Folia Theologica et Canonica 10. 32/24 (2021)
Recensions
RECENSIONS 303 Sz. Szuromi, O.Praem., founded the Center of Islamic - Christian Dialogue in Al-Kut (Iraq) on March 15th 2018. The first result of this collaboration, and the first scholarly publication of the Centre, was the publication of Jesus Christ in Islamic Conception. The first publication of the Centre is the volume, entitled Muslim-Christian Coexistence Through the Holy Qur’an and Islamic Heritage, which was edited in cooperation with Wasit University (Al-Kut, Iraq) and Al-Nisoor University (Baghdad, Iraq) [i.e. Jesus Christ in Islamic Perception. A Detailed Study of Muslim - Christian Coexistence Through the Holy Qur ’an and Islamic Heritage]. The manuscript was finalized in Arabic and English at the very end of 2019. Alan Al-Hully, Marwa Abed Fahid, Marwa Barhn Farman, Marwa Muhamade Ared, and Sarah Abedulla Hatiyt contributed to the compilation of the volume. Prof. Szabolcs Anzelm Szuromi, O.Praem. has proofread the contents from a Catholic perspective. The comprehensive work thus completed consists of three main sections: I. Approaches between Islam and Other Religions (Christianity as a Model); II. Christ according to the Qur’an (Christ in the Quranic Conception); 111. Jesus Christ in the Intellectual Heritage of Ahlul Al-Bayt. The First Chapter deals with three major issues: 1) the legal relationship between Islam and Christianity through the sacred texts (Bible and Qur ’an); 2) the position of Islam from the point of view of non-Muslims outside the Islamic community; 3) the position of the Islamic community from the point of view of non-Muslims. The Second Chapter covers four further topics: 1) the titles and birth of Jesus Christ; 2) the miracles of Christ in the Qur’an and the Gospels; 3) the transmission of the gospel of Muhammad's message of Jesus Christ and Muslims’ belief in it; 4) peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians. It is clear that this chapter forms the central thought of the volume. The Muslim (Shi’a) authors have sought to be as objective as possible in the drafting of this section. This is clearly shown by the predominance of quotations from the Gospels and the Qur’an, arranged in two columns, paralleling sentences of similar - or almost identical - content. The presentation of the specific source-texts is followed by a comparative examination, which does not seek to subordinate or promote one religious interpretation or another. It merely records objectively the agreements and differences, establishing a common basis of interpretation, the acceptance of which does not require either religious community to give up its own tradition and religious identity, but nevertheless provides a clear horizon for dialogue, respecting each other’s traditional theological interpretations. This is particularly true in the case of the presentation of the significant and essential identities manifested in the doctrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which can be a specific source of further inter-religious dialogue between Christianity (including the Catholic interpretation) and Islam (including the Shi’a interpretation). The Third Chapter deals only with one topic: the nature of the relation
