The history of Christian-Muslim relations

Course objective (study guide) 

After completing this course the student has: - knowledge of and insight into the historical context of the relationships between Christianity and Islam; - knowledge of central theological themes that have been discussed in interreligious relations; - insight into the historical roots that underlie current images and social imageries; - developed a conceptual framework to be able to analyze various forms of interreligious relationships; - insight into contemporary practices of interreligious dialogue in the Netherlands. 

Course content (study guide) 

This Building Interreligious Relations 2 course enters into the history of interreligious relations between ‘Christian Europe’ and ‘the Muslim world’ from the 7th century to the present. Profound knowledge of this history is essential for understanding contemporary interreligious dynamics in Europe. In order to gain insight into various (perennial) arguments that have been used in the European context, we will study primary source texts. These texts represent a history of dialogue and polemics, of conflict and cohabitation. Through the "layer-by-layer" approach of Hugh Goddard (2002:3), we will gain a thorough understanding of contemporary perspectives on relationships between Christians and Muslims in a global age. Through individual and group assignments, we will explore the contextualized practice of interreligious relations in the Netherlands, looking at material used in local dialogue initiatives, media, politics and popular culture 

Teaching methods (study guide) 

(up to) 12 seminars (lectures and working groups) - Each class has to be prepared through reading assignments. - In each working group, source texts will be discussed. - Each student has to participate in a group presentation (the first working group will be used to explain and distribute the topics). - The final two weeks must be used to write a paper and a book review.