Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction

1. Chapter One: The Qur'an and Modern Tafsir
a. Islamic Reform, Tafsir, and Religious Diversity
b. Reformist Muslim Approach to Medieval Qur'an Commentaries
c. Concluding Remarks

2. Chapter Two: Towards Understanding the Qur'an's Polemical Texts
a. The Qur'an and Its Polemical Context
b. The Ambiguity of Qur'anic Criticisms
c. Is the Qur'an Supersessionist?
d. Concluding Remarks

3. Chapter Three: Contesting the Theology of Exclusivist Salvation
a. Al-Islam as the Only True Path to Salvation
b. Between Inclusive and Exclusive Islam
c. Re-Interpreting the Superiority of Islam
d. Concluding Remarks

4. Chapter Four: The Falsification of Jewish and Christian Scriptures
a. The Charge of Scriptural Distortion
b. The Concealment of Truth
c. Between Twisting the Tongues and Writing the Book with Hands
d. Concluding Remarks

5. Chapter Five: Qur'anic Denials of Sonship, Human-Divinity and Trinity
a. ''Son of God''
b. The Divine Nature of Jesus
c. Trinitarian Doctrine
d. Concluding Remarks

6. Chapter Six: Inter-Religious Restrictions and Engagements
a. Treatment of Non-Muslim Dhimmis
b. Friendship with the Unbelievers
c. Obstacles to Inter-Religious Relations
d. Concluding Remarks

Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Mun'im Sirry is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theology and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He earned his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School. His articles have appeared in several peer-reviewed journals, including Arabica, BSOAS, Interpretation, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Journal of Semitic
Studies, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, The Muslim World, Studia Islamica, and Der Welt des Islams.

Reviews

"Through careful analysis of five original, related, but never-compared case studies, Sirry expands what others have argued about the mandate for a sustained, interreligious focus on creedal and practical differences within the Abrahamic fold, not just in the Middle East but across the Indian Ocean, including and especially in Indonesia. This study marks a welcome advance into contextualized dialogue. It offers ground-level awareness of challenges as well as
promises to all researchers and practitioners of monotheistic collaboration toward a higher, collective good." --Bruce B. Lawrence, Professor of Islamic Studies Emeritus, Duke University
"This volume is an important contribution to understanding the impact of the key polemical Qur'anic passages about Judaism and Christianity that shaped Muslim theology of the 'other.' Sirry's meticulous reading of the Qur'anic commentaries to expound this theology is thoroughly grounded in both the classical as well as the modernist-reformist commentaries. At every step of the evolving thesis, he is in total command of his materials and the academic methodology
required to establish the validity of his approach as inclusively and critically as possible. The inclusion of Shi'ite materials, and thorough familiarity with Western scholarship on the Qur'an, in
addition to selecting the exegetes from different parts of the Islamic world, render the work indispensable for anyone wishing to examine the Muslim religious polemics and its production under various social-political contexts today." --Abdulaziz Sachedina, Professor and Endowed IIIT Chair in Islamic Studies, George Mason University
"In this carefully argued study of modern Muslim interpreters of the Qur'an, Mun'im Sirry directly addresses the difficult questions affecting Muslim attitudes toward other religions. It is a thought-provoking contribution which will interest anyone concerned about interfaith relations." --Carl W. Ernst, William R. Kenan, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill