On Dialogue with Islam

Seyyed Hossein Nasr (see The Heart of Islam), one of my favorite writers on Islam, notes that the nearest parallel to the Qur'an in Christianity is not the Bible but Christ. Christ is the Word of God for Christians in a stronger sense than the Bible is the Word of God for Christians. For Muslims, the Qur'an is the central divine theophany itself, just as for Christians, Christ is the central theophany. Nasr goes on to compare the Prophet Muhammad to the Virgin Mary, and the use of Qur'anic Arabic (vehicle for the central divine theophany) within prayer to the reception of the body of Christ in communion. Regarding art, Nasr notes that in the place of Christian iconography there is Islamic calligraphy, which is unsurprising given the centrality of Qur'anic Arabic.

What does this mean for Christians regarding dialogue with Islam? It seems to me that in order to properly dialogue with Islam it is essential to have a fuller view of the diversity within the Christian tradition. Without an understanding of Eucharistic piety, it is difficult to understand the insistence on Qur'anic Arabic as a sacred language. Without an appreciation for icons in worship, it is difficult to grasp the respect given to calligraphy as something approaching a sacred art. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, without an appreciation for Marian piety it is difficult to understand why Muslims love the Prophet Muhammad so deeply. Consider Thomas Howard's passage (from his book On Being Catholic; apologies for loose quoting): "they all [other saints] bore witness to the Word. This woman [Mary] bore the Word."

It may be a difficulty for Americans in particular as the American sensibility seems to me to be informed by its largely Protestant formation.