Tag Archives: Dialogue

Evangelical-Muslim Dialogue at Fuller

In April, Fuller Theological Seminary hosted the third Evangelical Christian-Muslim Conference. The theme was “A Common Word between us and you“. The conference brought together evangelical and Muslim scholars from many educational institutions, mission agencies and countries to enhance the work of justice and peace.

Among the evangelicals present were: Donald Wagner, Leith Anderson, Gary Burge, Len Rogers, Colin Chapman, Dudley Woodbury, and Martin Accad. Muslim leaders include: Mahmoud Ayoub, Assad Busool, Asma Afsaruddin, Muhammad Sammak, Jamal Badawi, Sayid Sayeed, Abed Ismail.

Several present were signators of the Common Word declaration and the Christian Response initiaited by Yale. The two previous conferences in Chicago (November 2006) and Tripoli (January 2008) were formative and educational meetings with important friendships gained and fruitful dialogue exchanged. Sponsors include North Park University in Chicago, Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena and the World Islamic Call Society of Tripoli.

You can now view the photo album here.

During the conference I delivered a paper entitled “Christian Minorities living under Muslim rule”

You can view the paper here:

Christian Minorities Living Under Islamic Rule from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.

Christian Minorities Living Under Muslim Rule: Fuller Seminary

A paper delivered at the third evangelical Christian-Muslim Conference sponsored by North Park University in Chicago, Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena and the World Islamic Call Society of Tripoli.

“Clearly the status of Christians living under Muslim rule is a controversial subject. Some might even call it a ‘minefield’. It has evoked strong opinions on both sides. There are some within the Islamic community who seem to be in denial as to the contemporary difficulties faced by Christian minorities. And there are some within the Christian (and Jewish) community who exaggerate and exacerbate these tensions for their own purposes.

I will begin with a brief history of the development of dhimmi status for Christian minorities; I will present two contrasting interpretations, give an assessment of the status of Christian minorities today, and then offer a (middle) way forward that neither ignores the anxieties of Christian minorities nor demonises Muslim majorities for the tensions that still exist between our two faith communities.”

You can read the full paper here or download a pdf here.

Read Tim Morgan’s Christianity Today blog of the conference here.

Meet some of the participants here.

A Common Word Between Us and You

I am at Fuller Theological Seminary participating in the third Evangelical Christian Muslim Conference. The theme is “A Common Word between us and you“. The conference has brought together evangelical and Muslim scholars from many educational institutions, mission agencies and countries to enhance the work of justice and peace.

Among the evangelicals here are: Donald Wagner, Leith Anderson, Gary Burge, Len Rogers, Colin Chapman, Dudley Woodbury, and Martin Accad. Muslim leaders include: Mahmoud Ayoub, Assad Busool, Asma Afsaruddin, Muhammad Sammak, Jamal Badawi, Sayid Sayeed, Abed Ismail.

Several present were signators of the Common Word declaration and the Christian Response initiaited by Yale. The two previous conferences in Chicago (November 2006) and Tripoli (January 2008) were formative and educational meetings with important friendships gained and fruitful dialogue exchanged. Sponsors include North Park University in Chicago, Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena and the World Islamic Call Society of Tripoli.

During the conference I delivered a paper entitled “Christian Minorities living under Muslim rule” You can read it here or as a pdf here.