Peace-Building by, between, and beyond Muslims and Evangelical Christians

This timely work addresses sensitive issues and relations between Muslims and Christians around the world. The book uniquely captures the opportunity for Christians and Muslims to come together and discuss pertinent issues such as pluralism, governance, preaching, Christian missionary efforts, and general misperceptions of Muslim and Christian communities. Joint authorship and discussion within the book is used to offer dialogue and responses between different contributors. This dialogue reveals that Christians and Muslims hold many things in common while having meaningful differences. It also shows the value of honestly sharing convictions while respecting and hearing the beliefs of another.

Abu-Nimer and Ausburger's Peace-building by, between, and beyond Muslims and Evangelical Christians shows us how through forgiveness and coexistence we can create a new humanity. Their dialogues surface hidden treasures of both communities. Their essays achieve a new form of knowing so that we see one another in humanizing contexts, allowing us to look together toward a common future. The co-editors and co-authors enable us to perceive harmony and complementarities amid great cultural diversity. People of varied backgrounds are turning to a new set of beliefs. While they may not share the same form, they do share the essential premise that the world and its people are one community. This sense of unity which includes diverse human societies is the central concept around which this book is organized. It is indispensible for those of us in peace studies and those who work toward a culture of peace., This book will appeal to those interested in Muslim-Christian dialogue, in general, and dialogue between Muslims and Evangelical Christians, in particular. Those concerned about justice and peace-making in a post-9/11 world will also find it of interest. This volume disproves those who question the possibility of genuine interfaith dialogue or who claim that such dialogue is structured solely along Christian emphases. Its contributions demonstrate that topics such as peace-making, forgiveness, justice, and respect have significant value in both traditions. . . . this book is a valuable resource for summaries of Evangelical Christian and Muslim approaches to peace-making, forgiveness and reconciliation, and interfaith dialogue., In this important book Muslims and Evangelicals discuss the resources that each community can bring to the urgent task of peace-building. But the dialogue regularly moves to a deeper level. The discussions often take the form of personal stories of hopes and fears, of quests for forgiveness and reconciliation. This book points us to exciting new possibilities for working together in promoting the common good!, The contents of this volume represent the most substantive of the scholarly presentations and responses made at two consultations, in April 2005 and April 2006, convened by faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary, the Salam Institute of Peace and Justice, and the Islamic Society of North America. The co-editors provide a helpful introduction and conclusion....Instructors of peace studies courses should not ignore the classroom potential of this text in a post-9/11 era.

Mohammed Abu-Nimer is professor in the International Peace and Conflict Resolution program for the School of International Service and director of the Peacebuilding and Development Insitute at American University. He is also the founder and director of the Salam Institute for Peace and Justice David Augsburger is professor of pastoral care and counseling in the School of Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary.