Inter Religious Studies

This article examines Q 9:71 to articulate an alternative ethical framework for gender relations in Islam, one rooted not in hierarchy but in mutual care and reciprocity. While pre-modern Islamic tradition frequently interprets verses such as Q 4:34 through a hierarchical lens that reinforces male authority-both within marriage and the wider social domain-this study argues that Q 9:71 offers a radically different paradigm. Through a comprehensive linguistic and thematic analysis of the term wilāya across the Qurʾān, the article demonstrates that this concept consistently signifies mutual support, protection, and closeness, characteristics foundational to a non-hierarchical model of male-female relations. The verse's adoption of wilāya with the communal command to "enjoin the good and forbid the evil" further signals an inclusive ethic that affirms women's equal participation in social and political responsibilities. By contrasting the narrowly contextual marital framework of Q 4:34 with the universal address of Q 9:71 to believing men and women, the article highlights the latter's potential as a normative ethical base. Furthermore, it explores how classical exegetes, including al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210), Ibn Kathīr (d. 774/1373), and Rashīd Riḍā (d. 1354/1935), at times hinted at the reciprocal and participatory ethos within Q 9:71, even if such interpretations were not fully developed. Drawing on contemporary scholarship, the article situates * I am grateful to Mohammad Fadel and the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful and constructive suggestions, which have helped improve this article. Karim 10.1163/24685542-20250005 | Journal of Islamic Ethics (2025) 1-30 this Qurʾānic ethic within modern efforts toward Islamic gender reform, advocating for interpretive methodologies that both engage with tradition and reclaim the Qurʾān's egalitarian potential.

Agama baha'i merupakan agama monoteistik yang berorientasi pada kesatuan spirit keagamaan kepada seluruh manusia. Adapun tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisis nilainilai kemanusiaan yang terkandung dalam ajaran ataupun prinsip yang dijalankan umat baha'i sehingga dapat menjalin kerukunan dengan umat beragama di Desa Cebolek Kidul. Jenis penelitian pada studi ini adalah penelitian kualitatif. Data didapatkan dengan metode wawancara, observasi dan kajian literatur. Hasil dari penelitian ini menjelaskan bahwa didalam ajaran agama baha'i mengandung nilai-nilai kemanusiaan seperti kebebasan, peduli sosial, anti diskriminasi, dan demokrasi. Agama baha'i mengajarkan kebebasan kepada umatnya untuk mencari kebenaran secara mandiri berdasarkan indra penglihatannya dan hati nurani. Selain itu, umat baha'i juga selalu ikut dalam kegiatan sosial yang ada di desa, bersikap sopan dan terbuka terhadap masyarakat yang berbeda, serta selalu mengutamakan musyawarah dalam mengambil keputusan. Atas dasar nilai kemanusiaan inilah umat baha'i di Desa Cebolek Kidul dapat menjalin kerukunan antar umat beragama sehingga agama baha'i tetap eksis keberadaannya. Kata Kunci : Nilai-nilai kemanusiaan, Agama baha'i, Kerukunan umat beragama

The paper examines the constitutional nature of Nigeria as a secular state where the citizens are either Muslims, Christians, or adherents of African Religion. But the concern of this paper has to do with the relations that exist between Christians and Muslims being the larger proportion of the three officially recognized religions in the country, influencing the thinking and values of a great percentage of Nigerians. The methods employed are historical, descriptive, and phenomenological. Findings revealed that, although, notable scholars have written extensively on Christian-Muslim relations in Nigeria from different perspectives all aimed at promoting good inter-faith relations for peaceful coexistence among all and sundry regardless of religious affiliations. Conferences on inter-religious dialogue have been held on several occasions, but despite all these moves to promote good Christian-Muslim relations and the areas of convergences of these religions, the nation has continued to witness cases of untold crises that have today led to mistrust, suspicion, and fear between the adherents of the two prominent faiths. It is on this premise that the paper stressed selected theological doctrines common to the two religions which can be employed to bring about good neighborliness, cooperation, and peaceful coexistence, especially among the adherents of Islam and Christianity. The historical development of each of these religions is also exploited. The paper concludes that religious leaders, instructors, Government, ecumenical movements, and other stakeholders in religious matters should endeavor to be more committed to the truth claim of religion.

