Communication Between Christianity and Islām

Communication between Christianity and Islām
Author(s): Hassan Saab

Source: Middle East Journal, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Winter, 1964), pp. 41-62
Published by: Middle East Institute
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COMMUNICATIONBETWEEN
CHRISTIANITYAND ISLAM
Hassan Saab
T tHESE general remarks on Christian-Muslimcommunicationare

prompted by the most recent development in the relationship of
Christians and Muslims in the Mediterranean area-the independence
of Algeria. Many Christiansand Muslims, who were concernedwith Algeria's
heroic struggle for independence, and many statesmen and thinkers have
expressed their conviction-or their hope-that this event should prove to
be crucial enough to affect the whole relationship of Christianitywith Islam.
To them, Algerian freedom would open a new chapter in the relationship of
the Western world with the Arab world.'
It is still too early to appraise critically the value of these expectations.
Algerian independence presents great hopes and greater challenges, which
have not had time to unfold. Nonetheless, the event is significant enough to
constitute an historic turning point in Christian-Muslimrelations. It comes
as the culmination of Muslim and Arab striving for independence. At this
time, with the exception of Palestine and some parts of Arabia, all Muslim
territories, which had been under Western rule, have recovered their inde-
pendence. The liberation of Algeria seems, then, to be the end of an old
process and the beginning of a new one. Christians and Muslims had
approached each other heretofore as masters and subjects. From the seventh
to the nineteenth century,Christiansin Dar al-Isl,m were the proteges of their
rulers. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Muslims became the sub-
jects of Christian colonial powers. Freedom and equality are now substituted
for mastery and subjection. This is formally a revolutionary change in
Christian-Muslimrelations.
It is indeed a part of a general revolutionarychange in human relations.
Domination of one man by another and exploitation of one man by another
are equally abhorred by an emerging universal human conscience. To a
humanist or to a student of international relations, the significance of this
change goes beyond any religious frontier. It concerns man's condition as
1. See Dean Rusk's statement that the result of the French referendum on Algeria ". . . opens
up the possibilityof a new chapterin relationswith the Arab world." New York Times, April 10,
1962, p. 4. See also El-Mujahid,Organe Central du Front de LiberationNationale, Alger, No.
91, March 19, 1962.
<E HASSANSAAB is CulturalCounselorat the Embassyof Lebanonin Washington,D. C. He is
the author of The Arab Federalistsof the OttomanEmpire (Leiden: 1959).
41
42 THE MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL
such. Without overlooking the universal significance of this change, the

Christian and Muslim may still ponder it within the special historic context
of their religions. They may see in it the fulfillment of the true spirit of the
two religions. Without disregardingits impact on mankind as a whole, on all
religions and all men, they can explore its particular bearing on the future
relations of Christianityand Islam.
In World Cultures and World Religions, Kraemer sought the effects of
this change on Christianity'srelations with all other religions and cultures
including Islam.2 In Sandals at the Mosque, Cragg dealt more specificallywith
its influenceon the Christianapproachto Islam.3 These works of two outstand-
ing missionaries are concerned necessarily with what may be called "religious
strategy." Our essential concernis merely with "the possibility for the improve-
ment of Christian-Muslimcommunication in the light of formal change in
Christian-Muslimrelations."
Kraemer'sand Cragg's books prove once more that communicationbetween
two great religions, such as Christianityand Islam, may be properly studied
only in their historic context. The truly religious man, Christian or Muslim,
transcendshistory. He nevertheless transcendsit in an historic context. Like
Mawland Jalal al-Din Rimi, he may rise to a spiritual station where he
recognizeshis identity only with God. Like him, he would then sing:
I am neitherChristiannor Jew nor Gabrnor Muslim,I am not of the East,

nor of the West, nor of the land, nor of the sea. One I seek, 'OneI know,
OneI see,'OneI call.4
No matter how exalted we are by such transcendence,we must study it only in

its historic context. This is particularlytrue of Christianityand Islam, which
are two historic religions which developed two unique historic experiences of
their own. Hence, to consider the impact of political change on their relations
is not to profane their religious character,but to try to see it in a better light.
The existence of a separation of church and state in Christianity,and the
absence of a dogmatic formulation of such a separation in Islam, brings
about a fusion of politics with religion in Islam which is apparentlyirrelevant
in Christianity. This may be true today more dogmatically than functionally.
Most Muslim states have for all practical purposes separated religion from
the state. However, the ultimate issue in this respect is not whether dogmatic
or functional separation of church and state has been achieved or not. It is
whether religious truth and religious values can transformman deeply enough
2. Kraemer, Hendrick, World Cultures and World Religions, The Coming Dialogue, The
WestministerPress,Philadelphia,1960.
3. Cragg, Kenneth, Sandals at the Mosque, Christian Presence Amid Islam, Oxford University
Press, New York, 1959. See also the review of this book by Dr. Ismail R. Faruqi in Voice of
Islam,Karachi,Pakistan,September,1962, pp. 616-21.
4. Ruimi, Mawlana Jalal al-Din, Diwan of Shamsi-i-Tabriz,quoted by John Alden Williams
in Islam, GeorgeBraziller,New York, 1961, p. 164.
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITYAND ISLAM 43
to make him behave not as a political animal, but as a unique being created in
God's image and as His vice-gerent on earth. To fulfill properly his
"religiosity," man, Christian and Muslim, should overcome his "politicity."
The question here is whether an event such as the dawning of freedom in
Algeria, and a general change such as the substitution of equality for subjec-
tion in Christian-Muslimrelations, while improving Christian-Muslimrela-
tions, may also stimulate Christian-Muslim ability to overcome this
"politicity."
Muslim-Christiancommunicationis as old as Islam. It is particularlysig-
nificant in a country like Lebanon, which is the only country in the world
where Christiansand Muslims are numericallyequal. Lebanon is a living test
of the real value of Christian-Muslimcommunication. It is also a case study
of the essential differencebetween outward and inward communication. Mod-
ern media of communicationare making the former easier and the latter harder.
Today, Lebanese reach each other better, but do not yet properly reach
into each others minds and hearts. Lebanese may help to achieve better com-
munication between Christianityand Islam. Lebanese leaders, wherever they
have been, have tried to provide a channel of communicationbetween the two
religions. The better relations are between the two religions all over the
world, the better and more significant is Christian-Muslimcommunicationin
Lebanon. Hence, to a Lebanese, the Christian-Muslimquestion is essential
and existential.
Communicationbetween Christianityand Islam began with the revelation
of the Qur'an. As it was revealed to Muhammad in the seventh century
in a peninsula, which was partly Christian, communication between
Christianityand Islam became an integral part of the Qur'an. It has continued
between Christians and Muslims for more than thirteen centuries. Since this
last revelation of God to man, Christian-Muslimcommunication has taken
several forms and passed through different stages, but it has never ceased.
From the time Muhammad met the Christian hermit, Bahira, in Syria, to the
meeting of the Pope with Muslim observers at the Ecumenical Council in
Rome, and from the time Muhammad dispatched his first ambassadorsto the
Christian Emperor of Ethiopia, the Negus, to October 1962 when Bin Balla
visited President Kennedy, Christian-Muslim communication has continued
at all levels, but has continued more in adversity than in amity.
Indeed, there have been several manifestations of Christian-Muslim
cordiality. Muhammad'srelations with ChristianArabs were characterizedby
friendliness rather than by animosity. The Qur'an described the Christians
as the closest communityto Islam.5SeveralChristiantribes fought with Muslim
5. "And nearest among them in love to Believers wilt thou find those who say 'We are
Christians': because among these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the
world 'priests and monks,' and they are not arrogant." Sura V. Verse 85, The Holy Quran,
translated by Abdullah Yussuf Ali, Hafner Publishing Company, New York, 1946, Vol. 1, p. 268.
armies. There were in Dar al-Islam Christian statesmen and wisemen. They
were the earliest translatorsof Greek philosophy into Arabic. There has been
much political, economic and cultural exchange between Muslims and
Christians,both Easternand Western.
At the height of Christian-Muslimhostility, during the period of the Cru-
sades at the end of the twelfth century, Ibn Jubayr,the Andalusian traveller,
recordedin his Journal:
One of the astonishingthings that is talkedof is that thoughthe fires of

discordburn betweenthe two parties,Muslim and Christian,two armies
of themmaymeetanddisposethemselvesin battlearray,andyet Muslimand
Christiantravellerswill come and go betweenthem without interference.
Upon his arrivalin Lebanon,Ibn Jubayradded in his Journal:
It is strangehow the ChristiansroundMountLebanon,when they see any

Muslimhermits,bring them food and treatthem kindly, sayingthat these
men are dedicatedto Greatand GloriousGod and that they shouldtherefore
sharewith them.6
Burchard,sent by Frederick Barborassato Saladin, is reported in 1175 in

Arnold Wheck's Chronicle as saying, "In Alexandria there were several
Christian churches, and almost every village in Egypt had one . . . Every man
was free to follow his own religion . . . Most Moslems had only one wife."7
Ricoldus, impressed by his own discovery of the Saracensin their own lands,
exclaimed:
But who is not amazedby theirzeal, devotionin prayer,mercyto the poor,

reverencefor the nameof God, the prophetsand holy places,theircourtesy
in manners,their affabilityto strangers,their concordand love for one
another.8
Such statements were exceptional rather than usual in medieval writings.

They were rays of light in a dark room. The sense of sharing invoked by
Ibn Jubayr was more in evidence between Muslims and Eastern rather than
Western Christians. It predominated in the relations of the people-not
the relations of the two religions. So far, the two religions have approached
each other to negate or to supersede, not to share with each other.
Obviously, each party has held the other responsible for this negativeness.
Reproachesfrom one party to another continue to date and may be eloquently
6. Ibn Jubayr,MubammadIbn Ahmad, The Travels of Ibn Jubayr, translatedby A. J. C.
Brodhurst,JonothanCape,London,1952, p. 300.
7. Munro, Dana Carleton, "The Western Attitude Toward Islam During the Period of the
Crusades,"Speculum,A Journalof MedievalStudies,Vol. VI, No. 3, July, p. 338.
8. Ibid.,p. 343.
illustrated by Cragg's review of Daniel's book' and Banani's comment on the

current EcumenicalCouncil in Rome."' We are not concernedhere with judg-
ing either party. We are convinced that unless they come to a new synthesis,
Christianityand Islam, as two different religions, will and should continue to
disagree with each other. However, since one of them is a religion of
charity and the other is a religion of mercy, and since today their adherents
are equally free, can they not start disagreeing with each other in amity rather
than adversity? Can they fulfill God's will in peace and mercy rather than
in wrath and envy?
This is not merely an academic question. Christian-Muslimamity is a
prerequisite for world peace and true understanding. As the Christians
number about eight hundred million and the Muslims about four hundred
million, together they constitute almost half of mankind. Christianand Muslim
states participate in the United Nations, where they follow their national
policies, and where they are guided by a sense of regional and cultural solidarity
rather than by religious solidarity. However, Christianityand Islam are deep
seated in the cultural backgroundof their people. Peace in the minds and the
hearts of these people depends on the future of the relationships between
Christianity and Islam much more than on what happens in the United
Nations.
Moreover, Christian-Muslim amity is a prerequisite for a spiritual ful-
fillment of man's social liberation. The real issue here is not-as it is very
often suggested-that of a constitution of a Christian-Muslimfront against
materialismor Marxism. Marxism has presented itself as the scientificreligion
for human salvation, hence as an historic substitute for any previous religion.
To meet this challenge properly, Christianityand Islam should assimilate the
Marxist sense of social justice and transcendit. They should strive for man's
happiness and salvation here and in the hereafter.
Macdonald asserted as of the nineteenth century that ". . . the three
antagonistic and militant civilizations of the world are those of Christendom,
Islam, and China. When these are unified, or come to a mutual understanding,
then, and only then, will the cause of civilization be secure. 1
To substitute amity for adversity in Christian-Muslimrelations is not only
a challenge to the followers of the two religions, but to all those who work
for world peace. Despite the new formal turn in the relationship of Christian
with Muslim states, this challenge is still greater than ever. A formal change
should be made real. The psychological residues of thirteen centuries of
9. Muslim World, January, 1962, pp. 48-58.
10. Bannil, Ahmad, "Al-Majma' al-Kathuliki wa Mawkifiina Minhiu," "The Ecumenical
Council, What It Is, What Is Our Attitude Toward It?", Al-Bayna, a periodical issued by the
Ministryof Statein Chargeof MuslimAffairsin Morocco,October,1962, pp. 25-33.
11. Macdonald, Duncan B., Development of Muslim Theology, Jurisprudence and Constitu-
tional Theory, Charles Scribner'sSons, New York, 1903, p. 6.
prejudices, atrocities and arrogance should be cleared away and overcome.

Agonizing under the military and disruptive impact of these residues on their
national life, "it is customary for a certain group of modern educated Arabs
to regard Islam and Christianity as mere survivors of a dark age and to
look forward to their imminent extinction as the only hope for ending the
hatred and rivalries of communities."'2Not only the believer but the observer
too cannot foresee seriously the imminent extinction of Christianityand Islam.
Hence, mankind will live with their problems for a long time to come.
Christians and Muslims, Arabs or otherwise, should be able to take a more
positive and constructive approach to the future of their religious and other
relationships.
Looking in retrospect,the Christian-Muslimpicture is dark and frightening.
Its darkness reaches far into the depths of the human self. Christian-Muslim
animosity has been deeper and sharper than Christian-Hindu or Christian-
Buddhist animosity. In the Christian-Muslimexperience, likeness generated
bitterness, while in the Christian-Hinduexperience, fascination with strange-
ness has prevailed. The lines of the picture touch all the historic complex of
Christian-Muslimthought and life. To analyze its colors and lines extensively
is to engage in a badly needed anthropology or philosophy of Christian-
Muslim relations. No Christian or Muslim has yet dared to risk such a com-
prehensive and challenging undertaking. The late great Massignon always
hammered this theme in his words and deeds. Daniel produced a highly
inspiring work on the subject-Islam and the West.'3 Gardet and Anawati
wrote in the same spirit their pioneering comparative study of Christian and
Muslim theology.'4
These works pave the way to the objective comparative study of the two
religions. Daniel projects clearly the Western Christian image of Islam. His
work calls for a counterparton the actual Muslim image of Christianity. To
project clearly, in Daniel's spirit, the two mutual mental images, which were
formed in adversity, would help in the long run to overcome this adversity.'5
The causes behind this adversity are manifold. Willingly or unwillingly,
Christianityand Islam have affected each other to a much larger extent than is
ordinarilyrealized.
To Christianity, "The Saracen played the role of goaler, forcing Europe
to stand upright; the menace of their presence was a perpetual intimation to
12. Hourani, A. H., Minorities in the Arab World, Oxford University Press, London, 1947,
pp. 123-4.
13. Daniel, Norman, Islam and the West, The Making of an Image, The Edinburgh Uni-
versity Press, Edinburgh, 1960.
14. Gardet, Louis and A. M. Anawatd, Introduction a la Theologie Musulmane: Essai de
Theologie Comparee, J. Vrin, (Etudes de Philosophie Medievale, XXXVII), Paris, 1948.
15. "Thou will know truth and truth will free you." "And dispute ye not with the People
of the Book except with means better than mere disputation." Sura XXIX, Verse 46, The Holy
Quran, op. cit., Vol. 11, p. 1041.
Christendomto ameliorateand to surpassitself."''6 To Islam,its communica-

