...HAIGAZIAN UNIVERSITY Faculty of Humanities Department of Religion Fall 2012-2013 REL 292 - Christian-Muslim Dialogue (3 credits) Instructor: Issa DIAB (Th.D (Theology); Dr. His. (Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations); Dr. in Cultures and Societies in the Arab and Muslim World; DrTh in Bible Translation-Septuagint and Targum (cand). Phone Office: +961 (01) 90 12 59 – Mobile (03) 275 930; Phone/Fax (01) 88 33 13 -Office Number E-mail: issadiab@hotmail.com ; IDiab@haigazian.edu.lb ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Chapter 1 – General Introduction: What, Why, and What for is a Dialogue Introduction This is an introductory chapter, in which I give the necessary definition and introduce the material that we will study in this course. I will also try to present the matter of Christian-Muslim Dialogue as a pressing matter, not only in Lebanon, but also in the world. I will attempt to answer, in this chapter, such questions as ‘what is a dialogue?’, ‘what does urge Christians and Muslims to engage in dialogue?’, ‘what are the difficulties of dialogue?’, what are the topics to be studied for a sound dialogue?’ and others. With the exception of natural cataclysms that attacked our planet earth, the number of people who died in or because of ‘religious wars’ in the history of humankind is much bigger than those who died in anything else. A great number of people were persecuted, bodily or...
Words: 2158 - Pages: 9
...Introduction The Kazakhs of Mongolia are a people untouched by the gospel fire and the redeeming love of Jesus Christ. The Kazakh’s of Mongolia are the largest ethnic minority group in Mongolia, numbering over 100,000 and mainly live in the western province of Bayan Ulgii. These nomadic people migrated from their homeland of Kazakhstan and are a people rooted in tradition and ancient customs, which make the gospel fire difficult to ignite within their hearts. Figure 1: Physical Map of Bayan-Ulgii, Mongolia. The country of Mongolia is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. Joshua Project gives the Kazakh’s of Mongolia a 1.2 on their progress scale, which means there are less than 2% Evangelicals and less than 5% Christian...
Words: 4824 - Pages: 20
...of Indo-Muslim Culture, Harvard University also says: “The idea that the Muslims conquered everything with fire and sword was unfortunately deeply ingrained in the medieval mind. All these misconceptions about Islam as a religion and the legends and lies that were told about it are really unbelievable.” I was very curious about what is the true nature of Islam, and because I have been living here in Kuwait, as in point of fact, I had a chance to learn about the true Muslim culture, true believers of Islam, and I learned that Islam is not a new religion, but the original path of monotheism. I already knew what Islam’s faith is about: “There is no god but God”; that Mohammad was a prophet – God’s messenger; that Islam separates male and female, but I was surprised to learn that Islam is also about deeply Love and Passion to Allah-The Creator. According to Fisher (2005), “Islam is Arabic word which means peace, purity, acceptance and commitment. As a religion, Islam calls for complete acceptance of the teachings and guidance of God. A Muslim is one who freely and willingly accepts the supreme power of God and strives to organize his life in total accord with the teachings of God. He also works for building social institutions which reflect the guidance of God.” Mohammad’s life story is very important to Muslims because they consider Mohammad as a model of the teachings of the Quran. Prophet Mohammad was born in about 570 CE, and he considered by Muslims to be the...
Words: 2182 - Pages: 9
...of the following was more important in the success of the first crusade: • Muslim disunity • Strengths of the Crusader army The first crusade’s success came as a surprise following the failure of the Peoples Crusade, this was due to many factors not only Muslim disunity and strengths within the Crusader army but also Byzantine support and Crusader motivation, that weren’t previously factors for the peoples crusade. however it is debatable which is the most important reason for the success, Muslim disunity certainly contributed to the success of the crusaders, however this was only a part of the overall reasons for their victories, as the crusaders themselves had many strengths such as strong leadership. Whilst this is true i think that the overall reason for success was indeed the muslims disunity as they made themselves easy opponents to defeat. In the years of the crusade there was a divide within the muslims, the Sunni and Shia Muslims hated each other more than they hated the Christian Crusaders. This led to internal problems and wars, and the many leaders that this affected used their armies against each other. This was in itself a distraction from what could have been used as a strong, united Muslim army against the Christian crusaders. This has been recognised by many historians as a big weakness with the Muslims as T. Asbridge says ‘Had the muslims of the near east united in the face of the first crusade it could not possibly have prevailed.’ In 1097 there...