What does it mean that humankind is created in the image of God and his likeness, as expressed in Genesis 1,26-27? Many have proposed various answers to this question, often based on exhaustive but inconclusive exegesis or overextended eisegesis. This article attempts to argue and answer the question with a relatively simple, overarching phrase: essentially, God created humankind as "intelligent beings" as he is when he said, "Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness." God purposed to uniquely interact with humanity on the earth when he created both males and females as intelligent beings who can speak, think, reason, evaluate, create, judge, and more-all hallmarks of intelligence-from the beginning as he does.

What does it mean that humankind is created in the image of God and his likeness, as expressed in Genesis 1,26-27? Many have proposed various answers to this question, often based on exhaustive but inconclusive exegesis or overextended eisegesis. This article attempts to argue and answer the question with a relatively simple, overarching phrase: essentially, God created humankind as "intelligent beings" as he is when he said, "Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness." God purposed to uniquely interact with humanity on the earth when he created both males and females as intelligent beings who can speak, think, reason, evaluate, create, judge, and more-all hallmarks of intelligence-from the beginning as he does.

The purpose of the conference was for leaders and scholars in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim religions to identify those teachings and values in each tradition that promote peace, the failures of each tradition to live up to their ideals, and ways to improve the teachings and practices to achieve peace. The conference did this and so much more. The participants and observers left with many questions answered and with a commitment to continue discussions such as these and open them up to larger audiences.

The purpose of the conference was for leaders and scholars in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim religions to identify those teachings and values in each tradition that promote peace, the failures of each tradition to live up to their ideals, and ways to improve the teachings and practices to achieve peace. The conference did this and so much more. The participants and observers left with many questions answered and with a commitment to continue discussions such as these and open them up to larger audiences.

This paper uses corpus methods to support the analysis of data collected as part of a large-scale ethnographic project that focusses on inter-religious relations in south-west Nigeria. Our corpus consists of answers to the open questions asked in a survey. The paper explores how people in the Yoruba-speaking south-west region of Nigeria, particularly Muslims and Christians, manage their religious differences. Through this analysis of inter-religious relations, we demonstrate how corpus linguistics can assist analyses of text-based data gathered in anthropological research. Meanwhile, our study also highlights the necessity of using anthropological methods and knowledge to interpret corpus outputs adequately.We carry out three types of analyses: keyness analysis, collocation analysis and concordance analysis. These analyses allow us to determine the ‘aboutness’ of our corpus. Four themes emerge from our analyses: (1) religion; (2) co-operation, tolerance and shared communal values su...

Interfaith dialogue has been initiated in the nineteenth century as an ecumenical discourse that was transformed and adapted by almost all religions as a means of building interfaith harmony. However, in the case of Islam Muslim scholars had to respond in a variant geopolitical panorama of the post-colonial world, struggling to place themselves between strong notions of Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité and safeguarding the traditional fabric of Islam. The present paper expounds on the approaches of two Muslim scholars in the twentieth century are Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1876-1960), an eminent Turkish spiritual leader, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr (1933-), an Iranian origin, contemporary Muslim philosopher in the United States. Both of them are well-known for their contribution to interfaith dialogue with their unique methodologies. The main research question is; to study the contribution of Nursi and Nasr in the field of interfaith dialogue which is presumably led by Protestants as well as Catholics. The methodology includes comparative and historical analysis which has been applied to explore the academic as well as the social contribution of both the scholars focusing on their enterprise of interfaith dialogue in a pluralistic society. The article ends up concluding that both Nursi and Nasr agreed on the importance of dialogue for a co-existing means while differed in their methods to initiate it.

This study analyzes the ontological inconsistency between the Qur'an's narrative of God's "breathing of His Spirit" into humans during creation and the observed prevalence of moral evil. It argues that this divine grace, bestowed by God, should ontologically provide a robust inner resistance against systematic and extreme forms of evil, without negating free will. However, empirical observations indicate that this expectation is broadly unfulfilled. This discrepancy creates a significant philosophical and theological problem for the literal interpretation of the Qur'an and the traditional theistic understanding of God. The article contends that the creatio ex nihilo model for the soul offers the most consistent explanation for this inconsistency, posing fewer challenges to divine attributes and scriptural integrity.

