8 - Can Comparative Theology Help Muslims to a BetterUnderstanding of Religious Diversity?

Summary

Introduction

Religions have always been in relation to each other, so the believers of diverse religions somehow related their faith in a broader diverse religious context. But since the nineteenth century, there has been ongoing interest in studying diverse world religions in the western academic world. This has been sharpened more as the coexistence of diverse religions has become a norm in western societies. Thus, Christian academics have developed two forms of theologies, namely, theology of religions and comparative theology, to respond to religious diversity. While the former sought to respond to diversity from inside a specific religion by focusing on the problem of religious truth and salvation, the latter tried to understand their faith in the light of other traditions engaging deeply with religious others’ texts, doctrines, etc. Although these two areas have been developed widely in the western Christian context, Muslims, especially those who are somehow connected with the western education system, have also contributed to the discussion of religious diversity. However, Muslims’ engagement with religious others has been limited. While they have somehow offered various theologies of religions, their engagement with comparative theology has remained insufficient. In this study, I will present comparative theology as a new way to embrace religious diversity. I will first provide an overview of comparative theology in the Christian tradition, then move on to offer an Islamic comparative theology. I will present methodological, practical and theological bases for comparative theology. I will present that theorising non-Islamic religions before engagement (theology of religions) may not be a helpful way to approach religious others. Thus, methodological deficiencies of Islamic theology of religions necessitate searching for a new way to respond to religious diversity. Then I will present three practices of comparative learning within Islamic tradition and argue that engaging with diverse worldviews helped Muslims to better understand themselves. Finally, I will provide a theological need for comparative theology by engaging with the Qurʾān. With all these, I will argue that the area of comparative theology seems to be promising for a better Islamic perspective of religious others. I will offer that by using the method of comparative theology, which necessitates deep learning from other religious traditions, Muslim theologians can obtain a more nuanced understanding of religious others.