Editorial: themes and resources in Christian and Muslim relations

Relations between Christians and Muslims are now part of the ordinary texture of British life, and they are also a live concern across the Anglican Communion. This issue gathers four studies that are meant to serve both the parish and the seminar room.

Reading the sources

The first article follows the Qur'an's varied treatment of Christians and traces how later Islamic writers, both scholarly and polemical, have handled the same material. The second sets out the theological foundations of Shari'a and responds from an evangelical standpoint, with care and without caricature.

Study and dialogue

A third contribution draws on the wisdom literature of the Bible to argue that patient study of another faith is itself a Christian discipline, and that listening is not a betrayal of conviction. The fourth surveys themes central to Shi'a Islam and identifies ground that Catholic and Shi'a thinkers might share.

A note for readers

None of these writers asks readers to suspend judgement. What they ask is that Christians learn the subject well enough to speak about it truthfully, and that disagreement be conducted with the courtesy owed to neighbours.