This paper explores how the pre-Christian culture of the Hmar people reveals God's presence through their religion, traditions, and socio-economic life. It highlights parallels between Hmar cultural values—such as Tlâwmngaina, festivals, and folk tales—and Christian theology, encouraging the integration of traditional practices into a contextualized, authentic Christian faith that honors both cultural identity and biblical principles.

This is an article about the Risale-i Nur works, which prove that 2 times 2 is 4 to the clergymen who still have difficulty in answering issues such as “fate” and “hereafter” and to those who cannot find answers to their questions about these issues and become depressed or commit suicide, and prove many faith issues in the same way.

Resumen Este trabajo revisa la evolución de las líneas de investigación clásicas sobre los colectivos mudéjares castellanos y estudia otras de reciente aparición, con excepción del Reino de Granada, desde la publicación en el año 2010 del artículo de Miguel Ángel Ladero Quesada «Los mudéjares de Castilla cuarenta años después», hasta la actualidad. Asimismo, se realiza una selección de las publicaciones más relevantes en este ámbito aparecidas en el mismo periodo, todo ello con la finalidad de valorar el estado actual de la investigación y de los temas que aún pueden ser objeto de desarrollo.

Gandhi believed in the unity of all religions, with Muslim Allah, the Christian God, and the Isvara of Hindus being one and the same. He opposed dogmatic, sectarian, and ritualistic religions and opposed institutionalized religion. Gandhi rationally interpreted Hindu religious scriptures and advocated for reinterpreting Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. He believed that every living faith must have the power of rejuvenation to live. This paper aims to understand Gandhi’s concept of religion and his views on reforming Indian and non-Indian religions.

The concept of divine love (muhabbetullah) is a central theme in Islamic theology, philosophy, and mysticism. This paper explores the nature of love for God, its foundations in the Qur'an and Hadith, and its interpretations by Islamic scholars such as Al-Ghazali, Ibn Arabi, and Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. The study examines how love for God influences human morality, spiritual growth, and personal fulfillment. Additionally, it discusses how divine love serves as a transformative force, guiding believers towards mystical experience and ethical excellence. By analyzing classical and contemporary perspectives, this paper provides a comprehensive understanding of divine love as the ultimate purpose of human existence.

What lies behind the idea of producing a theological anthropology? Why is it so important that there should be a distinctively theological anthropology? Anthropology concerns itself with understanding human experience. Theology is concerned with God. God and humanity-should not the two be left in quite separate compartments? Some would wish to leave 'God' in a remote 'ivory tower'. They want to get on with the business of human life without having to be bothered with a 'God' who is, for them, a complete irrelevance. Others pride themselves on their theological orthodoxy while showing little interest in getting to grips with the many-sided complexities of human experience. There is a real need for an anthropology, which adopts a distinctively theological point of view. Understanding human experience-this is not something which theologians can safely leave to others. It is vitally important for everyone. It concerns a better understanding of ourselves. We may write as Theologians, who, affirming their faith in God, must speak as those who have their feet upon this earth. The Anthropological vantage-point is undoubtedly 'from below'. This must, however, be accompanied by the bold affirmation that the Word of God has come to us 'from above'. Refusing to 'put the cart before the horse', to get so bogged down in this-worldly concerns, Christian Theology must take care not to create God in its own image as a prelude to forgetting about him altogether. Any attempt to write a theological anthropology is a bold undertaking. Ours is a time when nothing can be taken for granted. Many, who write about the meaning of human experience, would be entirely dismissive of the very idea of God. If ever there was a time when Christians ought to 'give a reason' for the faith which they hold (1 Peter 3:15), this is it. Perhaps in previous generations, more could be taken for granted. This is certainly not the case now. The present generation has been described in different ways: postchristian, postmodern. Biblical descriptions of moral and spiritual chaos are particularly apt. With little understanding of and respect for the biblical teaching that 'the Lord is King', 'everyone does what is right in his own eyes' (Judges 21:25). In a time when many will listen only to what they 'want to hear', there is a widespread 'turning away from the truth' (2 Timothy 4:3-4) Writing a theological anthropology requires courage-the courage to say things that few other commentators on human life are saying, the courage to make statements which are unlikely to be well received within the academic community. This essay on theological anthropology aims at being an academic piece of work, touching upon many different dimensions of human experience. It does, however, adopt a starting-point which would be deemed unpopular within the wider academic community. We affirm the reality of divine revelation. To the ancient

Judaism and the Mongol Empire, Na'ama O. Arom -
In Timothy May and Michael Hope (eds.), The Mongol World (London & New York: Routledge, 2022).

