The Qur’an often
addresses Jews and Christians as “People of Scripture” to indicate
that they have received revelation from God. Yet, while
acknowledging the special relationship and knowledge that this
revelation brings, the Qur’an at the same time criticizes the
People of Scripture for not remaining true to God’s guidance and
claiming special power over God’s gifts. The mixture of
acknowledgment and criticism is based on actual encounters with
Jews and Christians at the time of the revelation of the Qur’an.
This Christian commentary on the 31 texts in which the Qur’an
discusses and addresses the People of Scripture includes the Muslim
tradition of interpretation of these texts and adds Christian
resonances in order to contribute to future dialogue between
Muslims and Christians on the common heritage and the differences
between them. Speaker: Dr. Pim Valkenberg studied theology and
religious studies in the Netherlands, where he was involved in
dialogue between the three Abrahamic religions at the Radboud
University of Nijmegen where he worked for twenty years until he
came to the United States with his family to work at Loyola
University Maryland and, since 2011, the Catholic University of
America in Washington D.C. His fields of specialization are
comparative theology, interreligious dialogue and Christian -
Muslim relations. Among his publications are: World Religions in
Dialogue (2014, 2017), Renewing Islam By Service: A Christian View
of Fethullah Gülen and the Hizmet Movement (2015), and Nostra
Aetate: Celebrating Fifty Years of the Catholic Church's Dialogue
with Jews and Muslims (2016). His latest book is published in 2021
by Peeters in Leuven: No Power over God's Bounty: A Christian
Commentary on the "People of Scripture" in the Qur'ān.