tion with Christianityin moderntimes appearsto be a uniquephenomenon.
"Islambenefitedby it more than Christianity,althoughChristianityhas been
the strongerand Islamthe weakerparty."'7To recallthis is to rememberagain
what an enormoustask the properstudy of the causesof Christian-Muslim
adversitymaybe.
GeographicConvergences.Islam began in Arabia, which was partly
Christian.Most of the lands into which it expandedwestwardwere either
partlyor entirelyChristian.In its expansion,it made a clear-cutdistinction
betweenthe Christianstate and the Christianchurch. It destroyedthe former
and toleratedand protectedthe latter. Nevertheless,it asserteditself every-
whereas an authenticmonotheisticsubstitutefor Christianity.In its expansive
vigor and aggressivevitality,it appearedto Christianity,from the seventhto
the eighteenthcentury,to be the deadliestterritorialthreat to its existence.
Therewas a Muslimsiege of Christendom, which forcedthe Christianmove-
mentout of the Mediterranean, and droveit into the explorationof new ways
acrossthe Atlantic,whichled to the discoveryof America.
Fromthe eighteenthcenturyto the proclamation of Algerianindependence,
Christianitybecamea mortalthreatto Islam. Takingan expansionistoffensive
in the world, Europeancolonialpowersoccupiedtemporarilyor permanently
all Muslim territories,with the exceptionof the Holy Land and heartlands
of Arabia. Distinguishingbetweenreligion and state, as they did at home,
they tolerated the former and destroyedor subjectedthe latter. They
broughtforth not necessarilya religious but a civilizationalsubstitutefor
Islam.
As a result of the Muslimassaulton Christianity,all Asian and African
lands,formerlyChristian,were Islamized.Only Ethiopiaand sporadicminor-
ities here and there escapedIslamization.MedievalChristiancounter-attacks
led to the restorationof Christianrule to Syracuseand Spain. Modern
counter-attacks led to its restorationto all EasternEuropeanstates with the
exception of Albania. Muslim minoritiesremainedin Poland, Hungary,
Yugoslaviaand Bulgaria.Russia,as a Christianpower,conqueredthe landsof
the Mongols and Tartarsin Easternand CentralAsia. All that Christianity
recoveredor conqueredin EasternEuropeor Easternand CentralAsia is now
undercommunistrule. Its fate hingeson the futurerelationshipof Christianity
with Islam on the one hand and on their commonrelationshipwith com-
munismon the otherhand.
The contemporary Muslimstrugglefor independenceled to the recovery
of most Muslim territories,which had fallen underChristianEuropeanrule.
16. Dermenghem, Emile, The Life of Mahomet, translated by Arabella Yorke. George
Routledgeand Son, Ltd., London,1930, p. 123.
17. Banani,op. cit., p. 32.
There is still more territoryto liberatein Arabiaand Palestine. While bear-

ing this in mind,we can saythatChristianity and Islamhave at presentreached
a territorialsettlement,and that fear of territorialexpansionism,not of terri-
torial threats,is removedfor a long time to come.
This is noticeableprogressfrom convergenceto coexistence.This progress
shouldbe particularlyacknowledgedwith respectto the Mediterranean, which
constitutedthe core of the territorialstruggle. Christiansand Muslimsat-
temptedits transformation into a lake of their own. Although,strategically,
it is today an Americanlake, territoriallyit is partly Christianand partly
Muslim. Its westerngate, Gibraltar,is controlledby a Christianpower, the
United Kingdom, while its eastern gate, Suez, is under the control of a
Muslim power, the United Arab Republic. After a long and hard fight
around,in, and for this Sea, Christianityconsolidateditself on its northern
shores,while Islam settled on its easternand southernshores. The recogni-
tion of the independenceof Algeria by Franceindicatesthat the perennial
contendersfor this Sea are coming to a halt. They seem to realize that it
cannot be either exclusivelyChristianor entirelyMuslim, but a place for
peacefulChristian-Muslim dwelling.
This territorialsettlementis clouded, and its fuller effects are delayed
by the situationin Palestineand Arabia. In Palestine,the threemonotheistic
religions, Judaism, Christianityand Islam, are involved. It is, then, a
Christian-Muslim concernas much as it is a Jewish concern. Strategyand
oil have also made Arabiaa Christian-Muslim concern. It appearsto be an
historicalirony that the two cradlesof Christianityand Islam are the last
lands lagging behind the Christian-Muslim territorialsettlement. Orthodox
Jews, Christiansand Muslimshave alwaysdistinguishedbetweenJudaismas
a religion and as a state, betweenJews as a nation and as individuals.On
the basis of this distinction,Islam will continueto press for the legitimate
rightsof Christianand MuslimPalestiniansin theirown homeland.In Arabia,
it should be realized, as it has been demonstratedagain by the Yemeni
revolution,that power, oil politics and tribalismcould not hold Arabiafor
long outside of the revolutionarysweep of contemporaryIslam. Oil is as
vital for the welfare of the Muslimpeople as it is for the industrialenergy
of the Christianpeopleof WesternEurope.
The completionof the territorialsettlementbetween Christianityand
Islam should be an overallconsiderationfor Christiansand Muslims. Peace
betweenChristianityand Islam should also be as importantto Jews all over
the world as it is to Christiansand Muslims. In his genuinespiritualoutlook,
the outstandingJewish philosopher,Buber, grasps the deep meaning of
monotheisticcontributionto man'speaceand salvation.Peacemustbe restored
to the Holy Landin truth,charity,mercyand justice.
The differencebetweenthe politicaland religiousapproachesto peace is
the difference between formality and reality. Christian and Muslim states
have achieved a territorial settlement. Some Muslim states, such as Turkey,
Iran and Pakistan, stand with their Christian allies in defense of common
frontiers. However, all this is still formal and precarious rather than real
and stable. It is subject to the fluctuations of the dynamics of the world
situation as well as to the dynamics of the Christian and Muslim situations.
A new Christian-Muslimoutlook on war and territorialexpansion should help
to improve the quality of the settlement and to secure its durability. Denounc-
ing or renouncing imperialism or nationalism is not enough. Whether in
defense or in offense, a "warlike attitude" had prevailed between the two
religions and their followers. This attitude should be altered politically and
religiously. Christians and Muslims should recall Muhammad's admonition
to his followers on the aftermath of a military battle, that they were coming
from the smallest fight to the biggest inner fight for peace. Achieving a terri-
torial settlement has been the small fight. Making it lasting, meaningful
and valuable to all concerned is the bigger fight. All Christiansand Muslims
of deep faith and of good will should join ranks in this creative fight.
CivilizationalDisparity. Christianityand Islam developed differentciviliza-
tions at different times and in different environments. These civilizations have
been confronting each other since the seventh century. Confrontationbetween
two different civilizations is a source of hostility. Hostility is greater when-
ever disparity is added to dissimilarity. When the medieval cities of Islam
were at the height of their glory, the medieval cities of European Christianity
were in their dark ages. When in modern times, Christiancities were shining,
Muslim cities were darkening. There has never been between the civilizations
of the two religions a parity. Such a parity is still a prospect for the future.
This historic fact may not be as important as its psychological and
interpretativeconsequences. It had generated in the Muslim mind a combina-
tion of a sense of superiority and inferiority which is partly responsible for
the lack of a balanced approach to Christianity. It has shaped an attitude in
the Christianmind toward Islam which has vacillated between the two extremes
of fear and contempt. To a Muslim, Christianitywas uncivilized in medieval
times. In modern times, the civilization of the Christian people is due to
secular arts and sciences, not to Christianity. It has been the outcome not of
a revolt within Christianity, but of a revolt of the European spirit against
Christianity. In the Christian mind, Islam is the antithesis of civilization.
Those who are familiar with its medieval civilization have a tendency to
attribute it not to Muslim creativity but to Eastern Christian, Greek, Persian,
Indian and other influences.
Those Christians and Muslims who have seen things in a different light
have been limited in number and in influences. The great Christian public
still looks at the civilization of Islam either through the fancies of the
ArabianNights or throughthe picturesquecamel drivertouringthe United

