JESUS Versus MUHAMMAD By Roman James: A Gospel For Mutual Understanding

By Grace Mubashir, New Age Islam 3 January 2023 The Contrived Concept Of Exclusive Authority Over Truth Often Employed By Clergy To Support Institutionalized Hegemony Of Religion Wreaks Havoc In Mutual Understanding Of People ------ Faith turns violent and dogmatic when it preaches chauvinism and sovereign hegemony over people. Rationality and common brotherhood are the first casualties when religion is chiselled for hatred and bigotry. Although religions share common virtues and fertile grounds for cooperation, in practice religions are observed in inimical manner. The contrived concept of exclusive authority over truth often employed by clergy to support institutionalized hegemony of religion wreaks havoc in mutual understanding of people. This artificial, insular aloofness causes mistrust and clash for superiority. Abrahamic religions are woven together by shared history and have lot more in common. But as religions are employed as political tool all avenues for mutual understanding are slammed. Even to listen to other faithful is prohibited. Islam and Christianity are legatees of the same tradition and history. Muslims believe in the religious texts of Christians, although somewhat different from their Christian counterparts. But still not much effort is being made to bring both religions together. The book by Roman James titled ‘JESUS versus MUHAMMAD’ tries to fill this knowledge gap. The book is an objective comparison of belief systems of Islam and Christianity to demonstrate common similarities in both religions. This is not a polemic work to buttress one's prejudice about other religious ideas. This book brings forth the ideas of both religions from reliable sources of respective religions. Instead of trying to understand the other religion through the prism of one’s own dogmas, by referring to authentic works of Islam, the author has made a commendable effort. At the very outset, the author has explained the aims of the book. “The purpose of this book is threefold. First, to know the basic facts of the two most outstanding personalities of our times – Jesus and Muhammad. The second is to encourage the Muslims to open the gates of Ijtihad (reform or rethinking of Islam) and religious freedom. The third is to educate the Church about Islam to promote interfaith dialogue and reconciliation.” The book has adopted an impressive way of presentation. The author uses the tabular format to compare the beliefs of both religions. At the same place the beliefs of both religions are presented, much to the convenience of the readers. This enables the readers to critically examine the contents easily. Copious quotations from authentic scriptures make the arguments of the book more potent and genuine. The division of the book in different chapters is also to be reckoned for its sensible organization. Beginning from the fundamentals of religion, the book progresses to complex aspects of religion. The author has done commendable work discussing threadbare the basics of religions before proceeding to more polemical aspects of both religions. The book is a sincere attempt to highlight the similarities of both religions, but not disregarding or ignoring the differences. The message of the book is that while differences are few, resemblances are much more. Without any effort to defend the differences, the book heralds possible convergence while respecting the differences. The respect for another religion is prerequisite for successful and effective interfaith religious dialogue. And in this respect, the book has achieved a fascinating feat. The book has quoted splendidly from the works of liberal progressive Muslims and this makes the book more appealing, particularly to the younger generation. While the clergy uses the religions for vested interests, the liberal voices are stifled. By giving adequate acknowledgement to moderate sections among Muslims, the book's message is more effective. Moderate sections of both religions should be engaged more for mutual understanding without the stumbling blocks of conservative religious leadership. At some places the book has employed too explicit and accusatory language. In its over enthusiasm to criticize traditional Muslim scholars, the author has used sharp language. For example, while discussing the insistence of Muslim scholars on the authority of Quran, the author says “Some Mullahs shout from the pulpit that the Xerox copy of the Quran is in heaven”. This kind of haranguing language dilutes the good intention of the author behind this fantastic work. Had the author been modest in criticism, the book would have been more acceptable. Lack of knowledge about Muslims have affected the integrity of the book. The author has mixed the arguments of various sects without clarifying this. The general orientalist view of Islam being a monolithic religion is badly mirrored throughout the work. Just like Christian communities have denominations with contrarian beliefs, the same is applicable to Islam too. This unacademic mixture and presence of jumbled ideas might confuse some readers. The general orientation of the books is sincere academic comparison of both religions. But at some places, it seems traces of author’s prejudices have crept in. By bringing the name of Maulavi Sulaiman (Mario Joseph) to support author’s arguments, the intentions of author have become dubious. As a Keralite, I know how controversial this conversion was. It was injustice to the high-quality content of the book to name the controversial televangelist. But the book is a new attempt to understand each other from their own scriptures. The differences are inconsequential in people’s quest for mutual cooperation. The author has made a great effort to facilitate mutual understanding among Christians and Muslims. The efforts of the author should be translated into practice by inculcating moderation and new interpretation of both religions. Mr. Roman James, the author, has done well to quote at length from the well-known progressive Islamic website, NewAgeIslam.com, particularly from articles by its founding editor, Mr. Sultan Shahin, to illustrate his points about Islamic postulates. But it would be better if proper references and url links are given so that the reader can go to the original articles and see the context in which those remarks were made by Mr. Shahin. All in all, a pretty good effort made by the author and I would recommend this book particularly to youths of both religions to go through it and enhance their understanding of each religion. As I said before, the side by side juxtaposition of different aspects of both religions in a table would be very helpful to most Christians and Muslims who are largely ignorant about each other's religion. ----- A regular columnist for NewAgeIslam.com, Mubashir V.P is a PhD scholar in Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia and freelance journalist. URL: https://newageislam.com/books-documents/jesus-muhammad-roman-gospel-mutual-/d/128789 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism