ABSTRACT

In recent years, political events have catapulted the relationship between Islam and Christianity into the spotlight, raising questions about the dynamics that have led to the variety of interactions that exist between the two religious communities today. There is a great desire to find resources in both religions to overcome current tensions, and in consequence scholars have begun to examine with new eyes the ways in which various ideas and concepts present at the origins of Islam developed through the subsequent 14 centuries. The past shapes the world in which we live, and historical events and ideas lie at the foundations of contemporary communal identities. Without a clearer understanding of the seeds of longstanding conflict and their attendant events and ideas, little progress will be made in resolving tensions or in cultivating communities that can thrive.