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ARTHUR JEFFERY CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF ISLAM

OCCASIONAL PAPERS

Perspectives on Islam and Politics

Issue 9 - A Christian Assessment

Edited by Ruth Nicholls

From the beginning religious Islam has had political expressions. This volume of the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam (Melbourne School of Theology, Australia) Occasional Papers ‘Perspectives on Islam and Politics’ examines a variety of relevant topics. The first section is more theoretical: Islam as a nomocracy; the caliphate; the expansion of Islam through peninsular Arabia by raids and war; the concept of the dhimmi in relation to the West, as well as an exploration of Islam’s political dealings with the West and the West’s response. The second section examines regional expressions of political Islam: Islam in the North Caucasus and the Russian Federal Law; Said Nursi’s response to Mustafa Kemal’s reforms in Turkey; ISIS and the caliphate; Iran and Khomeini’s political theory; Pakistan’s political conundrum and the first 60 years of statehood in Malaysia. While it is a small volume with its offerings wide and varied it provides insights into the very important issue of Perspectives on Islam and Politics.
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Ayesha's Sisters: Some Perspectives on Women in Islam

Issue 8 - A Christian Assessment

Edited by Ruth Nicholls

Women in Islam – a controversial subject? This volume of the Arthur Jeffery Centre’s Occasional Papers attempts to recognise some of the challenges that Muslim women experience while at the same time honouring and respecting their lives within both their religious and cultural contexts. Islam is not monolithic: it is culturally diverse though being a Muslim does unite these women in their religious practices, impacts their worldview and has a determinative effect on how their lives are lived in practice. Within the confines of this small volume the articles attempt to explore various perspectives of life, as lived by a Muslim woman. Some of the articles are general to women’s issues: some are more specific.

Topics include:  When Women Speak; Women in the Qur’an; Mothers of the Faithful; Women Practitioners of Islam; Women and Fatwas; Women and Shari’a Law; Muslim Women and the Business World

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Insights into Sufism: Voices of the Heart

Issue 7 - A Christian Assessment

Edited by Ruth Nicholls & Peter G Riddell

Sufism has long constituted one of the most powerful drawcards to people embracing Islam. This book considers a broad range of questions relating to Sufism, including its history, manifestations in various countries and communities, its expression in poetry, women and Sufism, and expressions among popular spirituality. In addition, the volume challenges the long-held view of Sufism as being necessarily peaceful, through a consideration in one paper of Sufis engaging in violent Jihad. The book works at the interface between the scholarly and the practical, using rigorous methodology to ensure that its findings are reliable, while also giving attention to how Sufi thinking impacts the daily lives of Sufis. This represents an original and important dimension of this study, given the significant role played by Sufis throughout Islamic history in enriching discussion of intellectual and charismatic questions, as well as informing popular practice among “Folk” Muslims.
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The Church Under the Shadow of Shariah

Issue 6 - A Christian Assessment

Edited by John Cheong & Peter G Riddell

Shariah Law is an increasingly common topic of conversation in the 21st century. Many Muslim-majority countries are strengthening Shariah Law as the basis of their legal systems. Even where Muslims are in minority situations, there is an increasing push for aspects of Shariah to be incorporated within Western counties. Yet Shariah Law is a highly controversial topic, not least because of its chequered history of treatment of religious minorities. This new volume considers the experience of Christians living under Shariah Law, both past and present. Diverse Muslim contexts are considered, with particular attention falling on the Muslim-majority states of Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.

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Faith in Conversation

Issue 5 - Comparative Themes in & Perspectives across the Religions

Edited by Ruth Nicholls & Peter G Riddell

Topics include: Death and Dying in Hinduism and Islam; Interconnection between Buddhism and Chinese Religions; Islam and Judaism; Outside Influences on Judaism; From Eastern Religions to New Age Religions; Islam, the Cross and Christ Victorious.