In blood and fire, the kingdom of Judaea fell to the Babylonian sword, and its people exiled to dwell in foreign lands. Centuries later, at the time of the Mongol advance, Jewish communities were to be found in the cities and countryside across the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Europe, in northern and eastern Africa, and on the maritime and land-based Silk Roadsalso in India and China. Throughout the Fertile Crescent, Jewish communities are described in the texts of twelfth and thirteenth-century travelers and historians. Baghdad, Aleppo, and Damascus were among the largest settlements; other communities were to be found in Erbil, Homs, Hama, al-Bira, and moreall lay in the path of the approaching Mongol forces. 1 Scant evidence reveals Jewish communities even farther east. A written Hebrew prayer from the ninth century, discovered in Dunhuangone of China's gateways to the northwestis the sole evidence of the

At the Border of Interreligious Missteps and Racism BILAL ANSARI Sometimes, the line between an interreligious misstep and racism is painfully narrow, as the incidents recounted here will demonstrate. In one case, something should have been but wasn't; in another, covered something was, as it should have been; in a third, a mistake was made to uncover recovery after a hate incident.

The spirituality of South Korean missionaries is currently in crisis. A survey conducted by the Korean Research Institute for Mission (KRIM) in 2015 revealed that 61.2% of participants acknowledged a lack of spirituality and expressed the need for further training in piety. Two fundamental causes contribute to this spiritual decline among Korean missionaries. Firstly, a deficiency in biblical principles of missional theology. It is argued that failure to derive missional theology directly from Scripture has weakened the spirituality of Korean missionaries. Secondly, the training curricula provided by Korean missionary-sending institutions, lack the necessary focus on spirituality. In response to this crisis, the authors carried out qualitative research to explore the question, "What is going on?"-the first of Osmer's four tasks in practical theology. The study identified five key themes that emerged from the naïve sketches and structured interviews with the participants, who comprised Korean missionaries and members of the Kosin Presbyterian Mission (KPM).

Despite the efforts of Christian theologians throughout the centuries exploring the meaning of being created in the image of God, the question of who the human person is and the implications of his/her being created in God's image have remained religiously agonising. This study approached the subject by addressing the question: What do the scriptures try to tell us about human beings when they describe them as the image of God? The Old Testament texts describing man as God's image, Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 5:1, 2, and Genesis 9:6, were examined. The New Testament understanding and various uses of the image of God were also explored. Drawing upon scripture, the implications of humanity's creation in God's image were considered in relation to the Creator and the created world. The study concluded that being in God's image was not intended to deify or idolise humanity, because, unlike the rest of creation, human life is not an end in itself. The quality of the image of God was no license to exploit creation and subjugate it to one's desires. It not only suggests authority and dignity but also includes humility and responsibility.

The study aims at reconsidering the prerequisites and preconditions required in order to make interreligious communication possible. The issue is addressed within the broader framework of the debate surrounding ecumenism and "the peace of religions", making explicit reference to the particular case of Central and Eastern Europe. Particular attention is given to describing and interpreting the current stage of religious cohabitation (touching on the situation of post-communist countries), and to predicting the possible directions in which this will evolve, as well as the potential mechanisms and triggers that might reconfigure the framework for discussion in the medium and long term. The possibility of interreligious communication is reappraised and re-examined by analysing several key-concepts in the dynamic of their relation and by referring to particular contexts: religion and ideology, spiritual and political authority, religious and spiritual leadership, gaze and authenticity, political system and religious education, religious minority and religious majority, ecumenism and "the peace of religions".

When someone thinks about Islam or the Muslim world, name of Japan does not come to mind immediately. There are neither clear records of any contact between Islam and Japan nor any historical traces of Islam's coming into Japan through religious propagation of any sort except for some isolated cases of contact between individual Japanese and Muslims of other countries before 1868. Islam was firstly known to Japanese people in 1877 as a part of Western religious thought. The real Muslim community life however did not start until the arrival of several hundred Turkoman, Uzbek, Tadjik, Kirghiz, Kazakh and other Turko-Tatar Muslim refugees from central Asia and Russia in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution during World War I. During 1900-1920 some other Muslims also went to Japan and living in this country as a small Muslim community they started publishing Islamic magazines as well as managed to convert a large number of Japanese people into Islam. In addition to building the mosques, as a natural outcome of the activities of Islamic communities in Japan various Muslim organizations and Islamic centers were established in the various parts of the country. These organizations and centers have been, more or less, means and source of supporting and strengthening the Dawah work of Islam in Japan. This paper is an analytical survey of Islamic centers and organizations in Japan examining their activities, problems and challenges.

