Muslim Heretics Conference

New dictionary to explain points of Islam, Christianity

By JO NAPOLITANO
Chicago Tribune

Martin Forward, a religion scholar at Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois, is the lead editor of a new book being written called the Dictionary of Christian-Muslim Relations.

CHUCK BERMAN: CHICAGO TRIBUNE

CHICAGO — Christians believe in just one God, a God who is merciful, compassionate and who calls people to a life of goodness. So do Muslims.

Christians refer to Jesus as “Messiah.” So do Muslims — although the word has a different meaning in their faith.

Muslims follow the teachings of Muhammad, who they believe to be the final agent of God. Christians believe the final agent of God is Jesus, who they believe is God’s son.

Such similarities and differences in the faiths will be highlighted in a Christian-Muslim Relations Dictionary slated for release in 2012 by Cambridge University Press.

Martin Forward, executive director of Aurora University’s Wackerlin Center for Faith and Action, will lead the project with the help of two other editors.

“We want people who are going to be ordained, people in Muslim religious schools, people in communications, government and business, to be aware of the importance of the relationship between these two religions,” Forward said.

The editors are asking religious scholars from around the globe to contribute to the book, which will include about 900 entries focusing on a vast array of people, places, theologies, denominations, scripture and other core texts.

Its 60 contributors will have varied backgrounds: Some will be professors who have taught religion for years while others will be priests, imams or the heads of interfaith or nondenominational religious centers.

Forward already contributed to a similar book, A Dictionary of Jewish-Christian Relations, published in 2006. The 507-page book begins with entries on abortion and absolution and ends with zealotry and Zion.

The new book will have a broad scope and will include entries on art, cinema and feminism as viewed from the perspective of the Christian-Muslim relationship.

Another editor, Scott Alexander, associate professor of Islam and director of the Catholic-Muslim Studies Program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, said he hopes the book will provide a common vocabulary for those engaged in religious debate.

“This inter-religious dialogue movement is found all over the globe,” he said. “But it doesn’t get much press.”

Forward said Christianity began about 2,000 years ago and was based on the life and teachings of Jesus, who most Christians believe is the son of God. Islam began about 600 years later, Forward said, based on Muhammad’s first revelation, around the year 610.

Although Muslims also call Jesus “Messiah,” the term as used in the Quran seems more like a courtesy title than one of any significant meaning, he said.

Forward, a British Methodist and a pastor for 13 years, said he wants readers to know there have been times throughout history that people of both faiths have lived peacefully side by side.

Religious fanatics on both sides who “dehumanize” others do not represent the masses, he said.

A. Rashied Omar, another of the book’s editors, said there has been “a phenomenal growth of inter-religions dialogue and outreach between Christians and Muslims across the United States and the world” since the 2001 terror attacks. He said that although there was some backlash against Muslims, the bigger story was that Christians were visiting mosques to learn more about Islam.

Omar is a research scholar of Islamic studies and peace-building at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

He expects to write entries on Jesus, Abraham, Moses and Mary. He said he’s been asked to speak to numerous churches over the years to teach people about his faith.

“As a Muslim scholar, I find that whenever I’ve spoken, there was a tremendous sense of sincere curiosity,” he said. “People wanted to find out more.”

New dictionary to explain points of Islam, Christianity | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle