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305110158.Pdf View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Apollo Questioning the Promotion of Friendship in Interfaith Dialogue: Interfaith Friendship in Light of the Emphasis on Particularity in Scriptural Reasoning Jennifer Ruth Fields Jesus College 9 December 2019 This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. This thesis is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any work that has already been submitted before for any degree or other qualification except as declared in the preface and specified in the text. It does not exceed the prescribed word limit for the Faculty of Divinity Degree Committee. ABSTRACT Questioning the Promotion of Friendship in Interfaith Dialogue: Interfaith Friendship in Light of the Emphasis on Particularity in Scriptural Reasoning Jennifer Ruth Fields ‘Friendship’ is among the buzzwords such as ‘peace’, ‘tolerance’, and ‘understanding’, that are part of a shared vocabulary in the interfaith world. In discussions of the goals and benefits of interfaith dialogue, buzzwords such as ‘friendship’ are often implicitly presented as a common currency, and there is little attempt to explore how people within each religious tradition might define, shape, and describe them differently. How might, for example, Christians and Muslims differ in their opinions on the nature, possibilities, and limits of interfaith friendship? Looking at general interfaith dialogue material and at material for a specific type of interfaith dialogue, ‘Scriptural Reasoning’, I consider Christian and Muslim discourse, including promotional material for charities, speeches by religious leaders, religious documents, non-academic material (e.g. online forums, magazines), and academic material. I also look at discussions regarding the Qur’ānic verses about friendship with the religious other, which are one source of a specifically Muslim approach to the idea of interfaith friendship. My data shows that Christians tend to depict friendship as an obvious goal or benefit of interfaith dialogue, typically without explaining what interfaith friendship entails. Muslims tend to use friendship language much more sparingly in the context of interfaith dialogue, and when they do use it, it is with caveats. I note how the generic use of friendship language creates tension with the efforts to pay 'attention to the particularities of the traditions and scriptures' that the founders and practitioners of Scriptural Reasoning, among others, advocate. What questions does this analysis raise about how we frame and promote interfaith dialogue, and what other approaches to naming the goals or benefits of dialogue may be available, once attention to the particularities has made the appeal to friendship more complex? Acknowledgements Prior to the start of my third and final year at the University of Cambridge, I was in a horrific car accident, which sadly resulted in the death of The Rev. Dr. John Hughes, Dean of Jesus College Chapel. I was left with numerous critical injuries – some of which have left me with chronic pain – and I have since had sixteen major surgeries and many hospital stays. I mention this only to provide a backdrop for the extraordinary circumstances through which my supervisors, Prof. Mike Higton and Prof. David Ford, supported me, guided me, and encouraged me. I am extremely fortunate to have supervisors who are so patient, caring, empathetic, and kind. They cheered me on even when I did not have the confidence in myself or my work. Prof. Higton in particular spent countless hours coaching and mentoring me via Skype, and providing thorough and constructive feedback on my work. Thank you, Mike and David, for everything you have done over the past seven years! I am also incredibly grateful for all of the financial support I received throughout my time in Cambridge. My thanks goes to The Polonsky Foundation for providing a full Ph.D. studentship grant via the Cambridge Inter-faith Programme, as well as extra funding during my medical intermission. Thank you to those at the Cambridge Inter-faith Programme who used the grant from The Polonsky Foundation to fund my Ph.D. work. Thank you to Funds for Women Graduates for the grant that funded one academic year of study. Thank you to The Worshipful Company of Cutlers for awarding me the Craythorne Scholarship. Thank you to Jesus College alumnus, John Driscoll, for gifting me a grant through the Jane Bourque-Driscoll Fund. Thank you to everyone at Jesus College for the many times they provided me with financial assistance via various funds: Former Master Ian White, Prof. Tim Wilkinson, Dr Geoff Parks, Dr. Vanessa Bowman, Dr. Timothy Jenkins, and Sheena Bridgman. Also, to Dr. Ruth Morse and