Words: 808 - Pages: 4
...of Islam is called a Muslim. Islam in religious context means submission or surrender, therefore Muslim a follower of Islam is one who surrenders or one who submits. Muslims demonstrate submission to God by serving God, following his commands and rejecting polytheism (worship of many Gods). Muslims believe God (Allah) is one and incomparable and the purpose of existence is to worship God. Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith (is the...
Words: 723 - Pages: 3
...It is believed that somewhere around 1,700,000 people died as an effect of the Crusades. The Crusades were a set of wars, between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all fighting to gain control of the Holy land. Many people have argued on whether the Crusades were beneficial or not. However, the Crusades, overall were not beneficial for human history, They did not accomplish anything, killed way too many people and started the spread of a deadly plague. To start off, the Crusades were pointless, as they did not accomplish anything. The reason that the Christians started the Crusades was to take control of the Holy Land in Jerusalem for the Muslims, but the Christians were unsuccessful and everything stayed the same. First, “Pope Urban II called for a crusade against the Muslims to regain control of Jerusalem.” This text shows that the point of the crusades was to gain control of Jerusalem, and when the Crusades were finished, the Muslims still controlled it. Next, “Crusaders sought to gain ground in the Holy Land through short-lived raids that proved little...
Words: 564 - Pages: 3
...expeditions against the Muslim lands of Palestine and the Levant which begun with Pope Urban’s call to arms at Clermont in 1095 AD, and all but ended with the Muslim liberation of Acre in 1291. The initial western offensive was sudden and effective. By 1099, Jerusalem was in Christian hands, and remained so until 1187, when it was liberated by Slah al-Din. From then on, European power in the region was very limited, although Frederick II of Sicily briefly conquered Jerusalem again in 1228. The fall of Acre in 1291 marked the end of the European presence in the region. All in all, it was the western Christian that states failed to counter the ultimate rise of Muslim power as-well-as “liberating” any holy lands. It was a war that a man fought another man for the misguided main beliefs of another. Over-all, the Muslim nations that were invaded by those Christian states wanted no part of the hostile take-over of their lands or a forced conversion to their non-Islamic religion. Holy Sepulchre, a city in Palestine was the center of attraction; where the religious practices of Christians were not allowed to enter. The city was under the care of the Caliphs from Bagdad and the Fatimid’s of Egypt. At one point the Caliph presented the keys of this holy place to Charlemagne to lock out the millions of Christians from gaining access. People from Turkey sooner joined the fight to control the holy place as the Arabian community could not resist them and eventually more Christians were subjected...
Words: 4713 - Pages: 19
...• Byzantine was in decline, pressed by invading Ottoman Turks. Constantinople fell to Turks in 1453, ending empire. • By 1200s, the Muslims had fallen to Mongols. Arabs never able to unite the entire region again. Decline of Islamic caliphate: decline of caliphate and its economy was gradual and incomplete – not at all like the dramatic fall of Rome • authority of caliphate declined, landlords seized power, peasants became serfs on large estates • agricultural productively declined, tax revenues declined • Arab and Middle Eastern traders lose ground: European merchants began to exercise control of their turf and challenge the Arabs in other parts of the Mediterranean. Still, Arab and Persian commerce remained active in Indian Ocean. • The emerging Ottoman Turks expanded into southeastern Europe, and the power (both politically and militarily) was frightening to other people in other areas, such as western Europe. A Power Vacuum in International Leadership • Turkish rulers unable to reestablish Islamic position in international trade. Turks scornful of Arabs (though both were Muslim), did not promote trade, especially maritime trade, as vigorously as in past. • Turkic expansion was important well into 17th century, but real focus was on conquest and administration • Mongols developed first alternative international framework with influence in central Asia, China, Russia, Middle East, south Asia. Trade encouraged many opportunities...
