Christian-Muslim Relations, a Bibliographical History 5 (CMR 5), covering the period 1350-1500, is a continuing volume in a general history of relations between the two faiths from the seventh century to 1900. It comprises a series of introductory essays and also the main body of detailed entries which treat all the works, surviving or lost, that have been recorded. These entries provide biographical details of the authors, descriptions and assessments of the works themselves, and complete accounts of manuscripts, editions, translations and studies. The result of collaboration between numerous leading scholars, CMR 5, along with the other volumes in this series, is intended as an indispensable tool for research in Christian-Muslim relations.

Christian-Muslim Relations, a Bibliographical History 4 (CMR 4) is a history of all the known works on Christian-Muslim relations in the period 1200-1350. It comprises introductory essays and detailed entries containing descriptions, assessments and compehensive bibliographical details of individual works.

Antonia Bosanquet’s Minding Their Place is the first full-length study of Ibn al-Qayyim’s (d. 751/1350) collection of rulings relating to non-Muslim subjects, Aḥkām ahl al-dhimma. It offers a detailed study of the structure, content and authorial method of the work, arguing that it represents the author’s personal composition rather than a synthesis of medieval rulings, as it has often been understood. On this basis, Antonia Bosanquet analyses how Ibn al-Qayyim’s presentation of rulings in Aḥkām ahl al-dhimma uses space to convey his view of religious hierarchy. She considers his answer to the question of whether non-Muslims have a place in the Abode of Islam, how this is defined and how his definition contributes to Ibn al-Qayyim’s broader theological world-view.

Why did the Christian Church, in the twentieth century, engage in dialogue with Islam? What has been the ecumenical experience? What is happening now? Such questions underlie Douglas Pratt’s Christian Engagement with Islam: Ecumenical Journeys since 1910. Pratt charts recent Christian (WCC and Vatican) engagement with Islam up to the early 21st century and examines the ecumenical initiatives of Africa’s PROCMURA, ‘Building Bridges’, and the German ‘Christian-Muslim Theological Forum’, together with responses to the 2007 ‘Common Word’ letter. Between them, Islam and Christianity represent over half the earth’s population. Their history of interaction, positive and negative, impacts widely still today. Contentious issues remain real enough, yet the story and ongoing reality of contemporary Christian-Muslim engagement is both exciting and encouraging.

Islam and Christianity in Medieval Anatolia offers a comparative approach to understanding the spread of Islam and Muslim culture in medieval Anatolia. It aims to reassess work in the field since the 1971 classic by Speros Vryonis, The Decline of Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamization which treats the process of transformation from a Byzantinist perspective. Since then, research has offered insights into individual aspects of Christian-Muslim relations, but no overview has appeared. Moreover, very few scholars of Islamic studies have examined the problem, meaning evidence in Arabic, Persian and Turkish has been somewhat neglected at the expense of Christian sources, and too little attention has been given to material culture. The essays in this volume examine the interaction between Christianity and Islam in medieval Anatolia through three distinct angles, opening with a substantial introduction by the editors to explain both the research background and the historical problem, making the work accessible to scholars from other fields. The first group of essays examines the Christian experience of living under Muslim rule, comparing their experiences in several of the major Islamic states of Anatolia between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, especially the Seljuks and the Ottomans. The second set of essays examines encounters between Christianity and Islam in art and intellectual life. They highlight the ways in which some traditions were shared across confessional divides, suggesting the existence of a common artistic and hence cultural vocabulary. The final section focusses on the process of Islamisation, above all as seen from the Arabic, Persian and Turkish textual evidence with special attention to the role of Sufism.

Senses of Scripture, Treasures of Tradition offers recent findings on the reception, translation and use of the Bible in Arabic among Jews, Samaritans, Christians and Muslims from the early Islamic era to the present day. In this volume, edited by Miriam L. Hjälm, scholars from different fields have joined forces to illuminate various aspects of the Bible in Arabic: it depicts the characteristics of this abundant and diverse textual heritage, describes how the biblical message was made relevant for communities in the Near East and makes hitherto unpublished Arabic texts available. It also shows how various communities interacted in their choice of shared terminology and topics, and how Arabic Bible translations moved from one religious community to another. Contributors include: Amir Ashur, Mats Eskhult, Nathan Gibson, Dennis Halft, Miriam L. Hjälm, Cornelia Horn, Naḥem Ilan, Rana H. Issa, Geoffrey K. Martin, Roy Michael McCoy III, Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala, Meirav Nadler-Akirav, Sivan Nir, Meira Polliack, Arik Sadan, Ilana Sasson, David Sklare, Peter Tarras, Alexander Treiger, Frank Weigelt, Vevian Zaki, Marzena Zawanowska.

The spread of Islam and the process of Islamisation (meaning both conversion to Islam and the adoption of Muslim culture) is explored in the twenty-four chapters of this volume. Taking a comparative perspective, both the historical trajectory of Islamisation and the methodological problems in its study are addressed, with coverage moving from Africa to China and from the seventh century to the start of the colonial period in 1800. Key questions are addressed. What is meant by Islamisation? How far was the spread of Islam as a religion bound up with the spread of Muslim culture? To what extent are Islamisation and conversion parallel processes? How is Islamisation connected to Arabisation? What role do vernacular Muslim languages play in the promotion of Muslim culture? The broad, comparative perspective allows readers to develop a thorough understanding of the process of Islamisation over eleven centuries of its history.

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.

Patristic Literature in Arabic Translations explores the Arabic translations of the Greek and Syriac Church Fathers, focusing on those produced in the Palestinian monasteries and at Sinai in the 8th–10th centuries and in Antioch during Byzantine rule (969–1084). These Arabic translations preserve patristic texts lost in the original languages. They offer crucial information about the diffusion and influence of patristic heritage among Middle Eastern Christians from the 8th century to the present. A systematic examination of Arabic patristic translations sheds light on the development of Muslim and Jewish theological thought. Contributors are Aaron Michael Butts, Joe Glynias, Habib Ibrahim, Jonas Karlsson, Sergey Kim, Joshua Mugler, Tamara Pataridze, Alexandre Roberts, Barbara Roggema, Alexander Treiger.

It is important for Christians and Muslims to engage in respectful dialogue. However, it is not easy. The present book delves into the past for wisdom and guidance. Spanish theologian Martín Pérez de Ayala (1504–66) wrote a catechism or Catecismo that was not published until more than three decades after he had passed away. Why was the Catecismo published posthumously? The search for answers to this question involved evaluating the Catecismo against thirteen other catechisms written in sixteenth-century Spain. This assessment generated timeless principles that can be used today by those who wish to have cordial conversations about Islam and biblical Christianity with their Muslim friends.