sysoev confronted the Russian Orthodox Church with 'Uranopolitism', a spiritual vision that defies patriotism and nationalism; the media-savvy Geidar Dzhemal projected an 'Islamic Eurasianism' and a world revolution for which Russia's Muslims would provide the vanguard; and the Islamic terrorist Said Buriatskii found respect among left- and right-wing Russians through his Islamic adaptation of Lev Gumilev's 'passionarity' paradigm. On the other side, Russian experts and journalists who propagate the official paradigm of Russia's 'traditional Islam' argue from either Orthodox or secularist perspectives, and fail to give content to the concept. This allows even moderate Salafis to argue that their creed is Russia's real 'traditionalist' Islam. This book was originally published as a special issue of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations.

These dialogues began in 1993 as an outgrowth of a 1990 conference on Catholic-Jewish relations that commemorated the 25th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Vatican II document encouraging dialogue between the Catholic church and non-Christian religions. This volume contains a record of the first five Nostra Aetate dialogues, and it brings together an impressive array of Jewish and Catholic scholars. The conversations here take up "the Jewishness of Jesus" (John Meier and Shaye Cohen); "the Death of Jesus" (the late Raymond Brown and Michael Cook); "Catholic-Jewish Dialogue and the New Millennium" (Ismar Schorsch and John Cardinal O'Connor); "Jerusalem in Jewish and early Christian Thought" (Robert Wilkins and Michael Fishbane); and Abraham Joshua Heschel as "prophet of social activism" (Eugene Borowitz and Daniel Berrigan). Moderators and respondents include religion journalist Peter Steinfels, Rabbi Burton Visotzky and Susannah Heschel, Abraham Joshua Heschel's daughter. The volume is a solid introduction to some of the most important historical work on Christian origins, Jewish-Christian relations and the historical Jesus. The discussion of contemporary issues, especially between Brown and Cook and between Heschel and Berrigan, is lively and accessible. This collection serves as a model for interreligious dialogue.

Since the calls of the Second Vatican Council, Roman Catholic theologians have sought to overcome an overarching problem facing Jewish-Christian relations, the concept of "supersessionism"; the idea that God has revoked the spiritual and historical promises made to the Jewish people in favour of granting those same privileges to a predominantly Gentile Church. Israel, the Church, and Millenarianism breaks new ground by applying an ancient principle to the problem of Israel's "replacement": the early Church's promotion of millennialism. Utilizing the best in Patristic research, Aguzzi argues that these earliest Christian traditions made room for the future of Israel because Christ's reign in the Church was viewed as provisional to his historical reign on earth-Israel's role in salvation history was and is not yet complete. Aguzzi's research also opens the door for a greater Catholic understanding of the millennial principle, not shying away from its validity and relevance for understanding the importance of safeguarding Jewish particularity, while concluding that the Synagogue and the Church are indeed on a parallel trajectory; "...what will their...[Israel's]...acceptance be but life from the dead?" (Romans 11:15). Ultimately, the divine will is fulfilled through both Christian and Jewish means, in history, while each community is dependent, in different ways, upon the unfolding of God's future and the coming Parousia of Christ.

The matter of Christian-Muslim relations cannot be ignored these days. While the term itself may not appear all that often, relations between the two faiths and their reciprocal perceptions are undeniable influences behind many current conflicts, declarations of mutual recognition and peace negotiations, not to mention the brooding hatred of religious extremists. Since 9/11, relations between the two faiths have, in one form or another, hardly been away from the news. This Handbook contains fundamental information about the major aspects of relations between Christians and Muslims. Its various sections follow the history from the early seventh century to the present, the major religious issues that have led to disputes between the two faiths, and the political implications of religious differences at various stages through history, as well as in the present. It includes analysis of scriptural and theological themes and explores the characteristics of relations at important points in history and also in various parts of the world today. Chapters are devoted to the most significant intellectual interpretations and encounters, the main armed clashes, including the Crusades, and the important documents issued by each faith that in recent years have led the way towards new developments in recognition and acceptance. With chapters written by some of the foremost experts in the field, the book traces the largely dark history of relations and explains the underlying reasons why Muslims and Christians have found tolerance and respect for the other difficult. It is an excellent resource for understanding the past and for highlighting lessons for future relations between the world's two largest religions.