Words: 1693 - Pages: 7
...HLT 310V Abstract Patients’ emotional and spiritual needs are not disengaged from the patients’ physical and physiological needs but are considered an integral component of their recovery. There is evidence in medical literature that suggests a strong relationship between spirituality and medicine. With this information, healthcare providers must ensure that all aspects of the patient’s care inclusive of the body, mind and spirit are addressed. Healthcare personnel provide care to a culturally and religiously diverse people. Healthcare personnel must take this diversity into account. This paper will examine three less known faiths- Buddhist, Hindu, and Islam and compare them with Christianity and discuss their differences and commonalities. This paper will discuss the findings and the insight the author has gained through a series of interviews with the people of these three religions. Faith Diversity and the Healthcare Provider: Final Draft Introduction Patients’ emotional and spiritual needs are not disengaged from the patients’ physical and physiological needs but are considered an integral component of their recovery. There is evidence in medical literature that suggests a strong relationship between spirituality and medicine; a survey conducted shows ninety-five percent of Americans believe in God and research shows that forty percent of patients feel that physicians should discuss pertinent religious issues; however only eleven percent of physicians do (Anandarajah...
Words: 1392 - Pages: 6
...(Individual and World) Islam and Christianity The understanding of peace Christianity Concept of peace The New Testament understanding of the word ‘peace’ is living in an idyllic condition and communicating regularly with God, as epitomized by the Garden of Eden. Perfect peace was lost when Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 3) but the coming of Christ restored the potential for peace. Therefore belief in Jesus enables humans inner peace in their lives and the looking forward to the day when Jesus will reign supreme on Earth. As Jesus states in John 16:33 peace is found in him. This is multifaceted. 1) His death was for human sin and allows humans and God to become one again. 2) His ministry is full of Jesus providing peace to those he came into contact with. Matthew 11:28-30, he offers peace to those that are troubled, in Mark 1:21-2:12 he casts out demons and forgives sins and in Hebrews 12:14 followers are encouraged to copy Jesus by making ‘every effort t live in peace with all men. 3) When Jesus returns will bring everlasting physical and spiritual peace on Earth for those who believe. The central theme of Jesus’ teachings is the Kingdom of Heaven. The kingdom of God is characterized by peace- there will be no hardships or grief or pain (Revelation). The righteous and faithful will be redeemed and will live in perpetual peace. Islam Concept of peace Peace can only be found in the submission to the will of God. Like in Christianity peace was lost through Adam and Eve’s disobedience...
Words: 3760 - Pages: 16
...is the Islamic-Based Ottoman Empire. Another Muslim empire that also built an empire around the same time is the Safavid Empire. Although both empires are Islamic-based empires, they still have many differences among them. Their section of religion, social structure, as well as economy has many similarities, as well as differences between the two empires. First of all, religiously the Ottomans and Safavids follow the same religion, though through different section of it. The Ottomans are Sunni Muslims, where they were more open minded, compared to the Safavid Shiite (Shia) Muslims. Ottoman Empire’s location was close to Constantinople, so there were lots of Christians around. As their empire slowly expanded, Christians slowly emerged into their empire. The Ottomans soon captured young Christian boys and converted them into Islam, making them to fight for the Ottoman Empire. These young Christians who became Muslims and were trained to fight as soldiers are called the Janissaries. Also, the Ottoman’s government started their military with the goal of conquering more places, protecting themselves from nearby threats such as people from Constantinople. After the Ottomans took over Constantinople and some other European countries, the empire is now full with Christians. For the Christians and Jews within their empire, the Ottomans are quite kind to them, tolerating their religion. Following the words of Qur’an, Christians and Jews are considered people of the book,...
Words: 2008 - Pages: 9
...systematic way of distinguishing between the secular and the non-secular. He also raises the question of whether or not there is a fixed definition of the term religion, if that term is imbued in Western Christian bias, and the confusions that result in this analytically empty but ideologically loaded term. This term is used in so many different contexts that it has no clear meaning. Fitzgerald says that “the word ‘religion’ is analytically redundant and even misleading” (Fitzgerald 5), because religion refers to a “belief in gods or the supernatural” (Fitzgerald 5), and it was of “traditional European usage” (5). Fitzgerald claims that people have “self-consciously attempted to transform the meaning of religion…and extend it as a cross-cultural category” (Fitzgerald 5). The problem is that people have been incorrectly labeling cross-cultural categories under one term ‘religion,’ that imbues Western Christian views that do not accurately reflect the principles of many cultures. According to Fitzgerald, “working with the blurred and yet ideologically loaded concept of ‘religion’ as a starting point can confuse and impoverish analysis…encourage the uncritical imposition of Judaeo-Christian assumptions on non-western data, and generally maximize our chances of misunderstanding.” This means that explaining Islam to someone, for example, under the category ‘religion’ will imbue Western bias, as the concept of religion now generally reflects Christian view, therefore will misconstrue...