Prof. Stefan Collini, I am grateful for your generosity and I look forward to extending the same generosity to a Ph.D. student in need! Thank you to my family – especially Dad, Mom, and Rebecca – for the countless cards, care packages, and words of encouragement. Thank you to the friends who have been so supportive, especially Jane Keiller, Dr. Bill Jaap, The Snyders, and The Fords. Emily Winslow Stark: thank you for your friendship, and for your encouragement to have our weekly writing sessions, which have been immensely helpful and fun! Finally, to my husband and best friend, Sean: I love you so much. I appreciate you for all that you have endured since our arrival in Cambridge. You have been so patient, loving, kind, supportive, helpful, encouraging, inspirational…the list goes on and on. I am such a lucky lady to have you by my side! THANK YOU! in memory of The Rev. Dr. John Hughes NOTE REGARDING ARABIC TERMS & THE QUR’ĀN When I refer to Arabic terms, I will follow the system of transliteration as presented in the International Journal of Middle East Studies, with slight modifications: I do not underline th, kh, dh, sh, or gh. When quoting from The Qur’ān, I will primarily use A.J. Arberry’s English translation. However, for the sake of comparing the interpretation of specific Arabic terminology, I have selected four works from among the most widely used English translations of the Qur’ān: the translations by Yusuf Ali, Muhammad Abdel Haleem, Muhammad M. Pickthall, as well as the translation jointly authored by Muhammad Taqi al- Din al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan. I will refer only to the authors’ last names in the footnotes, though the full citations are available in the Bibliography. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 —PART 1 FRIENDSHIP IN GENERAL INTERFAITH DIALOGUE— 1.1 FRIENDSHIP IN GENERAL INTERFAITH MATERIAL 7 Friendship Language in Charity Organisations 8 Religious Leaders Using Friendship Language 13 Friendship Language in Religious Documents 17 Friendship Language in Non-Academic Material 25 Friendship Language in Academic Discourse 30 Prioritising Interreligious Friendship 30 Interreligious Friendship as an Instrument 33 Interreligious Friendship Involves a Transcendent Third Party 34 Other Examples 37 Conclusion 40 1.2 FRIENDSHIP IN MUSLIM INTERFAITH MATERIAL 42 Friendship Language in Muslim Charity Organisations 43 Understanding and Respect 50 Trust and Cooperation 52 Defensiveness, Outrage, and Building Relationships 53 Muslim Leaders Using Friendship Language 58 Friendship Language in Muslim Religious Documents 68 Friendship Language in Muslim Non-Academic Material 82 Friendship Language in Muslim Academic Discourse 99 Friendship Without Mention of the Qur’ān 119 Conclusion 126 ——PART 2 FRIENDSHIP IN SCRIPTURAL REASONING—— 2.1 PARTICULARITY IN SCRIPTURAL REASONING MATERIAL 129 Description of Scriptural Reasoning 129 Attention to the Particularities in Scriptural Reasoning Discourse 134 Attention to the Particularities of the Traditions 136 Attention to the Particularities of the Scriptures 137 Attention to the Particularities of the Individuals 139 Attention to the Particularities in Descriptions of Scriptural Reasoning 141 Attention to the Particularities in the Practice of Scriptural Reasoning 147 Conclusion 154 2.2 FRIENDSHIP IN SCRIPTURAL REASONING MATERIAL 156 Initial Framing of Friendship 157 Friendship and Trust 160 Friendship, Trust, and Disagreement 161 Friendship and Hospitality 163 Friendship and Consensus 164 Conclusion 166 CONCLUSION 168 Questions for Further Research 172 BIBLIOGRAPHY 174 Works Cited 174 Selected Works Consulted 187 #1 INTRODUCTION Before beginning the research for this thesis, I had often informally observed Christian, Jewish, and Muslim participants of and advocates for Scriptural Reasoning, and recognised variations in their declared motivations for participating in the practice. There are certain recurrent themes that come up in descriptions of the practice, such as: 1) building friendships with the religious other, 2) improving the quality of disagreement, 3) exercising mutual hospitality, 4) learning about the scriptures and traditions of the religious other, and 5) learning about one’s own scripture and tradition through questions asked by the religious other. I had also noticed that, especially in conversations about the practice of Scriptural Reasoning, people would use what appeared to be shared terminology and would assume that everyone was in agreement about the meaning of this terminology. However, as the conversation progressed it would become clear that they were not using the terms in the same way. My observations prompted me to consider how people’s
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