In Love with Islam, Believing in Jesus

Abstract

«At long last, English-speaking readers now have access to the most comprehensive and insightful account of the vision that inspires the rapprochement and lived interreligious dialogue between Christians and Muslims inaugurated in the life and thought of the late Paolo Dall’Oglio S.J., and the interreligious community of al-Khalil in the monastery of Mar Musa in Syria. This book is «must reading» for all of us engaged in the dialogue between Muslims and Christians in the spirit of Nostra Aetate and the life and legacy of Louis Massignon.» (Rev. Dr. Sidney H Griffith, Catholic University, Washington D. C.) In Love with Islam, Believing in Jesus is a translation of Fr. Paolo Dall’Oglio’s seminal book Amoureux de l’Islam, croyant en Jésus, written in collaboration with Églantine Gabaix-Hialé. In the book Fr. Paolo, an Italian born Jesuit who made Syria and the Monastery of Deir Mar Musa his adopted home, explains his affection for Islam and his hope for the Church and Christians to engage in more fruitful dialogue with Muslims through the sharing of everyday life. The ecumenical community dedicated to dialogue welcomes thousands of visitors from all nationalities throughout the year. With his thirty years of experience and commitment, Fr. Paolo takes a position on the relationship between the Church and Islam. Questions addressed in this book include, how to live together and what is the point of living together? How can the mission of the Christian faith take place in a Muslim environment? And what is the theological value for Christians of Muhammad’s prophecy? In his bold vision of Christian-Muslim dialogue, Fr Paolo explicitly renounces both the polemical approach and the excessively diplomatic approach, rather advocating for a «performative theology» based on radical Christian hospitality, guided by the Gospel as its source, and tending towards a final harmony inspired by the Holy Spirit and common eschatological anticipation.