Words: 3386 - Pages: 14
...(lowlanders);Dodom and Eva who begot the Tau mohin , the sea- dwellers from Kiamba; Bou and Umen who begot the Tau sebu, the uplanders of Lake Sebu and Sinulon; La Bila and Mooma who begot the Bilaan of Tupi; Dugo and Sewen who begot the Ubu(manobo); and Kmanay and Sodi who begot the people who became Muslims. From the loins of La Bebe and La Lomi sprang the Ilonggo and other Visayan groups, the Ilocano , and the Tagalog. Anthropologist says that the T'boli could be of Austronessian stock. It is believed that they were already, to some degree, agricultural and used to range the coasts up to the mountain with the arrival of later groups , however these people were gradually pushed to the uplands. There is reasonable speculation, however that the T'boli, along with the other upland groups, used to advent of Islam in the region, starting in the 14th century .The T'boli and there Ubo (Manobo) and Bilaan neighbors resisted the aggressive proselytizing of a succession of Muslim warrior-priest, the greatest of whom was Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuan from Johore in present day Malaysia,whosubsequently establish the sultanate of Maguindanao during the late 15th and early 19th centuries. Muslim oral...
Words: 797 - Pages: 4
...not only in the Middle East or by Arabs “One in every five people worldwide is a Muslim, some 1.3 billion believers. Islam is the world's fastest growing religion and it has spread across the globe.”(Handwerk, 2003). So, the fact that a very large number of followers of Islam around the world are from different races, ethnicities, and cultural background makes this topic important to the study of cultural diversity. This research aims at understanding the importance of Islam in many cultures in which the Islam is shaped or it shapes the cultures in many Muslim countries. It also aim at discussing the teachings of Islam and also to analyze how these teachings are interpreted and practiced in many Muslim countries including the middle east, in the United States, in the Great Britain, and the Asian countries represented by Indonesia. It will also be discuss how Islam is understood in each of those countries’ culture, what similarities and differences are between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism and how the cultures are impacted from the Islamic teachings in different countries. And last but not least, it will discuss the importance of the topic of Islam in the cultural diversity. Islam (2001). Islam, one of the world’s great monotheistic religions, was founded (or restored) by the Prophet Muhammad (570-632 CE), who lived in Mecca and Medina on the Arabian Peninsula. Islam means “submission” and Muslims are those who express their submission to God by following the five pillars of...
Words: 5034 - Pages: 21
...The world we live in is surrounded by many faces of different colors, separate beliefs and values that makes the essence of one’s life. Throughout our day to day life it is impossible to not come in contact with someone that does not believe and share the same practice and religion base as you do. There are several different religion but the main three are Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. In the beginning Christianity, Judaism, and Islam was somehow connected, unfortunately due to disobedience what was first one end up becoming three, in which caused different beliefs followed by different gods. Along with these beliefs came may struggles to obtain and carry out the very thing that they were proven to be right, pure and true. The Islamic religion believes that Allah “was the creator and sustainer of life” (Molly, M., 1999, Page 425.) Christianity believes that God is the creator and sustainer of life. Judaism also believes that God is the creator and sustainer of life. All three religion believes there is a higher power. Islam describes Jesus as a prophet as described here, “He encountered angels and the great prophets of the past, including Abraham and Jesus,” (Molly, M., 1999, Page 428) Judaism also describes Jesus as a prophet as well because Jesus, in their opinion, did not save the Jews. They believed that the real Messiah was going to become their military leader on earth and create an Eden in Jerusalem. They had expected the real Messiah to expel the Romans and rule...
Words: 2300 - Pages: 10
