The Malaysian Insider :: Books
The Malaysian Insider :: Books |
| Book Review – In the Spirit of St Francis & The Sultan Posted: 20 Jan 2014 04:29 PM PST The issue is not the book's subject matter – Christian-Muslim relations is a tedious affair after all – but the fact that history divulges only this much: That in 1219, during the Fifth Crusade, Francis of Assisi and a companion met the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, Malik al-Kamil, hoping to convert the sultan or win martyrdom in the attempt. The visit is reported in contemporary Crusader sources and in the earliest biographies of Francis, but no exact information is given as to what exactly transpired during the encounter, except that the sultan graciously received the monk, and that Francis preached to the Saracens without effect, returning unharmed to the Crusader camp. No contemporary Arab source speaks of the visit. Why lollop on such a premise is befuddling. It is not that the authors are amateurs; Dardess especially has written two books on comparative religion between Christianity and Islam, and has a working knowledge of Arabic. But with words like "imagine", "guess", and "we can't know for sure" peppered throughout the book, and a phrase in the preface taken from John Tolan's "Saint Francis and the Sultan: The Curious History of a Christian-Muslim Encounter" - "Each interpreter reads into [the] encounter his or her own preoccupations" - Dardess and Krier Mich have successfully stretched the subject too far. Content-wise, the book's subheading makes its aim manifest: Catholics and Muslims working together for the common good. It is the kind of work that presents two sides of the debate, in the vein of Badru Kateregga and David Shenk's "A Muslim and A Christian in Dialogue". So, there are a lot of references to historical events, the Bible, and the Quran. The emphasis, however, is social justice from a Catholic and Muslim perspective – the "common good". Worth reading are the book's final two chapters, which provide practical analyses and models for applying social justice. Not forgetting, the title in typical academic fashion has a preface and introduction to set readers into the mood of what is to come, and endnotes and a selected bibliography. While the bibliography does list some common works, some crucial ones are missing. The book's major snag, however, is its hermeneutics. And, just like how they have stretched the Sultan-Francis account, Dardess and Krier Mich have done exactly the same with their treatment of passages from the Bible and the Quran. For instance, the feeding of the 5,000 in the third chapter is really a story about the veracity of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Not as what the authors say: a story about sharing. As for the Quranic passages, some of its references are just confounding. Its treatment of "jihad" in chapter four warrants questioning as the author fails to develop the role of non-Muslims in the bigger picture of Muslim social justice. And this selective usage of Quranic verses throughout the book makes it really difficult for the newbie to understand what on earth those passages are saying. Interestingly, this title is published by Orbis Books, a reputable Catholic publication. A seminal work that comes to mind is Kosuke Koyama's "Water Buffalo Theology", a book on the outworking of the Christian faith in a Thai-Buddhist context. "In the Spirit of St. Francis & The Sultan" sadly does not reflect the publisher's reputation. It goes without saying that this book does little to help steer advocates or lovers of Christian-Muslim relations in the right direction. Solid reads would be Kateregga and Shenk's work mentioned earlier, Hugh Goddard's "A History of Christian-Muslim Relations", and Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad's "Christian-Muslim Encounters". The Malaysian edition of George Dardess and Marvin L. Krier Mich's "In the Spirt of St Francis & The Sultan" is published by The Other Press and priced at RM33. The book is available at all major bookstores, and can be purchased online here. - January 21, 2014. |
| Book Review – In the Spirit of St. Francis & The Sultan Posted: 20 Jan 2014 04:29 PM PST The issue is not the book's subject matter – Christian-Muslim relations is a tedious affair after all – but the fact that history divulges only this much: That in 1219, during the Fifth Crusade, Francis of Assisi and a companion met the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, Malik al-Kamil, hoping to convert the sultan or win martyrdom in the attempt. The visit is reported in contemporary Crusader sources and in the earliest biographies of Francis, but no exact information is given as to what exactly transpired during the encounter, except that the sultan graciously received the monk, and that Francis preached to the Saracens without effect, returning unharmed to the Crusader camp. No contemporary Arab source speaks of the visit. Why lollop on such a premise is befuddling. It is not that the authors are amateurs; Dardess especially has written two books on comparative religion between Christianity and Islam, and has a working knowledge of Arabic. But with words like "imagine", "guess", and "we can't know for sure" peppered throughout the book, and a phrase in the preface taken from John Tolan's "Saint Francis and the Sultan: The Curious History of a Christian-Muslim Encounter" - "Each interpreter reads into [the] encounter his or her own preoccupations" - Dardess and Krier Mich have successfully stretched the subject too far. Content-wise, the book's subheading makes its aim manifest: Catholics and Muslims working together for the common good. It is the kind of work that presents two sides of the debate, in the vein of Badru Kateregga and David Shenk's "A Muslim and A Christian in Dialogue". So, there are a lot of references to historical events, the Bible, and the Quran. The emphasis, however, is social justice from a Catholic and Muslim perspective – the "common good". Worth reading are the book's final two chapters, which provide practical analyses and models for applying social justice. Not forgetting, the title in typical academic fashion has a preface and introduction to set readers into the mood of what is to come, and endnotes and a selected bibliography. While the bibliography does list some common works, some crucial ones are missing. The book's major snag, however, is its hermeneutics. And, just like how they have stretched the Sultan-Francis account, Dardess and Krier Mich have done exactly the same with their treatment of passages from the Bible and the Quran. For instance, the feeding of the 5,000 in the third chapter is really a story about the veracity of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Not as what the authors say: a story about sharing. As for the Quranic passages, some of its references are just confounding. Its treatment of "jihad" in chapter four warrants questioning as the author fails to develop the role of non-Muslims in the bigger picture of Muslim social justice. And this selective usage of Quranic verses throughout the book makes it really difficult for the newbie to understand what on earth those passages are saying. Interestingly, this title is published by Orbis Books, a reputable Catholic publication. A seminal work that comes to mind is Kosuke Koyama's "Water Buffalo Theology", a book on the outworking of the Christian faith in a Thai-Buddhist context. "In the Spirit of St. Francis & The Sultan" sadly does not reflect the publisher's reputation. It goes without saying that this book does little to help steer advocates or lovers of Christian-Muslim relations in the right direction. Solid reads would be Kateregga and Shenk's work mentioned earlier, Hugh Goddard's "A History of Christian-Muslim Relations", and Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad's "Christian-Muslim Encounters". The Malaysian edition of George Dardess and Marvin L. Krier Mich's "In the Spirt of St Francis & The Sultan" is published by The Other Press and priced at RM33. The book is available at all major bookstores, and can be purchased online here. - January 21, 2014. |
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