About  sixty-seven  thousand  religious  extension  officers  (Penyuluh Agama),  representing  six  religions  in  the  state  service,  are  on  the frontline  of  the  massive  campaign  of  religious  moderation  organized by  the  Ministry  of  Religious  Affairs.  They  are  the  sole  body  with religious    competence    dealing    with    the    increasing    religious conservatism,  radicalism,  and  extremism.  The  study  observed Penyuluh's  digital  performance  and  agency in  social  media.  It describes  the  complexity  of  their  position  within  the  challenge  of religious  extremism,  the  execution  of  a  religious  moderation campaign,  and  social  media  engagement.  Data  collection  utilizes mixed  methods,  while  the  analysis  employs  netnographic  and descriptive-inductive  methods.  The  findings  demonstrate  the  digital divide context, the tendency of Penyuluh to  reproduce  the structure, hence  limiting  their  agency,  limited  digital  mastery  and  digital literacy  of  many  of  Penyuluh,  fragmented  institutional  information system,  and  the  vulnerability  of  instant  messenger  engagement  that is prone to epistemic bubble and echo chamber effects.

This research discusses the meaning of the command to read in Q.S Al-'Alaq
verse 1 and its implications in the context of Islamic education. The verse that reads "Iqra
bismi rabbika alladzi khalaq" or "Read in the name of your Lord who created" has a deep
meaning that not only commands literal reading activities, but also contains spiritual,
intellectual, and moral messages. As the first revelation revealed to Prophet Muhammad
SAW, this verse emphasizes the importance of knowledge as a basis in Islamic teachings,
where reading and studying are activities that are integrated with faith and devotion to
God. This study uses the tafsir method and literature analysis to elaborate the theological
meaning of the verse and explore its application in Islamic education. The implication of
this reading command is the formation of Islamic education that is not only oriented
towards intellectual achievement, but also towards the formation of morals and a strong
spiritual character. Thus QS. Al-'Alaq verse 1 provides inspiration for the development of
an educational system that integrates knowledge and faith, and forms a generation of
Muslims who knowledgeable, noble, and committed to the benefit of the people.

This book looks at how religious studies is framed and taught in India. It addresses the contradiction between the country's vibrant religious life and the dearth of comparative and social scientific religious studies programs across Indian universities.

The impact of socio-political developments on a global scale has led to an increased effectiveness of the countertheological perspective on religions and cultures in print and broadcast media, especially since the early modern period. Even in regions where there has been no significant historical or religious interaction, the influence and imprint of different religious traditions on a particular religion can be discerned. In this context, theological or religious negative approaches to Islam in Japan can be evaluated within the framework of an influence that emerged in the West with modernity and has its roots in Christian religious traditions. Conversely, an examination of the historical development of Islam in Japan reveals that the country's multicultural and religiously pluralistic structure precludes the possibility of any religious group being perceived negatively on a collective level. However, it is important to acknowledge that the process of Western-style modernisation has occasionally led to negative cultural perceptions of other religions within Western societies. Considering the historical development of Islam in Japan, the country's multicultural and religiously pluralistic structure renders the collective portrayal of any religion as negative implausible. Consequently, the potential for Islamophobia in Japan today and the grounds for the discussions around it continue in this context.

A facet of the Armenian genocide in 1915 was that in the same category, also the "Assyrians", i.e., Christians whose classical language is Syriac and often speaking Neo-Aramaic dialects, were also targeted. One cannot understand even current Middle Eastern conflicts without realising how 2015 was the blueprint for eliminationist aims which in more southern parts of the Ottoman Empire were reapplied against the Jews.

