Daniel analyzes the religious dynamics underlying this difference in political participation. More recently, Marloes Janson and Birgit Meyer have called upon scholars to move beyond the bifurcated study of religion in Africa. Nevertheless, comparative ethnographies of Christians and Muslims are still few and far between. Most of the existing anthropological research in this direction focuses on interreligious encounters, interactions and relations outstanding examples include the work of John Peel , En-Chieh Chao and Angie Heo.
Notwithstanding the importance of such work, we suggest that a comparative ethnographic analysis of Muslims and Christians — who do not necessarily interact much but live together under shared social and political conditions — has a distinct analytical potential.
It moves beyond cultural, political and academic conceptions of difference by investigating Muslims and Christians within, as Benjamin Soares has put it, a single conceptual framework. Scrutinizing the commonalities and specificities of Muslims and Christians in the same societies makes an important political point too.
Researchers are therefore faced with the politics of their knowledge production , not least in the face of state institutions treating all or some Muslim citizens as security threats. Anthropologists and other social scientists can critically address such a politics of religious difference, not only in Muslim-minority settings, but also in societies in which Christians are in structurally disadvantaged positions.
Moving toward a more comparative approach to Christian and Muslim lives does not mean that scholars should disregard religious differences but, rather, expose the extent to which many Muslim and Christian communities share common ground that shapes their lived realities in ways that are partly similar and partly distinct. Certainly, any comparative project comes with its own challenges — like that of not losing sight of the diversities within the groups being compared.
Nevertheless, we posit that comparative ethnographies of Muslims and Christians can move the study of religion forward in crucial ways. Working on questions of religious pluralism, religious commitment and heritage in Europe, he is currently completing a book manuscript on everyday religious pursuits among young Muslims and Christians in the Netherlands.
I agree with this approach, but I think that this common platform may end up with a position outside the religious discourses. Editor's Note: If you want to learn to share your faith with a Muslim Friend, be sure to check out our free guide! Matt holds a Ph. Follow Matt on Twitter. We use cookies to improve your experience on our website.
Please read our privacy policy to find out more. Skip to main content. Time is short. Eternity matters. Help missionaries get to the field. Search form Search this site. Give Contact My Account Locations. Search this site. While there is overlap between Christianity and Islam in key areas, the missionary must recognize the critical differences. Compellingly Different While there are many other elements of Islam and Christianity that might be compared, these three highlight the core differences that make the faiths definitively different.
About the Author. Sin is rebellion against God. Satan is an angel Angels are defined in the Bible as heavenly servants of God who act as His messengers Last Days There will be bodily resurrection and final judgment with final destination. All Muslims go to heaven, though some must be purged of their sins first. All infidels are destined for hell There will be bodily resurrection in the last days.
Muslims, Christians and Jews do all worship the same complex God. Yet, in spite of this, all believe that their religion contains the full and final revelation of the same God. Here is the origin of their unity. Here also lies the cause of their division. For this belief in the truth of one religion and the falsity of the others leads to inevitable conflict between the believer and the unbeliever, the chosen and the rejected, the saved and the damned. Here lie the seeds of intolerance and violence.
So the God of Muhammad, like the God of Jesus and Moses, divides as much as he unites, a cause of strife both between and within these religions.
Festival of Social Science — Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire. Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. Become an author Sign up as a reader Sign in. Wikimedia images.
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