The three Jesuits pioneers of Christian-Muslim dialogue in India presented by Joseph Victor Edwin are:
Victor Courtois from Belgium, Christian W. Troll from Germany and Paul Jackson from Australia.
He describes their high caliber academic backgrounds and awesome travels. In this profound and meticulous work, Victor Edwin shows that they are deeply spiritual and caringly compassionate persons who located inter-personal dialogical relationships within the mystery of divine presence. He illustrates how these revered authors combined bridge-building between communities with pneumatology of the heart. They accessed the commonalities shared by Christians and Muslims through analysis of their faith and worship of the living God, through highlighting the similarities of their spiritual experiences and by describing their concrete efforts to heal social ills.
Victor Edwin demonstrates how Courtois initiated a paradigm shift in Christian-Muslim relations, moving from polemical attitudes to mystical collaboration, while Christian Troll and Paul Jackson carried dialogue forward into the areas of theology and spirituality. We learn how Christian Troll used ‘discernment’ and ‘witness to faith’ to create a spiritual confluence with Muslims, and so nurture deep relationships with them. Then Victor Edwin gives a shining coverage of Paul Jackson’s plunge into the spirituality of the Sufi saint Sharafuddin Maneri, for whom repentance, or ‘turning back’ to God, has to be complemented by ‘service to the needy’ and ‘prayer without ceasing’ – a programme similar to Christian protocols. The three Jesuits inspire us to remain rooted in Christ while building relationships with people of other faiths, so as to promote harmony and peace through inter-religious dialogue.
TITLE: A New Spirit in Christian-Muslim Relations in India – Three Jesuit Pioneers
AUTHOR: JOSEPH VICTOR EDWIN, SJ
PUBLISHER: The Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, (ISPCK) Delhi, and the Henry Martyn
Institute (HMI), Hyderabad
PAGES: 291
PRICE: 350/-