This introductory essay is my attempt to offer a reading of the corpus that provides the basis for the essays in the present issue of Contemporary Jewry. The books that form the basis for reflections divide into two categories-collaborative interfaith projects and studies in Jewish theology of religions. Beyond this division, I identify a common approach that is theologically informed and that sees religions as evolving entities that reach toward fulfillment of their higher purpose. I propose application of the term "coevolution," drawn from the field of biology and evolutionary theory but increasingly applied to the social sciences, as a means of describing the interdependence between religions. My application considers coevolution to be purposeful toward a higher goal. In this light, advances in interreligious understanding, collaboration, and theology all contribute not only to a more peaceful society but also to the actual growth in religions toward their own stated spiritual ideals and goals.

This paper aims to understand better the religious beliefs and cultural practices of Cordilleran Christian youth in the Philippines. By zooming in on the notions of God and practices of select Cordilleran Christian youth, this study endeavors to make the voices of indigenous Christian youth heard. Using the framework of Laylayan theology, this study explores the perspectives of the indigenous Christian youth on God, traditional practices, and lived experience, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show the interconnectedness of faith and culture among select indigenous youth during this contemporary period. Their lived religious context informs society on the dialogue of life and experience.

Religion/Spirituality (R/S) has been associated with mental health. Although most Filipinos are Christian, little research has been done on how R/S affects their mental health. To address this research gap, an open-ended questionnaire was conducted on forty-three Filipino Christian youths regarding their thoughts, motives, and emotions about private prayer. Responses were coded and analyzed with the qualitative data analysis software NVivo. A traditional coding method was also employed to contextualize the data. Results show that most respondents define prayer as a way to communicate with God and personally encounter the transcendent. In general, prayer was used to express gratitude, request something, seek guidance, ask for forgiveness, or find psychological comfort. In most cases, participants prayed when they were feeling down or troubled. The majority prayed in silence and with their eyes closed. Most respondents felt calm and relaxed when praying. Many respondents also noted that their conversation with God provided comfort, reassurance, and relief. A theoretical model of causal pathways for the effects of prayer on mental health was used to examine how Filipino Christian youths’ emotional health—a component of mental health—is affected by prayer. Research suggests that prayer guides many respondents in their decisions and life choices. Prayer also may evoke human virtues, such as gratitude, patience, and honesty. For many, prayer is critical to their cognitive appraisal of stressful events and serves as a coping resource. This study has important implications for R/S as a resource for mental well-being among youth in a country with limited mental health services.

Estamos passando por um “tempo emergencial”, por conta de doenças provocadas por coronavírus ou Covid-19 que levou a Organização Mundial da Saúde decretar uma pandemia.Esta nova situação obrigou governos do mundo tomarem medidas extraordinárias, algumas mais e outras menos restritivas, para conter ou mitigar seus efeitos sobre a saúde das pessoas, inclusive o fechamento de Igrejas. Sem a possibilidade de reunião presencial, tanto a Congregação para o Culto Divino e Disciplinas dos Sacramentos, como as Conferências Episcopais em cada país se pronunciaram, com orientações em relação ao modo de celebrar neste tempo particular, no intuito de resguardar a vida dos fiéis. As duas formas de celebrações mais utilizadas em tempos de pandemia foram e são ainda, onde o isolamento social continua, as celebrações eucarísticas (e outras) transmitidas por diversos meios de comunicação, como também as celebrações nas casas – Igreja doméstica. Neste artigo vamos tratar destas formas celebrativas, te...

Wissenschaft scholarship on Africentrism and what it means to be a person in the African worldview gains speed with every passing epoch. Simultaneously, a manifest ignorance dominates public discussion on almost all things African. In the body of knowledge among the sciences and especially the field of health science, humanities have proved their value as a contributor to the understanding of personhood as a fundamental dimension of healthcare training especially in various foundational courses. By and large, personhood in the Ubuntu philosophy is considered to be socio-culturally derived. The aphorism that 'a person is a person through other persons' is generally informative on the origins of personhood in African thought. The interplay between religion and culture makes possible the crystallization of various experiences that are as pointers to epistemic gaps considering the currents of change that are observable in the African setting since around the sixteenth century. Such experiences are proof of concept on whether the 'outside world' sufficiently understands personhood as seen from the African perspective or whether in spite of advances in knowledge sharing, stereotyping and misunderstanding of the African person is still possible. Since the most robust interaction of the African culture has been with the Christian culture, it is informative to look into the sources of opinions and discussion on personhood and culture which furnish us with a test sample by which the understanding of Africentric personhood may be measured. The documents Nostra Aetate and Gaudium et Spes are such a documents expressing the relation of the Church with humanity and other religions, and since African philosophy is intertwined with perspectives from African Traditional Religion, it is opportune to thematically analyse the aforementioned documents as a beginning towards greater understanding of Africentrism versus Eurocentrism.