First published in 2005, this book addresses the challenges arising from Christian-Muslim encounter and attempts to enable outsiders to understand the religion of Islam. The author offers distinctive perspectives that compliment much other literature in the study of Islam and in particular Christian-Muslim relations and the relation of Islam and the west. The book is divided into three parts: Part I constitutes an introduction to Islam, Part II delves into aspects of the wider encounter with Islam and Part III explores issues in regard to the prospect of engaging in dialogue with Islam. The author argues that in the post-9/11 world the imperative to understand and engage with Islam is urgent and intends this work to assist the reader in doing so.

Christians and Muslims comprise the world's two largest religious communities. This book looks at the history of their relationship - part peaceful co-existence and part violent confrontation - from their first encounters in the medieval period up to the present. It emphasises the theological, cultural and political context in which perceptions and attitudes have developed and gives a depth of historical insight to the complex current Christian-Muslim interactions across the globe.

A Dialogue of Life Towards the encounter of Jews and Christians will motivate Jews and Christians to begin "the way of dialogue." These pages provide accessible tools for anyone taking part in the encounter between people of different cultures or religions. It offers useful tools for those who work in the areas of education (teachers, professors, and catechists), as well as for families.

This anthology explores the dynamics of shared religious sites in Turkey, the Balkans, Palestine/Israel, Cyprus, and Algeria, indicating where local and national stakeholders maneuver between competition and cooperation, coexistence and conflict. Contributors probe the notion of coexistence and the logic that underlies centuries of "sharing," exploring when and why sharing gets interrupted -- or not -- by conflict, and the policy consequences.

These essays map the choreographies of shared sacred spaces within the framework of state-society relations, juxtaposing a site's political and religious features and exploring whether sharing or contestation is primarily religious or politically motivated. While religion and politics are intertwined phenomena, the contributors to this volume understand the category of "religion" and the "political" as devices meant to distinguish between the theological and confessional aspects of religion and the political goals of groups. Their comparative approach better represents the transition in some cases of sites into places of hatred and violence while in other instances they remain noncontroversial. The essays clearly delineate the religious and political factors that contribute to the context and causality of conflict at these sites and draw on history and anthropology to shed light on the often rapid switch from relative tolerance to distress to peace and calm.

This comprehensive volume brings together a distinguished editorial team, including some of the field's pioneers, to explore the aims, practice, and historical context of interfaith collaboration. Explores in full the background, history, objectives, and discourse between the leaders and practitioners of the world's major religions Examines relations between religions from around the world, moving well beyond the common focus on Christianity, to also cover over 12 major religions Features a wealth of case studies on contemporary interreligious dialogue Charts a long-term shift away from a competitive rivalry between belief systems, and a change in focus towards the more respectful, cooperative approach reflected in institutions such as the World Council of Churches Includes up-to-date commentary on the growing dialogue of recent years, written by some of the leading figures working in the field of interfaith discourse

This commemorative volume discusses aspects of the life and work of the internationally famous scholar Professor W. Montgomery Watt (1909-2006). His writings on Islam and on Muslim-Christian relations gained him great prestige and respect, not only in the West but also - and perhaps more significantly - right across the Muslim world. The book includes contributions by Professor Carole Hillenbrand, Professor Fred Donner, Bishop Richard Holloway and the late Professor David Kerr, as well as substantial excerpts from Professor Watt's unpublished writings, copies of which he entrusted to Professor Hillenbrand.

