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FOREIN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT – BRITISH STUDIES MAEARLY CONFRONTATION OF ISLAM –CHRISTIANIbrahim GUL November2008, UN of Bucharest

EARLY CONFRONTATION OF ISLAM –CHRISTIAN

 

ıt might be useful to mention that the facing of theChristianity and Muslim has a unique feature. While one sidebeing a prominient religion declares the others as infidel theother committed to recognize within its discource. Besides atall cost a religion put the love as a fundamental principle toits credential but in the same time it try to accomplish itsambitious with blood. This is the confrontation of the twobiggest religions that both desperately need dialogs andconsolidation.

“Christians today are not the first to confront this challenge.Since the sudden emergence of a vigorous and growing Muslimcommunity in the Arabian Peninsula in the early seventhcentury, Christians and Muslims have been forced to negotiatethe realities of face-to-face interactions in everyday life, inpolitical relations between Christian and Muslim nations, andin all-too-common violent conflicts.

Unfortunately, violence has shaped Muslims' and Christians'views of each other and generated shame and anger on bothsides. Marching under the banner of the cross, medievalCrusaders slaughtered thousands of Muslims, justifying theirbehavior in part as a response to Islamic aggression against

Christians in the East. 1

Besides, as a matter of fact, the common enemy ‘Jew’ enjoysfrom this conflict to protect itself, being a target of bothsides.

I use a fundamental text of Mr. Goddard’s Book mentioned belowdue to its commonly accepted objectivity and profoundness.

The Landmark timelines of the Christian- Muslim Interaction: -638, Jerusalem surrenders to Muslim-711, Muslim invasion of Spain-751, Turks began embracing Islam.-788 Prince Vladimir of Kiev adopts Christianity and stopMuslim accessing in Europe-1071 Byzantine lost major battle to Turks 

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FOREIN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT – BRITISH STUDIES MAEARLY CONFRONTATION OF ISLAM –CHRISTIANIbrahim GUL November2008, UN of Bucharest

The benchmark incidents explain as a prominent events thatshaped the Muslim – Christian relations. It should be mentionedthat if the Turks had not adopted Islam, the Islam might beperished from the Earth or at least might have been survived as

minor religion. This claim could be easily proved by thehistorical facts and events. Encounters with Islam:

Remarks on Goddard’s book (A history of Christian MuslimRelation (32p.85P).

In the book it is stressed out the fact that Qur'an 5:72–73 andchapter 9 place Christians in the same category as kufr , orunbelievers deserving damnation. This ambiguity has enormousimplications for the history of Christian-Muslim relationsbecause Muslims' treatment of Christians has depended uponwhich passages in the Qur'an they have emphasized.

Thus Goddard describes some of the horrors that Muslims havecommitted against Christians, he quotes the caliph al-Ma'mun,who protected a Christian debater from his angry Muslimopponent in 829: "This is a court of justice and equity: noneshall be wronged therein. So advance your arguments and answerwithout fear, for there is none here who will not speak well ofyou … Let everyone speak who has the wisdom to demonstrate thetruth of his religion. Actually the verse of the 61/62 verse

clearly declare the Christian as an potential candidate forheaven even doesn’t accede with the Islam principle; but on thecondition of being a good Christian. Also, the verse 2/62, HolyQuran “Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the f Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah

and the Last day and does good, they shall have their reward 

from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they 

grieve.” And in the same manner the verse 5/69, Holy Quaran;

“Surely those who believe and those who are Jews and the

Sabians and the Christians whoever believes in Allah (God) and 

the last day and does good-- they shall have no fear nor shall

they grieve.”

This balanced portrayal of Muslim’s treatment of Christianssets Goddard's work apart from a book like Bat Yeor's The

Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam. In this book,Yeor meticulously documents Muslim wrongs against EasternChristians, but critics have argued that it covers only theworst examples without considering more positive encounters. We

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FOREIN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT – BRITISH STUDIES MAEARLY CONFRONTATION OF ISLAM –CHRISTIANIbrahim GUL November2008, UN of Bucharest

can admit that considering the arguments and informationpresented, the objectivity of the book is certain andundeniable.

In the course of his survey, Goddard makes some interestingclaims about the history of Christian-Muslim relations. Forexample, he argues that Westerners initiated the Crusades inthe Holy Land partly out of anger over the "Cordoban martyrs,"a group of 48 Christians who were executed by Muslim rulers inIslamic Spain from 850 to 859 for desecrating Muhammad's name.

Goddard also outlines conflicting Christian responses to Islam.

Like any historic, Goddard writes from a non theologicalposition that evangelicals can embrace. Goddard is giving us abook that appreciates nuance and portrays the complicatedhistory of Christian-Muslim relations that so many of us mighteasily (and wrongly) simplify.

