First published in 1991, this title explores the myths and misperceptions that have underpinned Muslim-Christian relations throughout history, and which endure to the current day. William Montgomery Watt describes how the myths originated and developed, and argues that both Muslims and Christians need to have a more accurate knowledge and positive appreciation of the other religion. Chapters discuss the Qur’anic perception of Christianity, attitudes to Greek philosophy and the relationship between Islam and Christianity in medieval Europe. Written by one of the leading authorities on Islam in the West, Muslim-Christian Encounters remains a relevant and vivid study and will be of particular value to students of Islam, religious history and sociology.

The first Christians to meet Muslims were not Latin-speaking Christians from the western Mediterranean or Greek-speaking Christians from Constantinople but rather Christians from northern Mesopotamia who spoke the Aramaic dialect of Syriac. Living in what constitutes modern-day Iran, Iraq, Syria, and eastern Turkey, these Syriac Christians were under Muslim rule from the seventh century to the present. They wrote the earliest and most extensive accounts of Islam and described a complicated set of religious and cultural exchanges not reducible to the solely antagonistic. Through its critical introductions and new translations of this invaluable historical material, When Christians First Met Muslims allows scholars, students, and the general public to explore the earliest interactions of what eventually became the world's two largest religions, shedding new light on Islamic history and Christian-Muslim relations.

Hugh Goddard investigates the history of the relationships between Christians and Muslims over the centuries.

The contributions in this volume deal with crucial subjects of political and theological dialogue and controversy that characterized the varying responses of the Christian communities in the Byzantine Eastern provinces to the Islamic conquest and its subsequent impact on Byzantine society and history.

Already published in Arabic, French, German, Dutch, and Romanian, this highly inspiring book is now available in English. It is the true story of a well-known Egyptian lady, a highly intellectual high school principal. She was a Muslim with a fanatic opposition to Christians until she saw the light of Christ. Baptized by a Coptic priest, she became a Christian. As a result she was wanted and hunted by the Egyptian police, until she was able to escape miraculously.

In this book, Michael Nazir-Ali, author of Conviction and Conflict: Islam, Christianity and World Order (2006), discusses themes of major theological and missiological importance for the Christian encounter with Islam. Chapters include ÒThe Christian Doctrine of God in an Islamic Context,Ó ÒContextualization: The Bible and the Believer in Contemporary Muslim Society,Ó ÒChristian Theology for Inter-Faith Dialogue,Ó and ÒWholeness and Fragmentation: The Gospel and Repression.Ó

The Character of Christian-Muslim Encounter is a Festschrift in honour of David Thomas, Professor of Christianity and Islam at the University of Birmingham. Over 30 essays pay tribute to this scholar by engaging topics within his own academic fields.