The Cross & the Crescent. 
By Jerald F. Dirks. Beltsville, MD: 
Amana Publications, 2001,260 pp

Dirk, a former ordained minister (deacon) in the United Methodist Church wishes to create an "interfaith dialogue between Christianity and Islam. He has tried to bring out for public the real roots of Christianity to highlight what was once common between the two Abrahamic religions. Dirk is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and was in direct contact with Muslims in America and abroad for more than thirty years. He wants to share with Christians what he claims "is so often known to their clergy and church leaders, but seldom finds its way into their knowledge of their own religion". Likewise, he "also would like to reach out to the Muslims, in order to help them understand the religious commonality that they share with Christians".

The book is divided in nine chapters with extensive notes and a short bibliography. Chapter 1 (Parallels between Christianity and Islam) details what the writer experienced as the commonality between Islam and Christianity. Chapter 2 (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) seeks to resolve certain barriers to communications among the three religions. Chapter 9 (A Concise introduction to Islam) is mainly for the Christian readers. Chapter 3 (The Books of Revelation and Scriptures) is a comparative study of the scriptures of the three religions. Chapters 4-8 focus on specific topics in Christianity and how Islam looks at them.

The Qur'an always insisted that it is the "universalized' version of God's culture (Allah's Deen). Earlier, God revealed to a long line of messengers in all nooks and corners of the world how He desired the human beings to live on earth. Islam  unconditional submission to God and acceptance of human accountability to Him- was the core around which local instructions were revealed. Despite variations, needed to tackle local needs, the core always remained the same. Those who received and accepted God's message lives as Muslims until the coming generations added, modified and abandoned parts to stick to a stultified version of Islam. The Qur'an repeatedly asked the Jews and the Christians of Muhammad's time to come back to the core: "Say O people of the Book! Come to the word common between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with Him; and, that we erect not from among ourselves lords and patrons other than Allah." 

The universality of the Islam's call was lost when the Jews and the Christians denied it any legitimacy, and kept waiting for the Messiah to come and legitimize their versions of Islam. Muslims always believed that Islam cannot be appropriated by any national or ethnic group nor by any geographical area. Its universal appeal spread from Indonesia to Spain within fifty years of Muhammad's death. But Muslims soon fell in the same trap and converted Islam into a religion  a sum of rituals, devoid most of its vitality and appeal.

Islam is now the fastest growing religion despite all the hurdles that the Muslims have placed in its path. Muslims are among the poorest of the world poor, and least of the free, and yet Islam has its charm for searching souls.

What should be the contemporary face of Islam and its expressions in society? Muslims have to present the real face of Islam, he guarantor real peace, equality and freedom under God's words. This is not just a defining moment for America, it's a defining moment in world history. One of every 5 people in the world is a Muslim, and the relations between the West and Islam will shape the 21st century. To many, Islamic revival evokes the image of angry clerics railing against the West and calling for Islamic states and the imposition of Islamic law. Muslims must tell the world that it is not a "clash of civilizations," as some have claimed. It is more a clash of misunderstandings. "Islamic revival," a range of movements spurred initially by the encounter with Western colonization across the entire Muslim world is the Muslims attempt to bring back the universality of Islam.

Muslim authors have also attempted explaining Islam to the Christians and the Jews but the use of unfamiliar terms and differences in certain literary conventions did not allow them to overcome the separating boundaries. For example, Christians are used to the word "God", and typically find the word "Allah" somewhat alien and troubling. They do not understand that "Allah" is nothing more than "the One God" minus any entity, including Jesus, as sharing in the godhead.

Dirks' book is useful even for the readers who are moderately informed about the three religions. Despite certain shortcomings and several simplistic statements in order to bridge the gap about the deep-rooted disagreements on theological issues, Dirk tries to convince the readers for the need to overcome long held biases and start looking for ways to understand and accommodate others. Interfaith dailogues, like multiculturalism debates,  are quite popular nowadays and this book may serve as a good reading for the participants. 

June / July 2002