For six months in 2004, controversy raged in Hamtramck, Michigan, as residents debated a proposed amendment that would exempt the adhan, or Islamic call to prayer, from the city's anti-noise ordinance. The call to prayer functioned as a flashpoint in disputes about the integration of Muslims into this historically Polish‑Catholic community. No one openly contested Muslims' right to worship in their mosques, but many neighbors framed their resistance around what they regarded as the inappropriate public pronouncement of Islamic presence, an announcement that audibly intruded upon their public space. Throughout U.S. history, complaints about religion as noise have proven useful both for restraining religious dissent and for circumscribing religion's boundaries more generally. At the same time, religious individuals and groups rarely have kept quiet. They have insisted on their right to practice religion out loud, implicitly advancing alternative understandings of religion and its place in the modern world. In Religion Out Loud, Isaac Weiner takes such sonic disputes seriously. Weaving the story of religious "noise" through multiple historical eras and diverse religious communities, he convincingly demonstrates that religious pluralism has never been solely a matter of competing values, truth claims, or moral doctrines, but of different styles of public practice, of fundamentally different ways of using body and space--and that these differences ultimately have expressed very different conceptions of religion itself. Weiner's innovative work encourages scholars to pay much greater attention to the publicly contested sensory cultures of American religious life. In the North American Religions series Isaac Weiner is Assistant Professor of Religion and Culture in the Department of Comparative Studies at the Ohio State University.

Taking a critical approach to the concept of 'religious pluralism', this book examines the dynamics of religious co-existence in Asia as they are directly addressed by governments, or indirectly managed by groups and individuals. It looks at the quality of relations that emerge in encounters among people of different religious traditions or among people who hold different visions within the same tradition. Chapters focus in particular on the places of everyday religious diversity in Asian societies in order to explore how religious groups have confronted new situations of religious diversity. The book goes on to explore the conditions under which active religious pluralism emerges (or not) from material contexts of diversity.

This book examines the role of the papacy and the crusade in the religious life of the late twelfth through late thirteenth centuries and beyond. Throughout the book, the contributors ask several important questions. Was Innocent III more theologian than lawyer-pope and how did his personal experience of earlier crusade campaigns inform his own vigorous promotion of the crusades? How did the outlook and policy of Honorius III differ from that of Innocent III in crucial areas including the promotion of multiple crusades (including the Fifth Crusade and the crusade of William of Montferrat) and how were both pope's mindsets manifested in writings associated with them? What kind of men did Honorius III and Innocent III select to promote their plans for reform and crusade? How did the laity make their own mark on the crusade through participation in the peace movements which were so crucial to the stability in Europe essential for enabling crusaders to fulfill their vows abroad and through joining in the liturgical processions and prayers deemed essential for divine favor at home and abroad? Further essays explore the commemoration of crusade campaigns through the deliberate construction of physical and literary paths of remembrance. Yet while the enemy was often constructed in a deliberately polarizing fashion, did confessional differences really determine the way in which Latin crusaders and their descendants interacted with the Muslim world or did a more pragmatic position of 'rough tolerance' shape mundane activities including trade agreements and treaties?

Most people live or work among Muslim colleagues and neighbours, or mingle with Islamic people on trips overseas. But many Christians struggle to see beyond the stereotypes to connect in depth with the people they meet. In this winsome book Martin Goldsmith recounts colourful stories from a lifetime of conversations and friendships with Muslims in various countries around the world, including the UK. Part-travelogue, part-biography, readers are whisked from an English college garden to an Afghan market, from a London secondary school to a North African tourist destination, from Dubai airport to a home in Scotland, all the while becoming better equipped to make their own connections with Muslims - to the glory of God.

Christians, Muslims and Jews all stem from one man, Abraham, and yet relations between them are so often strained. Three men of faith - one Jew, one Muslim and one Christian - debate the differences between them. The result is a compelling discussion: What do their faiths teach on the big issues of life? What can be done to make for better relationships in the future? What can be done on the big global areas of conflict and tension? How can they get along? For hundreds of years, many of the biggest global conflicts have been fuelled by religious hatred and prejudice. It is evident, in the early part of the 21st century that not much has changed. Whether it is fundamentalist Muslims waging jihad in Afghanistan and Pakistan, or the perpetual low scale hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians, to the man in the street, religion seems to make people more likely to fight each other, not less. Why is this? Why Can't They Get Along? is a powerful and much needed account. Current, passionate and compelling it is essential reading.