Both Christianity and Islam operate within certain conceptual models or paradigms. All too often, when someone from one faith seeks to understand the other, they try to make that faith fit their own paradigm instead of entering into the paradigm of the other, which is the only way for there to be real understanding. This emphasises ‘The importance of a paradigm shift in understanding Christianity and Islam’.
Tag Archives: Muslim
Badshah Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan – ‘The Muslim Gandhi’
The name of Badshah Khan Abdul Ghaffar Kahn is little known today, but any man who can lead one hundred thousand Pashtun warriors as a disciplined army committed to the nonviolent struggle for the liberation of India from British rule is worthy of notice when the linkage between Muslims and violence is so often in the news.
Short Guide to Understanding Islam
A short, straight forward and basic introduction to Islam as Muslims understand it! Download this by clicking the link below or from the “Written Resources – Books” page of this website and share it widely…
Understanding Islam: The Big Picture
The first series of Understanding Islam TV programmes, called The Big Picture, is available on You Tube by following the links on the “UI course” button on this website, then the “Big Picture” page. All twelve articles for this series have been compiled together and are available by clicking on the “Written Resources” button and then the “Books” page. To view this compilation, you can also click on the link below:
Introduction to UI Course
Please click to download the PDF Introduction to the UI course
The Big Picture is the first series of twelve episodes of the course. The video for each episode and a set of notes in pdf format can be found by clicking here.
Standing before God is the Second series of twelve episodes of the course. The video for each episode and a set of notes in pdf format can be found by clicking here.
Building a Just Society is the Third series of twelve episodes. The video for each episode and a set of notes in pdf format can be found by clicking here.
Bearers of the Final Message is the fourth and final series of twelve episodes of the Understanding Islam course. The video for each episode and a set of notes in pdf format can be found by clicking here.
A Common Word: five years on
In October 2007, an Open Letter (www.acommonword.com) was sent, signed by 138 Muslim religious leaders, to a range of Christian leaders inviting them to come to work together to build peace between Christians and Muslims on the basis of a verse of the Qur’an (Q. 3:64). This was a significant Muslim initiative in Christian-Muslim relations. Five years on, this reading guide is offered to readers to help unpack some of the context, content and complexity of A Common Word and to indicate points on which Christians might like to reflect in thinking of an appropriate response. To read more, click on the link below
Christian Lives Given to the Study of Islam
This book captures the autobiographical reflections of twenty-eight Christian men and women who, in the wake of the Second Vatican Council and movements within the World Council of Churches, committed their lives to the study of Islam and to practical Christian–Muslim relations in new and irenic ways. Their contributions come from across the spectrum of the Western church and record what drew them into the study of Islam, how their careers developed, what sustained them in this work and salient milestones along the way. Their accounts take us to twenty-five countries and into all the branches of Islamic studies: Qur’an, Hadith, Shari’a, Sufism, philology, theology, and philosophy. They give fascinating insights into personal encounters with Islam and Muslims, speak of the ways in which their Christian traditions of spiritual training formed and nourished them, and deal with some of the misunderstandings and opposition they have faced along the way. In an analytical conclusion, the editors draw out themes and pointers towards future developments. Click below to read more…