Dr. Pothana's Teaching

2. A history of contact between
Christians and Muslims

3. Main Sources
• Hugh Goddard, A history of Christian-Muslim
relations (New Amsterdam 2000).
• Tarif Khalidi, The Muslim Jesus (Harvard 2001).
• Jane Smith, “Islam and Christendom” in The
Oxford history of Islam edited by John Esposito
(1999).
• William Montgomery Watt, Muslim-Christian
encounters (Routledge 1991).

4. Approach
• Eight Ages
• Layer by layer, one community responds to
the other, next generation responds to
earlier one
• Diversity of opinion in both communities
• Old Testament basis for two emphases
– Confrontation
– Inclusivism

5. Rationale
• “If we are to be faithful we must seek to
understand the situation in which we find
ourselves and to devise and carry through
ways of meeting it.” --K.S. Latourette
• Try to see main features of the ages past
• Go on to describe the main features of our day
• Seek to understand how God works, what the gospel is
and how it works in history
• Frame feasible and wise procedures for the years
immediately ahead

6. Today’s Context

7. Christian interest in Islam

8. 1. The Early
Age in Arabia
610-640 CE

9. Christianity divided
• Latin West: emphasis
on law highlighting
redemption expressed
in worship through
sacrifice in Mass.
• One center: Rome.
• Spirit proceeded from
the Father and Son
• Greek East: emphasis on
philosophy highlighting
deification expressed in
worship through
Eucharist (thanksgiving).
• Four centers: Jerusalem,
Antioch, Alexandria,
and Constantinople.
• Spirit proceeded from
Father (only)

11. Mount Hira

12. Gabriel
speaks to
Muhammad
on Mount
Hira

13. Abraham
and
Ishmael
rebuild
Kaaba

14. Summary: Early Age in Arabia
• Muhammad had no contact with
authentic Christianity and
developed Islam in the absence of
a dynamic Christian witness.

15. 2. The Age of
Displacement
640-750 CE

16. Trade in a
central
role in
Muslim
expansion

19. Summary: Age of Displacement
• Muslims take advantage of
political instability and infighting
amongst Christians to displace
Christian rule in historic Christian
strongholds in the Mediterranean.

20. 3. The Golden
Age of Islam
750-950 CE

21. • Astronomy

22. qibla
compass

23. Great
Mosque
of
Cordoba

24. Muslim
and
Christian
make
music

25. Summary: Golden Age of Islam
• Muslims took leadership in
intellectual pursuits. Christians
experienced Muslims as teachers
and rulers, having limited freedoms
that declined after AD 950.

26. 4. The Middle
Ages
950-1100 CE

27. Islam inspires
the advent of
Europe’s
universities

29. Christian and Muslim knights

30. Summary: Middle Ages
• Christians had little inclination to study
Islam and held beliefs that put a further
strain on Christian-Muslim relations.
Christians writing about Islam for
religious purposes were the least
charitable. Popular stories contained the
greatest falsehoods but also the shared
chivalrous culture.

31. 5. The Age of the Crusades
1100-1500 CE

36. Six effects of the Crusades
• Muslims left with lasting suspicion of Western Christians
• Failed to rescue Eastern Christianity, instead crippling it
• Produced a greater emphasis in Islam of Jerusalem as a
Holy Place
• Weakened the position of Christians under Muslim rule
• Furthered the course of involvement of the Western Church
in the Middle East
• Increased contact at different levels between the Muslim
world and Western Europe

38. Francis
receives
the
stigmata

43. Summary: Age of Crusades
• Christians clash with Muslims over
possession of the Holy Land.
Relations deteriorate with the
Crusades, the Fall of Constantinople,
and the Expulsion of Muslims from
Spain.

44. 6. The Age
of Discovery
1500-1800 CE

45. Emperor
Jahangir

46. Mogul
Last
Supper

48. Discovery circumvents Islam

49. Summary: Age of Discovery
• Europeans “discovered” and then
ruled over the Muslim communities of
the world treating them as religiously
and morally inferior, an attitude felt
deeply by those being ruled.

50. 7. The Modern
Age
1800-2000 CE

51. Western
romantic
view of
Muslim
women

54. British-supported Amir of Afghanistan

60. Organization of the Islamic Conference

61. Demonic
imperialism

62. Gulf states mocked

63. Arab
men in
France

64. Muslim
tracts

65. Islamic instruction in London

66. Islamic
Center
of New
York

67. Summary: Modern Age
• Muslims have adapted to the Modern
Age mainly through contact with the
Industrial and Communication
revolutions but have reacted against
the Enlightenment experiment.
Christians faltered in leadership as
colonial powers waned.

68. 8. The Postmodern Age
2000-? CE

71. Indonesia peoples

72. Ahmaddiya missionary

73. A Christian
converts to
Islam in
Nigeria

74. Women fighting in Sudan

75. Taliban world map

76. 30 million
copies?

77. Corruptor
of the
Earth:
The West

78. Bakhtiari of Iran

79. Tentative overall conclusions:
• The greatest synergy between Christians
and Muslims takes place when Christians
are in the minority.
• The best context for Christian-Muslim
interaction is in the realm of ideas.
• The more contextualized the Christian
message is, the more responsive Muslims
are to it.

80. Tentative overall conclusions:
• Trade is a significant indicator of Christian-
Muslim contact.
• Increasing immigration of Muslims to the
West is a significant new development.
• The Western character of Christianity is not
a helpful bridge to traditional Muslims.