All seminars are streamed via Zoom at 16:10 London time. Some are held in the Rainy Hall (New College) but will also be streamed online via Zoom. To join any of these seminars via Zoom and for any related enquiries, please email the Convenor, Dr Shadaab Rahemtulla, at s.rahemtulla@ed.ac.uk. Monday, 17 January – ‘Christian-Muslim Relations in Sri Lanka: Liberating Faiths from the Empire’ Dr Jude Lal Fernando – Assistant Professor of Religion (Trinity College Dublin) Monday, 7 February – ‘Archival Sensibilities in Arabic Historiography: Case Studies from Mamluk Egypt and Syria’ Dr Fozia Bora – A ..read more

Historical Encounters Note: This post accompanies the material for an online course in Christian-Muslim relations offered by staff at the University of Edinburgh. You can now join this course for free here. Discussion on Week 3 of the course explored the significance of language within intercommunal relations. Learners commented on the way that language has affected both Christian-Muslim relations and the way that various different churches have engaged with each other and with Islam. To recap just a few: While Syriac Christians in the Middle East were the first Christians to engage with Musl ..read more

Jesus and Prophet Muhammad Note: This post accompanies the material for an online course in Christian-Muslim relations offered by staff at the University of Edinburgh. You can now join this course for free here. Many Learners expressed concerns about the tone of the texts we read in Week 2 of the course. Learners have been disturbed by how, well, uncivil many of these texts are. Some have also engaged in debates about which points are more historically accurate than others. These are understandable reactions, but the hope is that we can engage a little more deeply with these texts than that. H ..read more

The Bible and the Qur’an Note: This post accompanies the material for an online course in Christian-Muslim relations offered by staff at the University of Edinburgh. You can now join this course for free here. The title of ‘Abrahamic faiths’ – as Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are sometimes called – would seem to suggest a level of unity centered around the figure of Abraham. Indeed, many religious leaders of all three faiths have issued invitations toward interfaith dialogue on the basis of a shared appreciation of Abraham’s hospitality. Abraham was known for receiving strangers with kindne ..read more

All research seminars begin at 16:10. They are held in the Rainy Hall (New College) and will also be streamed online via Zoom. To join via Zoom and for any other enquiries, please email the Convenor, Dr Shadaab Rahemtulla, at s.rahemtulla@ed.ac.uk. 28 September – PhD Panel ‘Sacred Law in the Modern World’ Vanessa Goodwin: ‘The Juristic Challenges of Modern Fertility Treatments: Jewish and Muslim Engagements’ Jaan Islam: ‘Mujahids or Mujtahids? The Influence of Classical Legal Schools on Contemporary “Salafi-Jihadi” Jurisprudence’ 12 October – Webinar ‘Can Muslim Women Marry Non-Muslims? A Scri ..read more

Embracing Hope-filled Hospitality Dr Steve Cochrane, University of the Nations This photo shows a Christian monastery, Rabban Hormizd, that for over a thousand years was a place of life and witness. It housed refugees for several months after the ISIS attacks. The modern monastery still functions on the Ninevah Plains below. Credit: Steve Cochrane The four-day visit of Pope Francis to Iraq in March 2021 was filled with indications of hope, whether in meetings with Christian communities or Muslim leaders. It was the first time in history that a pope had visited Iraq, conveying not only his own ..read more

Note: This post accompanies the material for an online course in Christian-Muslim relations offered by staff at the University of Edinburgh. You can find more information about this course and its aims here. © MJJR, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 Many course participants expressed dismay about the issue of Christian-Muslim relations in Egypt. Comments suggested worry about the difficulties that Coptic Christians in rural areas of Egypt have faced in building churches, as well as in other areas of everyday life. This is despite the fact that the president of Egypt promotes tolerance pub ..read more

Note: This post accompanies the material for an online course in Christian-Muslim relations offered by staff at the University of Edinburgh. You can find more information about this course and its aims here. Photo by Mahamed Salama on Unsplash The third week of this course explored some of the earliest historical encounters between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East and Europe. This included a ‘virtual tour’ of contested religious sites in modern-day Turkey and Spain, but also an introduction to the history of Syriac Christianity. For many course participants, the hi ..read more

Note: This post accompanies the material for an online course in Christian-Muslim relations offered by staff at the University of Edinburgh. You can find more information about this course and its aims here. Virgin Mary and Jesus, Old Persian Miniature (unknown) Wikimedia Commons, public domain This week’s course readings focused on the differences and similarities between the roles of Jesus Christ and the prophet Muhammad, as well as how Christians and Muslims have approached them throughout centuries of dialogue and polemic. Course participants read the differing accounts of Christ’s bi ..read more

Note: This post accompanies the material for an online course in Christian-Muslim relations offered by staff at the University of Edinburgh. You can find more information about this course and its aims here. © Caravaggio, Uffizi, Wikimedia Commons, public domain Participants on the course are diverse in terms of their geographic and faith background, and a mapping exercise in the course introduction helped to establish the breadth of global experience that participants bring to the course. This diversity was represented by the way that participants reflected on the content and interacted ..read more