The Study of Islam between University Theology and Lived Religion: Introductory Reflections

Abstract

ABSTRACTWhat do we understand by the study of Islamic theology within the European academic framework? In this issue of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, scholars of Christian and Islamic theology and of religious studies debate how to construct theoretical and empirical contexts around 'Islamic theology' as an academic discipline that is profoundly etic, and for doing theology as an emic praxis. The question concerns how we design course programmes, curricula and research projects. What are the implications of historical-critical or critical-hermeneutic approaches for the academic study of Islamic theology? What may be the consequences of integrating a critical gender perspective into inter-religious studies? If introducing Islamic theology at European universities turns Christian faculties into multi-religious institutions, will they make space for inter-religious ways of doing theology? May social contexts impact on how Islamic theology is taught and discussed in a Northern European university setting? Will Islamic theology be formatted as 'university theology' in interaction with the lived Islamic religion in the European context? These articles present an invitation to researchers, students and policy-makers, to continue responding to local needs in religiously plural societies and to further stimulate discussions about the study and practice of Islamic theology as a Western academic discipline.