SIDNEY H. GRIFFITH'S THE CHURCH IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOSQUE: CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS IN THE WORLD OF ISLAM

Résumé

The title of Sidney Griffith's work, The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and Muslims in the World of Islam is revealing. The title itself points to the discussion of two major world religions, Christianity and Islam, and reveals that in this particular history Christianity will not be the dominating religion, Islam will be.Griffith's full title is expressed in his primary focus for the text which is, “to provide a succinct overview of the cultural and intellectual achievements, including the theological posture vis-à-vis Islam, of the Christians who spoke and wrote in Syriac and in Arabic and who lived in the world of Islam…” While this is his primary goal his ultimate hope is that by unearthing evidence of “an articulation of a new cultural expression of Christian doctrine [in Arabic]” and analyzing historical encounters between Muslims and Christians there might be “renewed Muslim/Christian dialogue.”