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Islam and the Last Day

Issue 4 - Christian Perspectives on Islamic Eschatology​

Edited by Brent J Neely & Peter G Riddell

Topics include: Torment in the Grave and a Christian Response; Sunni Hadith concerning the Last Day; The Antichrist in Classical Islam; Death and Judgement; Woman and Islamic Eschatology.
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Insights into Islam

Issue 3 - Contemporary & Historical Studies on Islam & Christianity

Edited by Michael Rainer

Topics include: History of Islamophobia; Australian Islam and the Battered Wife Syndrome; Using the Bible in Da’wa; Islam in Europe; Perspectives towards people with Disabilities.
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Viewing Islam

Issue 1 & 2 - From Text to Context

Edited by Peter G Riddell

Topics include: The Development of Early Islam according to the Neo-Revisionists; Jihad: What does the Qur’an really say?; Fighting Unbelievers: Greater and Lesser Jihad; Issues affecting the Relationship between Islam and the State in Australia; Is Islam compatible with 21st Century Western Values and Ideals?; Muslim Women in Prayer.
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OTHER PUBLICATIONS

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Prolegomena to the Study of Islam

By W. Arthur Jeffery, edited by Ruth Nicholls

Australian linguist, Islamicist and missionary Arthur Jeffery is among the very few scholars whose scholarship was genuinely ground-breaking. His critical analysis of the Qur’an revolutionized the discipline and continues to shape contemporary research. This previously unpublished volume of his teaching notes takes us into his classroom for a rich introduction to the study of Islam. It is an exemplary model of the sort of missionary scholarship we aspire to emulate here at MST. It deserves to be a classic.

Available from:

Arthur Jeffery Centre, email info@jefferycentre.mst.edu.au

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Understanding & Answering Islam

Edited by Ruth Nicholls​

This volume comprises the papers from the Understanding and Answering Islam conference held at Melbourne School of Theology in 2017. It is our hope that they represent the best of a generous yet robust Christian scholarly approach to Islam. The reader will benefit from the latest in cutting–edge research concerning the textual history of the Qur’an and Muslim traditions. Nevertheless, as the conference title suggests, the aim of the gathering was not simply to describe and evaluate particular features of Islam, but also to suggest ways forward in Christian engagement with Muslims around such features. Much of this practical side was covered in interactive seminars during the conference, however this relational goal is signalled by the fact that the more technical papers forming the bulk of this book are actually and theologically bookended by calls to deeply know and love Muslims.

Available from:

Arthur Jeffery Centre, email info@jefferycentre.mst.edu.au

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Perspectives on the Qur'an?

A Collection of Essays in honour of Aubrey Whitehouse

Edited by Ruth Nicholls

Perspectives on the Qur’an, is the second in a series of books honouring Aubrey Whitehouse, a former lecture at what is now the Melbourne School of Theology. Whitehouse was a student of Islam, learning first hand from his experiences of interaction with Muslims in Egypt. He also wrote extensively about Islam and this edition contains one of his essays “What the Qur’an says”. Other essays include ‘Reflections on a Chronological Reading of the Qur’an’, ‘How the Qur’an came to be’, ‘The Challenge of the Sana’a Manuscripts to the Muslim Claim of the Perfect Qur’an’, ‘The Bible, the Qur’an, and the Space in between: Telling the Story’, ‘Commentaries on the Qur’an: View of Biblical Characters and Christians’ and ‘The Use and Abuse of the Qur’an in Christian Mission’. As such it provides a window into the most important book for Muslims. ‘Any genuine study of Islam must include an understanding of the Qur’an and its teaching especially from the perspective of those for whom it is their holy book and who endeavor to live by its precepts’, says Ruth Nicholls, editor.

Available from:

Arthur Jeffery Centre, email info@jefferycentre.mst.edu.au

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Topical Concordance to the Qur'an

By Aubrey Whitehouse

This Topical Concordance to the Qur’an was compiled by a Muslim Scholar and then translated into English by Aubrey H. Whitehouse. This is a reprint of that work in a more accessible format. The purpose of this concordance (a type of index) is to facilitate the search of important topics that occur in the Qur’an by listing the chapter (sura) and verse (ayat) which relate to that particular topic or subject. Consequently, the book deals with many topics with some of the major topics being further divided into relevant subsections.

