Contemporary Christian-Muslim Dialogue: Two Twenty-First Century Initiatives (Routledge Studies in Religion)

By the late 20th century the Vatican and the World Council of Churches held other religions and their peoples, including especially Islam and Muslims, as worthy of respect and honoured as dialogue-partners. Early in the 21st century, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the concomitant global focus on Islam, two new dialogue initiatives arose, the ’Building Bridges’ seminar series begun by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Christian-Muslim Theological Forum initiated by an ecumenical group of young German scholars. They have each focussed on deepening theological dialogue between the two faiths. This book provides a close analysis of these two initiatives during their first decade. It demonstrates the reality of deep interreligious engagement possible between the two faiths today, thereby presenting a counter to the widespread presumption of irredeemable hostility, inevitable mutual rejection and increased violent extremism.