States. The Saracen,the Turk and the Muhammadanare differentChristian
names for a Muslim,which conveyto the Christianmind barbarism,cruelty
and backwardness.Publicityalone cannot transformthis image over night.
CivilizationaldifferencesbetweenChristianityand Islam must continue,but
civilizationaldisparityought to be overcome. The two ways of life should
continueto be differentwithoutstandingnecessarilyat the two oppositeends
of affluenceandscarcity.
To overcomethis disparityis a huge task as far as Islam is concerned.
Christianassistanceis requiredfor its fulfillment. Here, as elsewhere,this
assistanceshouldbe guided by a deep faith in the capacityof the receiverto
appropriatefor himself moderncivilization. Generosityis not a substitute
for such creativefaith. Newcomersto this civilizationmay be more favored
than its original initiatorswith availableways for appropriatingit. Islam
displayedin medievaltimes a remarkablereceptivityto foreign civilizations.
Contemporary Islamicrevivalis also the revivalof this receptivity.The recov-
ery of independencehas helped to overcomethe inhibitingfactors.
Independenceis generallyfollowedby a tremendoussurgein the develop-
ment of the best Muslim capital-human resources.The King of Morocco
gave the best illustrationof this surgewhen he said, "Moroccanschoolsnow
receivemore childrenin one yearthan they receivedduringfifty yearsunder
the FrenchProtectorate."'8 There are abouttwentythousandMuslimspursu-
ing their studies in ChristianWestern universities. With graduatesfrom
Muslimuniversitiesat home, they will strive to make the meansof modern
civilizationtheirown. The materialresourcesof theircountriesare still more
potential than real. They will concentrateon the appropriationof civiliza-
tion'smeans.
However,this rising Muslim generationtends, like other young genera-
tions all over the world, to concentrateon civilization'smeansratherthan to
think aboutits ends. Here lies a commonchallengeto both Christianityand
Islam. Sciencehas providedman with miraculousmeans and divertedhis
thinkingfrom the contemplationof ends. This contemplationis the subject
matterof religion. To a Muslim,the Qur'anis a divinecall to man to keep
wonderingaboutthe ultimateends of being. Hence,it is not a barrierbut a
stimulusto thought. In its Quraniccontext, wonderingis directedtoward
an endlesssearchfor the meansof masteryovernatureand for the endsof this
mastery. Hence, the Qur'an,revitalized,could be and will be the spiritual
sourceof the creativeenergyrequiredfor Islam'snew civilizationalendeavor,
as the Gospel, revitalized,has been the source of Christiancivilizational
endeavor. For, the ultimateend in the Gospel and the Qur'anis God and
18. New York Times, October21, 1962.
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM 51
man, not civilization itself regardless of its identity or its form. Christian-
Muslim civilizational parity would then not only be a condition for a better
mutual appreciation between Christianityand Islam, but above all a stepping
stone to the orientation of modern civilization in the right spiritual path.
Cultural Foreignness. Civilization and culture are two different attributes
of the same historic whole, the former pertaining more to life and the latter to
thought. Civilizational disparityhere describestwo ways of life, while cultural
foreignness refers to two ways of thought. The cultural void which has pre-
vailed between Christianityand Islam is startling. It exemplifies man's capacity
to be a neighbor to another man for centuries without understandinghis mind
or penetrating his inner self. Both Christianity and Islam teach men to be
good neighbors. To love a neighbor is a Christianduty. In Islam, Muhammad
said that the Angel Gabriel told him so much about neighborliness that he
was expecting him to make ". . . a neighbor the legal heir to his neighbor."
Nevertheless, Christianityand Islam have been neighbors in ignorance, not in
comprehension.
In Lebanon, a Christian knows more about the religious convictions and
practices of a French Catholic than about those of his next door Muslim
neighbor. A Muslim is more familiar with the religious beliefs of an Indo-
nesian Muslim than with those of a Christianwho lives with him in the same
building. This may be explained by religious universalism. The spiritual
notion of neighborhood transcendsits physical reality. It is, however, making
a Christian culturally foreign to a Muslim wherever they are and whatever
language they speak. They may feel closer in a humanist,;nationalist or
pragmatic context, but not in a religious one. Hence, most attempts at a
better mutual understanding have taken place in a secular rather than a
spiritual context.
The notion of self as a separate cultural entity has enhanced this mutual
sense of foreignness. A Western Christian identifies his cultural self with
Greece, Rome, Christianityand modern culture. Islam, with all its medieval
cultural splendor, is left out. At best it is considered a "sideshow." A Muslim
identifies himself with the particular cultural patrimony of his country, a
universal Muslim legacy and non-Christianmodern culture. Christianitywith
its contributionsto the Western and Muslim worlds is left out.'9 This approach
is not that of the Qur'an, nor of Muslim mysticism. Christianityis an organic
part of both. It is nevertheless the generally prevailing Muslim approach.
Obviously, here we cannot cover all that Christianity and Islam have
learned and are still learning from each other. Much, although not exhaustive,
work has been done on this by Christian and Muslim scholars. What con-
19. Zaki, Dr. Ahmed, "TakhalloufAl-Musulimunan Rakb Al-Madania,""Muslim Lagging
Behind the Caravanof Civilization,"Al-Abhath, QuarterlyJournal of the American University
of Beirut,September,1953, p. 382.
cernsus here is that both drewdifferentlyfrom two commonsources-Semitic

monotheismand Greek rationalism. Both Christianand Muslim thought
cannot continue to create without continuingto draw from these common
sources.20
To revitalizethought,its authenticsourcesand creativecurrentsshould
always be rediscoveredand reevaluated. We may then see in Islam the
medievalheir to Greekphilosophyand the initiatorof rationalismin Europe's
Little Renaissance.We may see also in Islam the recreatorof Greekscience,
the introducerof experimentalism to Christianthought. We may see in the
Arabpoetsof asceticlove the forerunners of Europeanromanticism, andin the
Muslimstoryof Muhammad'sascensionto Heaven,al-Mi'rij, an inspiration
for Dante'sDivine Comedy. In moderntimes,Christianityrepaidtheseintel-
lectual debts to Islam with higher dividends. There is practicallyno area in
contemporaryMuslim thought which has not been positivelyor negatively
affectedby Westernthought.
The proper recognitionof mutual indebtednessraises two major ques-
tionshere, the questionof integrationof what is owed to othersin the history
of the culturalself, and the questionof the value of the borrowedelementsto
the futureof this self. The firstquestionis given an answerby the humanist
and the anthropologistwhich would help to overcomeculturalforeignness
betweenChristianityand Islam. This answerlies in their encompassingcon-
ceptof man'sculture.In theirworkto understandand reconstruct this culture,
theygive to each culturalcontributionits due. Christianityand Islamneed to
be morepenetratedby this concept. It may proveto be a revolutionizingcon-
cept. It should penetratein particularour school curriculaand our school
books on the historyof cultures. A basic revolutionis needed here in our
presentationof eachother'scultures.
The answerto the second questionis too complex to be treatedbriefly.
Foreigninfluences,Greekor otherwise,did not displaceGod from His central
positionin Islamicmedievalculture.Likethe Demiurgeof Plato,He remained
the measureof everything.In Islamicmysticism,thereis a living meetingof
God and man, not a substitutionof one for the other. In modernChristian
culture,Greekinfluencesucceededmorein giving God'scentralplace to man.
Modernsciencedisplacedman altogetherfrom his centralplace in the uni-
verse. As to God, He has been made simplyirrelevantto scientificprogress.
A culturein whichboth God and man are not centralcannotbe authentically
Christianor Muslim. A pious return to the Semitic and Greek common
sourcesshould help Christiansand Muslimsto bridge their culturalgap as
20. See Hussein, Taha, MustakbalAl-Thakafa fi Misr, The Future of Culture in Egypt,
translatedby Sidney Glazer, AmericanCouncil of LearnedSocieties, Washington, D. C., 1954.
muchas it shouldhelp themto restoreto God and man theirproperplacesin

