Theology Today
Volume 74, Issue 1, 2017, Pages 22-35

Bearing witness: Reframing Christian-Muslim encounter in light of the refugee crisis (Review)

Ralston J.*
  • a School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh, Mound Place, Edinburgh, EH1 2LX, United Kingdom

Abstract

The refugee crisis of 2015 and 2016 and the subsequent theopolitical responses in Europe, North America, and elsewhere have been marked throughout by concerns about Islam and Muslims. The long and often uneasy relationship between Christianity and Islam has shaped European and North American responses to forced migration and has been an often unchallenged source for anti-migrant policies and rhetoric. In order for Christian theology and the church communities to offer constructive engagement within the current migration context, they must find new avenues to address and engage with Islam. This essay borrows from Jürgen Moltmann's theopolitical interpretation of interreligious dialogue and his innovative rethinking of Christian theology in conversation with Judaism to propose that an analogous posture toward Islam be developed. It concludes by outlining the contours of a theology of witness/shahid that offers constructive possibilities for reframing Christian-Muslim debates to better attend to its theological, political, and ethical considerations. © Princeton Theological Seminary/Theology Today.

Author Keywords

Migration Moltmann political theology Refugees Witness interreligious studies Christian-Muslim relations

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85019068526&doi=10.1177%2f0040573616689837&partnerID=40&md5=742c1d2a4b479709a913a7dff80427dc

DOI: 10.1177/0040573616689837
ISSN: 00405736
Cited by: 1
Original Language: English