Available from:

Arthur Jeffery Centre, email info@jefferycentre.mst.edu.au

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Do You Remember...?

Recollections and Reflections

By Aubrey Whitehouse​

Aubrey Whitehouse was a student of the Melbourne Bible Institute, now Melbourne School of Theology who in response to God’s call went to Egypt to be a servant of the Gospel. In this book, Whitehouse reflects on his experiences, while at the same time offering valuable insights regarding sharing God’s word in an Islamic context. At times he is biographical, other times he evaluates; sometimes he is critical but he also reflects on God’s goodness and his faithfulness during those years of ministry. It’s an easy read and well worth it.

Available from:

Arthur Jeffery Centre, email info@jefferycentre.mst.edu.au

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FACULTY PUBLICATIONS

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Jesus through Muslim Eyes

By Richard Shumack

Muslims and Christians both love Jesus. This is because Islam and Christianity agree on many of the extraordinary claims about his earthly and heavenly life. Beyond these agreements, however, the Jesus of Islam points down a different road to that of Christianity. The Muslim Jesus wants to you to be a better person by walking a road of passionate devotion to God; the Christian Jesus wants you to be a whole new person by joining him on a road to crucifixion and resurrection. Richard Shumack calls for Muslims and Christians to embrace constructive disagreement about Jesus as the best way to both religious peace and eternal truth.

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Islam and Christianity on the Edge

Edited by John Azumah & Peter Riddell

The relationship between Christianity and Islam is complex. This collection of essays by scholars and human rights activists engages with some of the most pressing issues in Christian-Muslim relations, addressing matters of theology, the encounter between civilisations and inter-religious affairs. Some of the most controversial and sensitive questions are considered, ranging from sacred text to the politics of multiculturalism. These are key questions for the 21st century, a period when Christianity and Islam are destined to interact more closely than ever before in human history.

Topics include: Islam and Contextualisation; Insider Movements; Recovering the Original Texts of the New Testament and the Qur’an; War Holy War; Poles Apart; Diverse Muslim Perspectives on ‘True Islam’; Western and Islamic Concepts of Knowledge and Truth compared; The Compatibility of Islamic Shariah Law with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; The Future of the Muslim Community here in Australia; Conversion and Apostasy.

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Understanding Jesus and Muhammad

What the Ancient Texts Say about Them

By Bernie Power

Jesus and Muhammad are arguably the two most influential individuals who have ever lived. Over half of the world today claims to follow them and the religions they founded: Christianity and Islam. But who were these two men? Where did they come from? What did they do and teach? And what was their vision for the future? This book answers all these questions, drawing on the earliest ancient documents we have about them. In the light of the current tensions that exist in the world, the future of civilisation may well depend on how humanity responds to Jesus and Muhammad. 

Topics include: Jesus from the Biblical and Qur’anic perspectives; The Qur’an on Jesus and Muhammad; Jesus and Muhammad and the question of sinlessness; miracles; violence and peace; women; the death and resurrection of Jesus and Muhammed’s death; the end of the age and faith.

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The Wisdom of Islam and the Foolishness of Christianity

By Richard Shumack

A unique Christian response to nine common philosophical objections to Christianity made by Muslims.

Richard addresses the topic by considering a number of problems. They include: The problems of Certain Belief; God’s Hiddenness; Human Sin; The Trinity; the Incarnation; The Cross; Revelation; Divine Ethics; Politics.

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Political and Social Issues in Christian-Muslim Relations

The Questions Christians Ask (2nd Edition)

By Peter G Riddell

Perspectives on diverse topics of interest to Christians and Muslims: plurality; international crises; human rights; religion, society and the public discourse; truth and Christian-Muslim Relations; and a number of other topics of current interest.
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AJC IS A CENTRE FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AT MELBOURNE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY & EASTERN COLLEGE AUSTRALIA

info@jefferycentre.mst.edu.au

5 Burwood Highway, Wantirna VIC 3152

(03) 9881 7800