modernculture.21
Theological Polemics. The theological polemic has been the core of
Christian-Muslim adversity.As Averroes(Ibn Rushd) thoughtin the twelfth
century,theologiansserve to divide men rather than to unite them. The
Christian-Muslim theological dialecticshave been dialectics of similarities
ratherthan of dissimilarities.Christianand Muslim theologianshave been
talkingaboutthe same subjectsin differentterms. They talk aboutGod-the
Christiansin trinitarianterms, and the Muslims in unitarianterms. They
speak of Revelation-the Christiansin Scripturalterms,and the Muslimsin
Quranicterms. They believe in Christ-the Christiansin termsof Sonhood,
Crucifixionand Resurrection, the Muslimsin termsof Prophethoodand Divine
Ascension.They equallysee the immortalityof the soul and foreseeeternityin
the hereafter.
They talk about differentsubjectsin differenttermsonly when they dis-
courseaboutMuhammad.Fora Muslim,he is the centralfigurein his historic
experiencewith God. For a Christian,he is completelyout of this experience.
Hence, in Christianliterature,theologicaland otherwise,he was called all
kinds of names from heretic to bandit. This continuedfrom the seventh
centuryto the nineteenthcenturywhen Carlylewas the firstChristianauthor
to give him his due by listing him with his heroes. Contemporary Christian
scholarship,not Christiantheology,approached him with greatersympathy.
Dermenghem,Blachereand Watt producedimpressivebooksabouthim.
The basicdisagreementover Muhammadis only an indicationof a crucial
fact which determinedthe relations of the two religions; Christiansand
Muslimshave historicallyexperienceddifferentlycommunication with the same
God. This brought with it all correlativedifferencesin rituals, symbols,
institutions,conceptsand practices.Theologyprovidednecessarilythe rational
apologeticsof these differences.To Muslim theology,Christianityhas been
Truth distorted. To Christianity,Islamhas been falsehoodor heresy.
The firstChristiantheologianto call Islama heresyand to write a refuta-
tion of this heresywas Johnof Damascusin his book The Sourcesof Knowl-
edge, whichhe was free to publishunderthe Ummayadsin Syriain the eighth
century. Since,this book has becomethe standardbearerof the Easternand
Western Christian theological refutation of Islam.22 The first Muslim
theologianto writea refutationof Christianitywas al-Tabariin his bookKitab
21. See Albright, William Foxwell, From the Stone Age to Christianity,2d ed., The Johns
Hopkins Press, Baltimore,Maryland,1957. "Ourown age is witnessinga true catharsiswhich will,
we believe, bring profoundspiritual rebirthand which will prevent man from destroyinghimself,
as man has everyapparentintentionof doing." p. 402.
22. Daniel, op. cit., p. 3. See also Merril, John Ernest, "John of Damascuson Islam," The
Muslim World, April, 1951, pp. 88-97.
al-Din wa al-Dawlahwhich was publishedin Baghdadin the middle of the

ninthcentury.23Since,Muslimtheologianshave developedTabari'sarguments
with greatersympathytowardChristianityas al-Ghazzalidid, or with greater
hostilityas IbnTaymiyahdid.24
This theological warfare has been waged by Christiansand Muslims
against each other for thirteencenturies. Christianand Muslim theological
books have piled up. Althoughthere is a Christian-Muslim dialoguein the
Qur'an,it is much less polemicalthan theologicaldialogue. There is in the
Qur'anand in the Scripturesa commonmonotheisticancestorof Judaism,
Christianityand Islam. He is called by the Qur'an the Father of all
monotheists.Islam is also called His own religion. Contemporary Christian
studentsof Christianand Muslimtheologyhave suggesteda shift of emphasis
fromwhat is polemical,that is to say Christand Muhammad,to what is com-
mon, that is to say Abraham.In this respectthe worksof FatherMoubarac,
AbrahamDans Le Coran,FatherJomier,Bible et Coran,and Miss Masson,
Le Coranet La Reve'lation Judeo-Chretienneare illuminating.
Massignon,in his introductionto FatherMoubarac'sbook, affirmsthat
thereought to be a theologicalrecognitionof a commonFatherof the three
monotheisticreligions. In his own words:
Le temoignagedes 'lecteurs'du Coran,pas plus que le temoignagedes
pretresorientaux,et des vieux rabbins,n'est fonde sur l'impostureet la
tactique;cette theoriefacile du 18emesiecle n'a plus cours. La foi en Dieu
d'Abraham,d'Issacet de Jacobest le fait essentielde l'histoirehumaineet
l'Islam salue en Abrahamle premierdes musulmans,ce qui est vrai:
theologiquement vrai.
Miss Masson was cautious not to give in to the temptation of what she
called "systematicconcordism." She would have been blamed by the theolo-
gians of the three religions. Therefore, she limited herself to a dogmatic and
objective compartive analysis of the three religions through their scriptures.
Leaving ground for both subjectivityand objectivity, the common bond in the
three religions appears to her to be a common belief that "Everythingcomes
from God, the Unique, and returns to Him." The difference lies in the fact
that Islam and "Judaism emphasize divine transcendence,while Christianity
considersitself a religion of love."
Miss Masson's approach is close to Gardet's and Anawati's approach in
their comparativestudy of Christianand Muslim theologies. While commend-
23. Tabari, 'Al, Kitab Al-Din wa al-Dawlah, The Book of Religion and Empire, translated
by AlphonseMingana,UniversityPress,Manchester,1922.
24. See the Frenchtranslationof al-Ghazzali'swork, RefutationExcellentede la Divinite'de
Jesus Christ d'apres Les Evangiles by Pere Chidiac, Paris, 1939, and Ibn Taymiyah,Al-Jawab
al-sahih li man Baddal Din al-Masi4, The Right Answer To Those Who Distort The Religion
of Jesus Christ.
ing this approach,the Rev. W. MontgomeryWatt lays stressupon the lessons

