Christian-Muslim Relations Today: Some Reflections
Abstract
Published as “Christian-Muslim Relations Today: Some Reflections” in a special issue of The Muslim World marking the 50th anniversary of the Duncan Black Macdonald Center (Hartford), this contribution by David Marshall offers a personal, forward-looking assessment of contemporary Christian-Muslim relations. Formerly Academic Director of the Building Bridges Seminar and now teaching at Georgetown, the author opens by paying tribute to two of his mentors, the Anglican bishop Kenneth Cragg and David Kerr, whose legacy he underscores for the Christian study of Islam.
Aware of his own limitations (“those of a white, Western, male Christian working mainly in the academic field”), Marshall complements his own perspective with a survey of a wide range of colleagues, whose main points he brings to the fore. He revisits key documents of the last two decades, A Common Word between Us and You and the Document on Human Fraternity signed in Abu Dhabi, as well as the current challenges of the field—politicisation, conflict contexts, the training of students—and reflects on what it can still mean to “live well with religious difference”.
This essay opens a mini-dossier that also includes two accompanying responses: “Studying Other Religions: Response to David Marshall” by Munʿim Sirry (Notre Dame) and “Christian-Muslim Relations Today: A Response to David Marshall” by Lucinda Mosher.
To read the article, see the article page on Wiley Online Library.
Résumé
Publiée sous le titre original « Christian-Muslim Relations Today: Some Reflections » dans un numéro spécial de The Muslim World consacré aux 50 ans du Duncan Black Macdonald Center (Hartford), cette contribution de David Marshall propose un bilan personnel et prospectif des relations islamo-chrétiennes contemporaines. L’auteur, ancien Academic Director du Building Bridges Seminar, aujourd’hui à Georgetown, ouvre son parcours en évoquant l’héritage de ses deux mentors, l’évêque anglican Kenneth Cragg et David Kerr, dont il rappelle la portée pour l’islamologie chrétienne.
Conscient de ses propres limites (« celles d’un chrétien blanc, occidental, travaillant surtout dans le champ académique »), l’auteur nourrit sa réflexion d’une enquête menée auprès d’un large éventail de collègues, dont il restitue les principales perspectives. Il revient notamment sur les documents-charnières du dialogue depuis vingt ans, A Common Word between Us and You et le Document sur la fraternité humaine signé à Abou Dhabi, sur les défis actuels du champ (politisation, contextes de conflit, formation des étudiants), et sur ce que peut encore signifier « vivre bien avec la différence religieuse ».
Cet essai ouvre un mini-dossier qui inclut deux réponses complémentaires : « Studying Other Religions: Response to David Marshall » de Munʿim Sirry (Notre Dame) et « Christian-Muslim Relations Today: A Response to David Marshall » de Lucinda Mosher.
Pour lire l’article, voir la page de l’article sur Wiley Online Library.
ملخّص
ضمن عدد خاصّ من مجلّة The Muslim World بمناسبة مرور خمسين عامًا على تأسيس مركز دنكن بلاك ماكدونالد (هارتفورد)، تُقدّم هذه المساهمة لـديفيد مارشال، المنشورة في الأصل تحت عنوان:
Christian-Muslim Relations Today: Some Reflections
حصيلةً شخصيةً واستشرافيةً للعلاقات الإسلامية المسيحية المعاصرة. يفتتح مارشال، المدير الأكاديمي السابق لـ«ندوة بناء الجسور» (Building Bridges Seminar) والباحث حاليًا في جامعة جورجتاون، مقالته باستحضار إرث مُعلِّمَيه، الأسقف الأنغليكاني كينيث كراغ وديفيد كير، مذكّرًا بأثرهما في الدراسات المسيحية للإسلام.
ووعيًا منه بحدود منظوره الخاصّ («حدود مسيحيّ غربيّ أبيض، يعمل بالأساس في الحقل الأكاديمي»)، أثرى الكاتب مقاربته باستطلاع رأي طيفٍ واسعٍ من الزملاء، ينقل عن معظمهم أبرز ملاحظاتهم. ثم يعود إلى الوثائق المفصلية للحوار منذ عشرين سنة، «كلمة سواء بيننا وبينكم» و«وثيقة الأخوّة الإنسانية» الموقّعة في أبو ظبي، وإلى التحديات الراهنة للميدان (تسييس النقاش، سياقات النزاع، تكوين الطلبة)، ويتساءل عن معنى «حسن العيش مع الاختلاف الديني» اليوم.
وتفتح هذه المقالة ملفًّا صغيرًا يتضمّن كذلك ردَّين مكمّلَين: «Studying Other Religions: Response to David Marshall» لـمُنعم سِرّي (نوتردام)، و«Christian-Muslim Relations Today: A Response to David Marshall» لـلوسيندا موشير.
لقراءة المقال، انظر صفحة المقال على منصّة Wiley Online Library.
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