Publisher's Synopsis
This inspiring issue of Sophia is dedicated to Christian-Muslim understanding. Taking as its point of departure a summary of the achievements of the first two years of the A Common Word initiative, written by HRH Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad who is the motivating force behind the initiative, it includes two additional articles directly related to A Common Word-an address by Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and an article by Joseph Lumbard titled "The Uncommonality of A Common Word." "Bosnian Christians and Bosnian Muslims" by Rusmir Mahmutcehajic takes an in depth look at continuity and discontinuity of religious traditions in that country, while the Archbishop of Antioch, George Khodr writes of the "Oneness of God's Community" from an Orthodox point of view. Vincent Cornell's contribution, "Practical Sufism: An Akbarian Foundation for a Liberal Theology of Difference," draws upon Sufi sources to outline the need for and ways to achieve inter-religious respect and tolerance. "Crossing the Great Divide: Christian Responses to the Encounter of Religion" by Harry Oldmeadow calls for a genuine ecumenism that seeks the inner and ultimate spiritual ground underlying differences. German traditionalist Roland Pietsch shares his profound understanding of traditional doctrine in his "Religious Pluralism and the Transcendent Unity of Religions."