that Christiantheologyis still able to learnfrom Muslimtheology.25It is sad
to notice that the will to learn is much strongeramong these outstanding
Christianstudentsof theology than among Muslim students.
Muslimtheologyis still underthe impressionthat it has nothingto learn
from Christiantheology. The fact is that Christiantheology,since it started
carryingthe torchof rationalism,whichwas handedoverto it in the thirteenth
centuryby Averroism,has beencontinuouslycarryingthis torchbeforemodern
philosophiesand modern sciences. Hence, Christiantheology is far more
alive today to philosophicand scientificchallenges than Muslim theology.
So far, very few Muslim theologiansor thinkershave followed in the steps
of MuhammadIqbal,who attemptedto reconstructMuslimreligiousthought,
to enableit to meet these challenges. As Iqbal did, Muslimscan learn much
from the works of Christiantheologiansand philosophers.The works of
Kierkegaard,Mounier,Maritain,Marcel, Gilson, Tillich and Niebuhr are
guidelinesfor all monotheists.
The foundationof Christian-Muslim theologicalpolemicsstill lies in the
fact that Islam recognizesChristianityas it is in the Qur'an,not as it is
actually. To a Christian,the Qur'an ". . . does not present a precise description
of the Christianfact in its profoundsubstance."26 To a Muslim, Christian
theologyhas not come to any type of recognitionof Islam. It has mentioned
Islam,only to refuteit. Therehave been exceptionsto this in Lull'srecogni-
tion of Islam as a partialtruth,in Abelard'ssearchfor reasonas a common
groundbetweenthe two religions,andin RogerBacon'sdescriptionof Muslim
beliefs as belongingto "the consensusof world opinion."27
There has been tremendouswork on Islam by Christianscholars,in the
nineteenthand the twentiethcenturies,which has helped to reveal Islam to
its own followers. The scholarlyvalue of this work has been overshadowed
by the moderntheologicalassaulton Islam,which accompaniedthe military
and political colonial assault. This helped to rekindlethe theologicalfire.
Islamreactedthroughits attemptsto reformitself and throughcounter-attacks
on Christianity,best illustratedby 'Abdiih'sbook,Al-Is,sm wa al-Nasraniyah,
Isl/m and Christianity.28Muslimsseem to think that, with few outstanding
exceptions,Christianwritingson Islam are still inspiredby the spirit of the
25. See his review of Gardet and Anawati's book, op. cit., in Hibbert journal, A Quarterly
Review of Religion, Theology and Philosophy, April, 1950, pp. 331-2. See also his article on
"IslamicTheologyand the ChristianTheologian,"ibid., April, 1951, pp. 242-8.
26. Abd El-Jalil, Jean, Aspects Interieursde l'Islam, Editions Seuil, Paris, 1949, p. 196.
27. See Sweetman,J. W., Islam and ChristianTheology, LutterworthPress, London, 1955.
See also Daniel, op. cit., pp. 44-5.
28. See Amin, Osman, MuhammadAbdu, translatedby Charles Wendell, AmericanCouncil
of LearnedSocieties,Washington,D. C., 1953.
theologicalor the politicalwarfarebetweenthe two religions.29Althoughfew

Christianscholarshave transcendedthis spirit, the Churchis still guided by
it in its refusalto give theologicalrecognitionto Islam.30
Whether to refute Islam or to understandit, Christianityhas produced
Islamologistswhile Islam has not producedChristologists.3'MedievalIslam
pioneeredin the comparativestudy of religions. However, the share of
Christianity in the voluminoustreatisesleft by Muslimscholarson the religions
and sects of their times was alwaysa polemicalshare. Muslimmysticswere
the closest to seeing Christianityas it saw itself. Divine love appearedto
them as a meetinggroundbetweenthe two religions.
In moderntimes,Muslimscholarshipand even EasternChristianscholar-
ship have done very little to changethis situation. While medievalMuslim
Califswere anxiousto provideproperArabictranslationsof the Scriptures, the
existing contemporarytranslationsare not adequate.32While the Christian
spiritradiatesbeautifullythroughthe writingsof most ChristianArabauthors,
none of them has so far made an appropriatetheologicalor intellectualpre-
sentation of Christianityto his countrymen.This task was started only
recentlyby Muslimtheologiansandauthors,suchas AbiiZahrain his "Lectures
on Christianity."33 Al-'Akkadin his "ChristGenius,"3and by Husseinin his
"Cityof Wrong."35Ahmad al-Makkistartedpublishingin Al-Makshif of
Beiruta novel on Christwhichhe has not yet completed.Hussein'sbook is a
turningpointin MuslimChristology.While the authorsubscribesto the teach-
ing of the Qur'an,whichdeniesCrucifixion, he conveysto his Muslimconfreres
what Crucifixionmeans to Christians: "The fascinationof this book is that
this themehas here been sensitivelyexploredand presented,probablyfor the
firsttime,by a thinkerfromwithinthe faith of Islam."36
Hussein's book illustratesa contemporaryMuslim phenomenon,which
deservesour attention. In contemporary Islam,the best exponentsof religion
in general and of their own religion particular,are not the traditional
in
theologians,but laymenturnedto the studyof Islam underthe influenceof
29. See in Majallat al-Azhar,Al-AzharMagazine,A Monthly Organ of Al-AzharUniversity,

Cairo, August, 1959, "Al-Mustashrikiun wa al-Islam, "The Orientalistsand Islam," by Soleiman
Dunia, pp. 151-8. See also in the same issue, "Ma Yukal'u an al-Islam wa al-'Arab,""What
Is Said About Islam and the Arabs,"by 'AbbasMahmudal-Akkad,pp. 224-30.
30. Al-Saman,Muhammad'Abdallahin ibid., February,1960, pp. 856-9; Dargwath,Rachad,
quoted by Nabih Faris in "Al-Muf5kiral-Muslim,""The Muslim Thinker," in Al-AbhAth,op.
cit., September,1956, p. 286.
31. Faris,Nabih, ibid., pp. 285-97.
32. See Jawad 'All, in the proceedingsof the First Muslim-ChristianConvocation,Bhamdoun,
Lebanon,April 22-7, 1954. Publishedby the Editors, ContinuingCommitteeof Muslim Christian
Cooperation,E. W. Bethmann,47 East 67th Street,New York 21, New York; M. MustaphaZiada,
52 BaronEmpain,Heliopolis, Cairo,Egypt,pp. 74-5.
33. Abii Zahra,Muhammad,Muhadaratfi al-Nasraniyab,Cairo, 1949.
34. Al-'Akkad,'Abb-as, Mahmud,Abkariatal-Masih,Cairo, 1953.
35. Hussein, M. Kamel, Al-Karia al-Zalima, City of Wrong, A Friday in Jerusalem,trans-
latedby KennethCragg,GeoffreyBles, London,1960.
36. Ibid., in the introductionto the translation.
Christian writings on Islam. Haikal wrote his Life of Muhammad after he

read Dermenghem's book on the Prophet.37
We may find the reason behind this phenomenon in a remark made by
Dr. Amir Eli at the PrincetonColloquium on Islamic Culture in which he said:
"What is needed is a cooperative effort, in which Western analysis and East-
ern synthesis will together give us the unchangeable words of the Quran in
a form, meaning and sequence which will have the same effect as it had
thirteen centuries ago."38 This is indeed a pressing and paramount need of
Muslim theology, which may be better met by Muslims, who are familiar
with their culture and Western culture, rather than by traditional theologians
who confine themselves only to one segment of their own culture.
This phenomenon should also help to stimulate the shift of emphasis in
the Christian-Muslimtheological encounter from polemics to the exploration
of meaning. We said at the outset that Christianand Muslim theologies have
spoken about the same subjectsin different terms. There has been an effort to
refute these terms much greater than the effort to grasp their meaning to the
believer. With the help of philosophic and psychological theology, this trend
should be reversed. Such a reversal would contribute to a widening of the
area of mutual understanding. There is here a perennial need for greater
humility with truth. Have we all encompassed the full meaning of truth as
revealed in the Scripturesand the Qur'an? Is there not ground for a deeper
and more comprehensiveunderstandingwhich would bring us closer together
to the truth? Here again the constant and tireless re-discoveryof our Holy
sources can always throw light in our Godly path.
Messianic Drive. Since Christ sent his Apostles to preach the Gospel and
since Muhammadsent His Companionsto teach the tribes and His Messengers
to convert the heads of neighboring states, they established a messianic tradi-
tion in the two religions. This tradition has been another source of tension.
Although it has generated more adversity than amity between Christians and
Muslims, all its effects have not been negative. When Muslims, moved by
this messianic drive, expanded Dar al-Isl,m to most of the old world in the
seventh and eighth centuries, they brought about a human spiritual revival.
When in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries the Crusadesmoved by
this messianic drive set out of Europe to reconquer the Holy Land, they dis-
covered in Islam a new world far different from what they had imagined
before. This discoveryhelped to shake the foundations of the archaicways of
thought and life which prevailed in Europe before the Crusades.
We do not seek here to justify war whatever its causes, much less religious
37. Hussein, Taha, "Tendances R61igieuses de la Litterature Egyptienne d'Aujourdhui,"

L'Islamet L'Occident,op. cit., pp. 235-42.
38. Eli, Dr. Amir (of Osmania University of Hyderabad,India), 'The Acquisition and
Transferenceof Faith," Colloquiumon Islamic Culture,in its relationsin the contemporaryworld,
September,1953, PrincetonUniversityPress,Princeton,New Jersey,p. 104.
wars. We do not try to distinguishbetweena wrongand a rightwar. We are

merely pointing out some of the positive effects of a messianicwar as an
historiceventof the past. Amongthe positiveresultsof the Crusadeswas the
realizationthat Christianity,like any otherreligion,cannotand shouldnot be
forcedon others. Christianthinkingturned,then, to peacefuland persuasive
missionarywork. This new turnof the mind broughtaboutthe introduction
of the systematicstudyof Islam and Arabicin Europe.This studycontinued
until it reachedhigherand differentproportionsin the nineteenthand twenti-
eth centuries. In these two centuries,while ChristianEuropeanstates were
expandingthroughoutthe world,the Christianchurchorganizedits missionary
activitiesthroughoutthe whole world includingthe world of Islam. In many
Muslim countries,Christianmissionarieswere the first to introducemodern
schools and hospitals. Working for Christ did not mean to them only
convertingthe people to believein Him, but teachingthem and helpingthem
to becomebetterhumanbeings.
In spite of these positiveadvantages,the negativeeffectof this messianic
drivehas been crucial. It has kept Christiansand Muslimson guardagainst
each other. The tremendousactivitiesof the Christianmissionariescreate
a state of distrustbetweena Muslimand his fellow Christian.It makeshim
feel that no matterhow well acceptedhe is by a Christiancommunity,unless
he is a Christian,he falls shortof real acceptance.
A similarstate of distrustprevailsto a largerextent in the mindsof the
EasternChristiansvis-a'-vistheir Muslim neighbors. The EasternChristian
is deeplyconvincedthat no matterwhat the degreeof Muslimtolerance,the
ultimateMuslimobjectiveis to Islamizeall those who live within a Muslim
community.Most of the writingsof Christianmissionariesabout Islam,and
mostmissionaryliteratureas a whole, has not helpedto dissipatethis senseof
mutual distrust. Missionaryliteraturehas so far concentratedon exposing
Islam'sdefects ratherthan on revealingthe virtuesof Christianity.
Muchof the literaturewrittenon Islamwith a missionaryinspirationhas
served to weaken Muslim self-confidence.This might have made some
Muslimsless Muslim than they could have been, yet it did not transform
them into Christians. So far missionaryreports are unanimousin their
recognitionof the failure of the drive to convertMuslims. As a Church
Fatheronce said: "In the conversionof souls there was not much progress
in this land of Saracens,who were as hard as diamondsto work upon."39
WheneverChristianand Muslimmissionariescompetedin the same area in
AsiaandAfrica,Islamhasbeenthewinner.40
This situationhas brought about two new trends in missionarycircles
39. Addison, James Thayer, The Christian Approach to the Moslem, Columbia University
Press, New York, 1942, p. 78.
40. Ibid., pp. 235, 256, and 259.
concernedwith the Muslim world. The first and prevailingone is a trend

towarda shift of emphasisin the missionarywork from the refutationof
Islamto the living and experimentalaffirmation of Christianityand of Christ's
Messageand Presence. The Muslim must be approached with loving under-
standingratherthan with hostile argumentation.Dialecticalargumentation
has led the missionarynowhere. Loving religiousexperimentation may bear
betterandmorepositiveresults.
The most recent illustrationof this new approachis the establishment
by Benedictine monksof the Toumlilinemonasteryin Morocco.The monastery
has organizededucationalactivities,which enable Muslimsto becomewit-
nesses to the monks'loving work in Christand for Christ. Complimenting
the monkson their remarkableachievements,some of these witnessesrepeat
to them:"YouaretrueMoslems."'"
The second trend is advocatedmore by Christianlaymen interestedin
missionaryactivitiesthanby churchmen.Its advocatescall for renunciationof
missionaryactivitiesin the Muslimworld altogether. Christian-Muslim com-
mon work in fields of commonconcernappearto these laymen far more
importantand meaningful than the conversionof a handful of Muslims.
Althoughtherehave been Muslimmissionaryactivitiesin Christiancountries
directedmainlyby Pakistanis,Muslimmissionarywork in Christiancountries
does not comparein any sense with Christianmissionarywork in Muslim
countries.
The Christianand Muslim messianicdrive cannot be easily judged. It
is assumedhere that its majorconcernhas been with man's salvation,with
truthand with the transmissionof this truthto fellow humanbeings. How-
ever, in human experience,the margin between concernabout others and
concernaboutthe self as well as betweena searchfor truthand a searchfor
power has not alwaysbeen clear enough. Hence, the Christianand Muslim
messianicdriveshave been interpretedin variousinstancesas expressionsof a
search for domination. In modern times, Christianmissionarieshave been
associatedin manyplaces with Europeancolonialism.As this colonialismis
almost over everywhere,the Christianmissionaryfinds himself in a better
positionto be takenas a preacherof a faithnot as an agentof a state.
However, the questiontakes on a special characterin Christian-Muslim
relations. It is relatedto the previousquestionof theologicalpolemics. The
futureof the missionarymovementdependsupon the futureof the Christian-
Muslim theologicalencounter. Should Christiansand Muslims,while con-
tinuingto agree and to disagree,work to widen the area of disagreementor
to reduceit? What would be more importantto the two religions-a better-
ment of the qualityof Christianand Muslimbeliefs and actionsor a drive
41. Beach, Peter and William Dumphy, Benedictine and Moor: A Christian Adventure in
Moslem Morrocco, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1960, p. 207.
for numerical superiority? When it comes to numerical growth should their