 

DISCUSSION

-The early confrontation did lead the route of the history? -What was the positive result of this interaction? -What is the worst result of this confrontation? -How this asset could be used for establishing a compromisingenvironment? a) The crux point of the clash of the two religions is “todeclare war to the infidel”. Both of the religions tried to absorb each other using thebloody way and method. As a matter of fact, this confrontation changed the destiny ofthe humanity from the aspect of sociology and religion. This enmity was always used for political purpose also. b) Positive result is that each religion, due to thisconfrontation, confronted itself; they judged and assessedtheir belief using the other.

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FOREIN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT – BRITISH STUDIES MAEARLY CONFRONTATION OF ISLAM –CHRISTIANIbrahim GUL November2008, UN of Bucharest

Actually the text of the 61/62 verse clearly declares theChristians as potential candidates for Heaven, even don’taccord with the Islam principle; but on the condition of beinga good Christian. Also, the verse, in the same manner justifies

that the Christian believers together with other religionmembers who have Scripture (Hak kitapli dinler/ehlel kitap)canbe the people of Paradise together with Muslims.

They invented new method to defend their faith. Also, they havetried to coordinate in a peaceful environment to live. Alsodoing this they took a position against the nonbeliever andthe belief system that reject God or His Oneness, such as thepagans or atheist ones. c) The worst result was the seed of enmity planted in thebosoms of the believer; this directing to a clash ofcivilization. Civilization is inevitably getting shaped fromthe value of the religion. That means the distance of two sidesis expanding and thus causing emancipation of the extremist. d) Civil human understands that religion means peace andrespect to the others. Both sides begin to seek a dialogue thatwould lead for all human beings to have a more peacefulsociety. They are pledged to have a faith by which the creationof God must be respected and loved. Bearing in mind that thebloody confrontation of the two lead to the fact that a bettertolerance began to take place among themselves.

CONCLUSION

The Muslim and Christian relation began with tolerance, respectand cooperation but sometimes with murder, hostility, on otheroccasion. This does not infer clash of civilization but a kindof amalgamation of civilization in the faith pot.Quran say” Jesus is God’s servant ad messenger; a spirit andword from God that he bestowed on the virgin Marry.”

Goddard, mentioning one agreement between Muslims and Christianthat: “there is to be (mutual) “help” between them againstwhoever wars against the people of this document.” “The so-called “secularism” that would silence all themonotheistic religions through accusations of fundamentalism,or that exalts dialogue by negating their differences, intendsto blot out the age-old conflict that has pitted the two

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FOREIN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT – BRITISH STUDIES MAEARLY CONFRONTATION OF ISLAM –CHRISTIANIbrahim GUL November2008, UN of Bucharest

religious communities against one another. Above all, itintends to neutralize the Roman pontiff, who has shown himselfcapable of blocking the Islamic advance and saving Christiancivilization. “3

Sequence of steps to find the clear answer to this toocomplicated issue makes nearly impossible for each side,because it has couple of ten different understandings in whichthe margin goes to extremist to the mode rest ones as it was inthe history. This feature makes the topic a contradictory one.

I dare say both religions are monotheist, giving the lovepriority; much common belief is that they have to makeavailable enough room for dialogue. As historical fact thenormative aspect of the issue is open-ended; no one hasconcrete clue to separate religion from historical fact, the

norm intermingled as such do not allow as to have real pictureof it.

“Jews and Christians treated as the people of the Book. Thechronicle of zuqnin describes how, in around 770, the Muslimtook advantage of a period of warfare and crippling taxation:to wriggle among the poor villager like worms in wood. Onlythen did mass conversion begin in earness”. 4 The impact of theeconomy indispensable part of major motive that shape the humanbehaviors._______________________________________________________________

 1) Andrew Saperstein is associate director of the Reconciliation Program at Yale

Divinity School's Center for Faith and Culture. Designation of Apostle to Islam."

Retrieved fromhttp://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/2007/issue94/14.32.html?start=1 2) De Hugh Goddard, A history of Christian Muslim Relation. (32p.85P) Goddard, aprofessor of Christian-Muslim relations at the University of Nottingham, is wellqualified to write this book. He writes for fellow scholars and students, but hisfluid and accessible style shows he also has the general reader in mind. He avoidsacademic jargon and follows events chronologically, working his way from Muhammad's

earliest encounters with Christians to Muslim-Christian relations today.

Retrieved fromhttp://books.google.ro/books?id=VMOU3UoNysQC&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=Christian-Muslim+Interaction&source=bl&ots=b1Fp92jIPB&sig=fd4OzOuvotVNxSk6P7JNu6JO5bc&hl=ro&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPP1,M1 3) Christianity and Islam in History by Walter Brandmüller; Retrieved,http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/history/world/wh0110.html 

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 4) Peter Brown, the Rise of Western Christendom (triumph andDiversity).A.D.200-1000; 2003-USA

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