This article examines Muhammad Quraish Shihab's interpretation of the verses of the Quran related to the environment in his recently published book Islam dan Lingkungan: Perspektif Al-Quran Menyangkut Pemeliharaan Lingkungan. Through his prominent work, Tafsir Al-Misbah, Quraish Shihab is a well-known Indonesian Quranic scholar. He is also one of Ba 'Alawi, which means the children of 'Alawi, the direct descendants of Muhammad. His recent publication on Islam and the environment reflects his understanding of the Quran and Sunnah on the current development of discourses and debates of religion and ecology, underlining the role of Islam in preserving nature and in support of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Indonesia and the world. SDGs are the agenda for 2030 in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York in 2015. Indonesia has become one of the leading countries in Southeast Asia to reach SGDs by projecting the pillars of environmental development in the Ministry of National Development Planning. As the most populous Muslim country in the world, the role of ulama is pivotal to amalgamating Islam and the environment to raise Muslim society's awareness of the importance of SDGs and support the government's plan to achieve them in 2030. In this respect, Quraish Shihab's interpretation of the verses of the Quran related to the environment is worth investigating. This article strives to answer how Quraish Shihab's recent work on explaining the Quran and the environment contributes to the Indonesian pillars of environmental development within the framework of SDGs. Through careful library research on Quraish Shihab's recent work using the discourse analysis method, this article argues that Quraish Shihab, to a certain extent, has revised his previous understanding of the verses of the Quran in Tafsir Al-Misbah concerning Islam and environment by contextualizing the verses to SDGs in his recent work Islam dan Lingkungan. This contextualization has contributed significantly to 5 pillars of SDGs, including good health and well-being, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, and responsible consumption and production.

This paper explores the potential influence of Jesus Christ on Mahatma Gandhi's life and philosophy, examining how Christian teachings may have shaped his approach to social reform, non-violence (Ahimsa), and spiritual development. It also considers the extent of Gandhi's engagement with Christian texts, his interactions with Christian missionaries, and the broader socio-religious context of his time, offering insights into the convergence and divergence between the teachings of Jesus and Gandhi's principles.

Approaches to the science of Sirah have evolved in the academic discourse over the centuries. In Contemporary world, writings on Sirah have undergone a number of approaches viz Pluralistic, Revisionist and Narratives on Prophet. The "Narratives on Prophet" is a contemporary literally genre that emerged in the recent past in the science of Sirah in both Western and Eastern academic world. The subject matter of these works revolves around the theme of the perceptions of the Prophet in literary circles across the centuries. The book "Lives of Muhammad" by Kecia Ali falls in the same genre. The author unravels much about the diverse vantage points from which Sīrah has been approached down the ages by both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars. The present paper is a humble attempt to highlight the themes viza-viz Historicity of Prophet, Western perspective, Muslim account, Narratives on the wives of Prophet and the Account of comparative biography of religious figures. Analytical cum Historical methods have been followed.

The paper examines the constitutional nature of Nigeria as a secular state where the citizens are either Muslims, Christians, or adherents of African Religion. But the concern of this paper has to do with the relations that exist between Christians and Muslims being the larger proportion of the three officially recognized religions in the country, influencing the thinking and values of a great percentage of Nigerians. The methods employed are historical, descriptive, and phenomenological. Findings revealed that, although, notable scholars have written extensively on Christian-Muslim relations in Nigeria from different perspectives all aimed at promoting good inter-faith relations for peaceful coexistence among all and sundry regardless of religious affiliations. Conferences on inter-religious dialogue have been held on several occasions, but despite all these moves to promote good Christian-Muslim relations and the areas of convergences of these religions, the nation has continued to witness cases of untold crises that have today led to mistrust, suspicion, and fear between the adherents of the two prominent faiths. It is on this premise that the paper stressed selected theological doctrines common to the two religions which can be employed to bring about good neighborliness, cooperation, and peaceful coexistence, especially among the adherents of Islam and Christianity. The historical development of each of these religions is also exploited. The paper concludes that religious leaders, instructors, Government, ecumenical movements, and other stakeholders in religious matters should endeavor to be more committed to the truth claim of religion.

Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together is a document of joint common ground between Muslims and Christians. It reinforces the initiative to work together for world peace. It has inspired the spirit of fraternity based on the teaching inherent in Muslim and Christian Revelations. This paper presents a portion of a study’s result on how the fraternity spirit penetrates the religious communities in Sabah to live together in accommodative relationships and open-minded attitudes. The paper employed a qualitative approach to designing a case study in Keningau district in the interior division of Sabah. The data collection involves ethnographic fieldwork by conducting interviews with religious leaders and selected local people with mixed-faith families and participant observation in several villages related to this study. The findings indicate that the Muslims and Christians in Sabah can be characterized as brothers and sisters and inspired to be an example of fra...

This book looks at how religious studies is framed and taught in India. It addresses the contradiction between the country's vibrant religious life and the dearth of comparative and social scientific religious studies programs across Indian universities.

Religion ohne Verbindlichkeit? Zur Entwicklung religiöser Diskurse im antiken Griechenland Das klassische Griechenland hat im 5. und 4. Jh. v. Chr. eine enorme Menge an literarischen Kulturgütern hinterlassen. Dabei wurde immer wieder die politische, die historische, aber auch die kosmologische Dimension der menschlichen Existenz beleuchtet. Namen wie Platon, Aristoteles, Euripides, Herodot und Thukydides haben sich tief in die kulturelle Identität Europas eingegraben. Die überreiche Literatur, die philosophischen Schulen und die Geschichtsschreibung sind zum festen Bestandteil eines kulturellen Erbes geworden, das bis heute einen prägenden Einfluss ausübt. 1 Diese bleibende Bedeutung der philosophischen Welterklärung im klassischen Griechenland ist so selbstverständlich, dass ein Phänomen leicht übersehen werden kann: Religiöse Texte im Sinne des Wortes gibt es im klassischen Griechenland kaum, vielleicht gar nicht. Die religiösen Spezialisten hatten selbst in der hochliteraren Gesellschaft des klassischen Athens kein Bedürfnis ihre Interpretation religiöser Phänomene und Strukturen zu verfassen und damit zu verstetigen. Inmitten einer öffentlich prominent positionierten Diskussionskultur über alle wesentlichen Fragen des Menschen und der Gesellschaft fällt das laute Schweigen der sakralen Würdenträger auf. Niemand verfasste einen Text über den Sinn der Kulte. Über das Wirken der Götter in der Gesellschaft sprechen Philosophen, aber nicht Priester. Dabei drängen sich grundlegende Fragen zur griechischen Religion geradezu auf: 2 Welche Natur haben die verehrten Gottheiten? Nimmt man die Mythen und die bildlichen Darstellungen der Götter ernst und betrachtet sie als Personen, die zu willkürlichen Handlungen fähig sind, oder aber ist das alles nur allegorisch zu verstehen und die Götter waren vielmehr Mächte, die in der Natur nach grundlegenden Gesetzen handeln, sodass die menschengestaltige 1 Zur neueren Forschung zur griechischen Literaturgeschichte vgl. Hose/Schenker (Hg.), A Companion to Greek Literature. 2 Zur Forschungslage zur griechischen Religion vgl. Linke, Antike Religion.

Abstract:
Contemporary Society is prominently multi-religious, multicultural and pluralistic society and it has developed a concrete solution for this twofold problem of ‘Plurality of Religions’ and ‘Absence of Communication’ in the form of ‘Interfaith Dialogue’. Over past few decades, the wise people from all religions all over the world have been making considerable efforts to establish communication with others by knowing about their faith and dogmas, by developing a sense of trust about them and by entering into the process of dialogue with ‘others’.
Here is an attempt to present a narrative of the first hand experiences of Hindu-Christian Dialogue organized by Focolare International with an innovative approach and also to conceptualize the very notion of ‘Dialogue’. The article ends with an articulation of the logical and practical requirements of a dialogue in the form of ‘Dice of Dialogue’.
Key-terms: Interreligious dialogue, Multi-cultural society, Plurality of religions, Harmony and Co-existence
                                                         
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