efforts be directed against each other, or could they have a spiritual mobiliza-
tion of these efforts in the direction of polytheists, atheists and materialists?
The Confusionof the Ideal with the Real. Christiansand Muslimstend
to judge each others' religions through the prevailing Christian and Muslim
conditions. Muslims would associate Christianitywith the aggressiveness of
those Christianrulers from whom they have suffered for a century and a half.
Christians would associate Islam with the Muslim state of backwardness,
with which they became familiar in their modern contact with Islam. The
rejection of aggressiveness would, then, imply a rejection of Christianity.
Disgust with backwardnesswould entail disgust with Islam. This would hap-
pen unless Christians and Muslims could set a demarcation line between
religious ideal and human realities.
Ultimate religious ideals belong to the eternal, while human realities move
in a dynamic world of change. The degree of relevancy and penetrability of
the eternal ideal in changing reality is indeed a measure of its validity, but not
the only one. This may sound like nonsense to those who have dismissed the
eternal and could dismiss with it the religious experience altogether. To a
Christianor a Muslim, religious experience is not the transportationof passion
or the trance of faith as such, but faith in God's Eternal Word and passion
for the ideals which are incarnated in this Word. Hence Christians and
Muslims should approach each other through their spiritual ideals rather than
through their temporalrealities.
This approach has been advocated mostly by Christian saints and Muslim
mystics. It was also followed by those Christian and Muslim scholars who
met under Princeton'ssponsorshipat Princeton and Washington in September,
1953, in the Colloquium on Islamic Culture. It was also faithfully applied by
the Christian and Muslim leaders who laid down at Bhamdoun in Lebanon in
April, 1954, the foundations of "The World Christian-MuslimFellowship."42
It guided Massignon and his disciples in the establishment of the Badalyia
Movement in June, 1953, to bring about religious reconciliation between
Muslims and Christians. The same approach was adopted by Muhammad
'Abduh as he founded at the turn of the century in Beirut an association of
the People of the Book ". . . to unite the Islamic, Christian, and Jewish
faiths."43
The founders of these movements and associationsare pioneers in the cause
of Christian-Muslim understanding. They labored in circumstances much
less favorable than the new emerging circumstancesfor a Christian-Muslim
meeting. To avoid the risks of disintegration, they concentratedon the com-
parative study of concepts and ideals and avoided as much as they could the
Convocation,op. cit.
42. Proceedingsof the FirstMuslim-Christian
43. Amin, op. cit., p. 72.
explosiveand dividingissues. This was particularlythe case in the meetings
of the Colloquiumand of the World Fellowshipof Muslimsand Christians.
Realizingthe enormityof their task, the confereesat Bhamdoundeclared
in theirfirstpublicstatement:"We have no quicksolutionsfor our problems,
and we possess no immediatemeans for righting wrongs."" The wrongs
of thirteencenturiesof adversityare at stakehere. As we pointedout, these
wrongshave theirgeographic,civilizational,cultural,theologicaland mission-
ary background.To allow a real Christian-Muslim rebirthin amity, this
whole backgroundshould be transformed.45 The gap betweenChristianand
Muslimideals and Christianand Muslimrealitiesshouldbe constantlyfilled.
We indicatedhere and there what appearto us to be some means for the
requiredtotal transformation.
Daniel lays special stresson the need for a betterexchangeof informa-
tion betweenChristianityand Islam. We fully subscribeto this suggestion.
We have approachedcommunication in the broadestsense of the term. To
us, religion is eternal. It is creativecommunication betweenGod and man
and betweenman and all his fellow humanbeings. Religion,in general,and
monotheism,in particular,saw all mankindas the childrenof one God and
as the sons of one Father long before the emergenceof modern com-
munications.
Modern communications,in general, and the media of information,in
particular,are still far moreservingthe causeof bettercommunication among
men. Religionin this respectis at a great disadvantage.The press,the radio
and televisionseek mostlywhat is sensational,excitingand entertaining.In
liberalChristiancountriestheyseekwhatis agreeableto theiradvertisers, while
in most Muslimcountriesthey seekwhat pleasestheirofficialcensors. Hence,
a free circulationof informationbetween Christianityand Islam is still
hamperedby majorobstacles.
The most favorablefields for better communicationbetween the two
religions are the scholarly and educationalfields. The developmentof
exchangesin these fields are continued. They may still be developedmore
in the following directions:The promotionof a wide programof translation
of the sourcebooksof the two religionsinto the respectivelanguagesof their
followers; the organizationof an exchange of professors and students
betweenChristiandivinityschools and Muslimreligiousuniversitiessuch as
al-Azhar, al-Najaf al-Ashraf, al-Zaytuna,al-Karawiyin,and others; the
establishmentof sections for the study of the historic developmentof
monotheismin Christianand Muslimuniversities;the organizationof perma-
nent channelsof cooperationbetweenChristianIslamologistsand theirMuslim
44. Proceedingsof the First Muslim-ChristianConvocation,op. cit.
45. Daniel, Norman, "The Churchand Islam-The Developmentof the ChristianAttitude To
Islam," The Public Review, Winter, 1957, pp. 289-312.
counterparts;textbookson the historyof religion,in particular,and on the

historyof culture,in general,shouldpresentan objectiveand fair pictureof
each religion and each culture,and films for schools and educationaltele-
vision shouldbe producedand exchangedon the great saints,reformers,and
thinkersof the two religions.
These means and others may be consideredto meet the need for better
communication betweenthe two religions. This casualexplorationof means
of communicationbetween two religions raises the importance,if not the
gravity, of the problem of communicationwithin each religion and each
community.In a world in which communications may be mobilizedat will
by interestgroups, governments,or by both, what is the degree of man's
real accessibilityto truth? What is man's real capacityto communicatein
freedom and amity with others? There is then a need for betteringcom-
municationin its substanceand in its form. To cometo bettertermswith one
another,Christianityand Islam should strive to better the quality of com-
municationwithin and beyondtheir frontiers.
In his searchfor his changelessand eternalGod, a Christianand a Muslim
ought to be in endlessspiritualflux. As FatherMoubaracsaid: "Thebeliever
in God, the Uniqueand the Transcendent, is necessarilya rebel ... ."46 Should
not he rebel against the adversityof the past and strive for amity in the
presentandthe future?
46. Moubarac,op. cit., p. 182.

Communication Between Christianity and Islām

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Communication Between Christianity and Islām

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Communication between Christianity and Islām

Author(s): Hassan Saab

T tHESE general remarks on Christian-Muslimcommunicationare

such. Without overlooking the universal significance of this change, the

I am neitherChristiannor Jew nor Gabrnor Muslim,I am not of the East,

No matter how exalted we are by such transcendence,we must study it only in

One of the astonishingthings that is talkedof is that thoughthe fires of

Upon his arrivalin Lebanon,Ibn Jubayradded in his Journal:

It is strangehow the ChristiansroundMountLebanon,when they see any

Burchard,sent by Frederick Barborassato Saladin, is reported in 1175 in

But who is not amazedby theirzeal, devotionin prayer,mercyto the poor,

Such statements were exceptional rather than usual in medieval writings.

illustrated by Cragg's review of Daniel's book' and Banani's comment on the

prejudices, atrocities and arrogance should be cleared away and overcome.

Christendomto ameliorateand to surpassitself."''6 To Islam,its communica-

There is still more territoryto liberatein Arabiaand Palestine. While bear-

ArabianNights or throughthe picturesquecamel drivertouringthe United

18. New York Times, October21, 1962.

cernsus here is that both drewdifferentlyfrom two commonsources-Semitic

muchas it shouldhelp themto restoreto God and man theirproperplacesin

al-Din wa al-Dawlahwhich was publishedin Baghdadin the middle of the

ing this approach,the Rev. W. MontgomeryWatt lays stressupon the lessons

theologicalor the politicalwarfarebetweenthe two religions.29Althoughfew

29. See in Majallat al-Azhar,Al-AzharMagazine,A Monthly Organ of Al-AzharUniversity,

Christian writings on Islam. Haikal wrote his Life of Muhammad after he

37. Hussein, Taha, "Tendances R61igieuses de la Litterature Egyptienne d'Aujourdhui,"

wars. We do not try to distinguishbetweena wrongand a rightwar. We are

concernedwith the Muslim world. The first and prevailingone is a trend

for numerical superiority? When it comes to numerical growth should their

counterparts;textbookson the historyof religion,in particular,and on the

46. Moubarac,op. cit., p. 182.

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