Dynamics of Muslim Worlds
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Christians in the West have many questions about the identity of Islam and Muslim societies. Due in part to misleading media reports and a lack of interreligious dialogue, a majority of Western Christians view Islam as more prone to violence. The perplexity is compounded by news of violent conflicts involving Muslim communities in various parts of the world. Discussions about Muslims in the media often give the impression that Islam is a single, uniform entity.
The reality is that global Islam is a complex and diverse phenomenon, not a monolithic one. Unfortunately, what makes the headlines often shapes Christian mission strategies that are overshadowed, if not controlled, by such reports. The challenge for understanding Islam is further complicated by the fact that an already very diverse Islam across the world stage is fluid and dynamic, with changes motivated as much by Islamic agency from within as by forces impinging "from without."
Dynamics of Muslim Worlds brings together leading missiologists, theologians, and historians from the 2016 Missiology Lectures at Fuller Theological Seminary's School of Intercultural Studies to present a nuanced account of contemporary Muslim societies. Edited by Evelyne A. Reisacher, the contributions to this Missiological Engagements volume explore the changing dynamics of Islam today and how current religious and social climates shape Christian engagement with Muslims. This is a fresh look at a topic of increasing importance in our present global context.
Missiological Engagements charts interdisciplinary and innovative trajectories in the history, theology, and practice of Christian mission, featuring contributions by leading thinkers from both the Euro-American West and the majority world whose missiological scholarship bridges church, academy, and society.
"Dynamics of Muslim Worlds develops a vigorous missiology through its thoughtful engagement with anthropological and sociological perspectives. The missiological assessments offered are from multiple perspectives that are helpful, constructive, and thoroughly biblical. New analytical frameworks are proposed for understanding and defining the diversity of ever-changing Islamic societies. The reader will be enabled to reflect upon the implications for gospel proclamation among Muslims in the twenty-first century. An excellent resource for practitioners and scholars."
"Scholars and practitioners may find in its scholarly breadth and balanced reflections an excellent resource for further study while all readers would appreciate each contributor's evident effort to provide applications of more theoretical and sometimes technical content. This work is a welcome addition to the growing Christian literature on interfaith engagements in the contemporary world, and particularly on Christian-Muslim relations in a globalizing world."
"Dynamics of Muslim Worlds displays an actual, intriguing reality that Christian believers avoid while offering some innovative and challenging ways to interact, love, and reach Muslims for Jesus."
Contents
Preface
Introduction (Evelyne A. Reisacher)
Part I: Regional Perspectives
1. Mission in a World Gone Wild and Violent: Challenging the Monochromatic View of Islam from a “Silent Majority” Position (Martin Accad)
2. The Western Frontier: Euro-Islam and the Remaking of Global Faith (Philip Jenkins)
3. Christian-Muslim Relations and Ethos of State Formation in West Africa (Nimi Wariboko)
4. Islam in South Asia: Dynamics of Contemporary Muslim Societies in Hyderabad Deccan (David Emmanuel Singh)
Part II: Thematic Analyses
5. Negotiating from the Margins: Women’s Voices (Re)Imagining Islam (Cathy Hine)
6. The Islamic Punishment for Blasphemy: Diversity in Sources and Societies (Gordon Nickel)
7. Shari’a in a Globalized World: Historical Overview, Regional Contrasts, and the Challenge of Pluralism (David L. Johnston)
Part III: Missiological Assessments
8. Diversity and Change in Contemporary Muslim Societies and New Emphases in Missional Approaches (John Jay Travis)
9. Peacemaking Initiatives Among Muslims (Rick Love)
10. Defining Islam and Muslim Societies in Missiological Discourse (Evelyne A. Reisacher)
List of Contributors
Author Index
Subject Index