Muslim-Christian Encounter 2022 KCI Impact Factor : 0.14

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pISSN : 1976-8117 / eISSN : 2671-678X

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2021, Vol.14, No.1

  • 1.

    A Comparative Study on the Fear of God in Sufism and Christianity : Based on the Understandings of Al-Ghazali and Paul

    Euichang Kim | 2021, 14(1) | pp.7~42 | number of Cited : 0
    Abstract PDF
    Miroslav Volf compares the Muslim faith and that of Christian and argues that both of them share a similar understanding of the fear of God. Volf thus suggests that the idea of having a common God and the common fear of that God can motivate both Muslims and Christians to purse the common good. This paper aims to evaluate Volf's argument by examining the concept of the fear of God in Sufism and Christianity. This paper examines the writings of Al-Ghazali and that of Paul to compare their understandings of the topic, fear of God. This comparative study will enable us to understand the similarities and differences in the understandings of Sufism and of Christianity. In addition, it will provide a common ground on which the two religious groups can continue or start their conversation. On one hand, there are clear similarities between Al-Ghazali's understanding of the fear of God and Paul's. Both understand the fear of God as the appropriate attitude of believers, and this fear of God derives from the eschatological perspective, that is the understanding of God as the eschatological judge. On the other hand, there are also differences in the understandings of Al-Ghazali and Paul. Al-Ghazali understands and explains fear as a couplet with hope, and argues that the believers are to overcome the former and focus on the latter. However, Paul does not understand the fear of God as something to overcome, rather he argues that all believes should contain the fear of God. In addition, the hope that Al-Ghazali mentions is about the forgiving of sins at the last judgment, while Paul explains understands hope as the hope of resurrection that is given to all believers whose sins are already forgiven. Only when one rightly understands the similarities and differences between the understanding of the fear of God in Sufism and Christianity, there can be a true conversation between the two groups.
  • 2.

    Lessons on the Adaptive Reuse of Mosques into Cathedrals: A Case Study of the Cordoba ‘Mosque-Cathedral’

    Byun,Chang Uk | 2021, 14(1) | pp.43~77 | number of Cited : 0
    Abstract PDF
    Conflict and tolerance coexisted during the Muslim rule of medieval Islamic Spain (711-1492). Islam, which successfully conquered the Iberian Peninsula in 715, destroyed most church buildings in Andalusia, Spain, and converted some into mosques. This study examines the historical process in which the basilica church was converted into mosques, and then re-converted into churches after the Spanish Reconquista. That is to say, this study analyzes the adaptive reuse of Cordoba's Mosque into a Cathedral from historical and architectural perspectives and examines the missiological rationale behind it. The following are the missiological implications and applications for today. First, the conversion of the Cordoba mosque to cathedral demonstrates the adaptive reuse of physical buildings as a place of Christian worship. Second, the Cordoba Mosque-Cathedral can serve as a bridge for dialogue and reconciliation between Christianity and Islam. Third, the Cordoba Mosque-Cathedral represents a historical legacy to foster peaceful coexistence and tolerance rather than conflict and violence.
  • 3.

    Missional Implications of Thomas Aquinas’s Works in Islamic Context

    Hyung Jin Park | 2021, 14(1) | pp.79~113 | number of Cited : 0
    Abstract PDF
    Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) represents a theological legacy of the Medieval Times with his Scholastic theology that covers most of the matters comprehensively and systematically. Then, do his enormous works contain any portion of writings that address the missional concerns of his time? He lived his life in the midst of the Crusades when the relationship between Christians and non-Christians in general got worsened and the tension between Christians and Muslims in particular got more aggravated. Among his works, this study inquires about three magna opera, i.e, Summa Theologica, Summa Contra Gentiles, and De Unitate Intellectus Contra Averroistas. Each demonstrates the quintessence of his theological and philosophical genius and stance. In what sense do these three works contain Tomas’s missional concerns for so-called the Infidels of his time? Who are they? What are the missional implications of his works? Thomas laid the groundwork of his approach and outreach to the Infidels. For muslims who do not accept the authority of the Christian Scripture, it is not helpful to use the Bible. They don’t have the capacity to understand the divine truth based on the special revelation of God. Rather, he uses the natural reasons to refute the errors of pagan thoughts based on Aristotelian philosophy. Aristotelianism was warmly welcomed in the Islamic world and flourished during the Middle Ages. For Jews, he argues, Christians can use the Old Testament to refute their errors in Judaism. Likewise, the New Testament can be used to correct the heretics and apostates who were once Christians. Overall, Thomas Aquinas played his role as a philosopher rather than a theologian to communicate the Christian message to the unbelievers, especially to the muslims. In this sense, he was a missional apologist of his time.
  • 4.

    The issue of ‘Globality’ and ‘Religiosity’ among Muslim youth in Indonesia : K-pop Dance Cover and Hijrah K-pop Phenomena

    Eui Young Kyung | 2021, 14(1) | pp.115~156 | number of Cited : 1
    Abstract PDF
    This study is an in-depth attempt to understand the perception and change of Muslim youth’s religious identity which is involved in the phenomena of the ‘K-pop Dance Cover’, which has become a kind of subculture among Indonesian Muslim youth, and the ‘Hijrah K-pop’ campaign that started with anti-Korean Wave sentiment at the opposite point, considering both in the line of ‘globality’ and ‘locality’. Muslim women who participate in K-pop dance covers refuse to associate their ‘activities’ with ‘religiosity’, and rather that is a choice and desire for ‘self-actualization’ and ‘better values’ to participate in ‘globality’, not ‘secularization’. On the other hand, the ‘Hijra K-pop’ campaign, led by Ex-Kpopers who experienced this cultural assimilation, is the result of choosing ‘religiousness’ again by ‘self-awareness’ on culture – that is ‘Islamic’ and ‘non-Islamic’. This opposite phenomenon of Muslim women who are experiencing various cultural acculturation amid globalization reflects the complex and pluralistic aspects of Indonesian Muslim society, and this ‘difference’ and ‘change’ of perception among them exemplifies that the prominent authority and role of Islam will become more multi-polarized, differentiated, and personalized in the process of globalization and modernization.
  • 5.

    MAJOR THEMES OF CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM RELATIONS IN PAKISTAN

    In Young Kim | 2021, 14(1) | pp.157~193 | number of Cited : 0
    Abstract PDF
    This paper investigates the scope and features of Christian-Muslim relations (CMR) in Pakistan. It will start with examining the history and context of Christian-Muslim relations in Pakistan and recent trends and contemporary discussions on this subject. Particularly, it will close look into main issues and themes of addressed by both Christians and Muslims in detail. In conclusion, it will appraise Pakistan's Christian Muslim relations.