Monks and Muslims: Monastic and Shi'a Spirituality in Dialogue

by Mohammed Ali Shomali (Editor), William Skudlarek OSB (Editor)

Overview

If Christians and Muslims are to live in peace, encouraging one another to grow in holiness and working together for the good of all God's creation, they must move beyond politicized and often negative images of one another. Monastic/Muslim dialogue-issuing from friendship and focused on revelation, prayer, and witness-is an important component in this effort. Indeed, it is essential.

Monastic Interreligious Dialogue is a commission of the Benedictine Confederation that promotes and coordinates dialogue between Catholic monastic men and women and spiritual practitioners of other religious traditions. The organization invited Iranian Shi'a Muslims and Christian monastics to share their faith in a revealing God, their understanding and practice of prayer, and their desire to be witnesses to the world of divine mercy and justice. This book invites readers to listen in and learn from their conversation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814634431
Publisher:	Liturgical Press
Publication date:	09/01/2012
Series:	Monastic Interreligi
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Mohammad Ali Shomali is the author of several books, including Ethical Relativism: An Analysis of the Foundations of Morality, Discovering Shi'a Islam, and Shi'a Islam: Origins, Faith&Practices. He is also coeditor of Catholics&Shi'a in Dialogue: Studies in Theology&Spirituality, Catholic-Shi'a Engagement: Reason&Faith in Theory and Practice, and A Catholic-Shi'a Dialogue: Ethics in Today's Society.

Table of Contents

Contents
Introduction   vii
Chapter 1: Revelation
     A Monastic Perspective on Divine Revelation   1
        Benoît Standaert, OSB
     A Shi'ite Perspective on Divine Revelation   10
        Mohammad Ali Shomali
Chapter 2: Lectio Divina
     A Monastic Perspective on Lectio Divina   27
        Guido Dotti
     A Shi'ite Perspective on Lectio Divina   35
        Farrokh Sekaleshfar
Chapter 3: Prayer
     A Monastic Perspective on Prayer   47
        Lucy Brydon, OSB
     A Shi'ite Perspective on Prayer   58
        Fatemeh Nazari
     A Shi'ite Perspective on Ritual Prayer   75
        Mohammad Taghi Ansaripour
Chapter 4: Public Prayer
     A Monastic Perspective on Public Prayer   87
        Notker Wolf, OSB
     A Shi'ite Perspective on Public Prayer   96
        Mahnaz Heydarpoor 
Chapter 5: Witness within the Community
     A Monastic Perspective on Living in Community   107
        Julian Pieters, OCSO
     A Shi'ite Perspective on the Life of the Muslim Ummah   117
        Abbas Jaffer
Chapter 6: Witness in the World
     A Monastic Perspective on Giving Witness in a Secular World   124
        Finbarr Dowling, OSB
     A Shi'ite Perspective on Giving Witness in a Secular World   133
        Mohsen Javadi
Chapter 7: Dialogue
     Monastic-Muslim Dialogue: The Challenge and the Promise   143
        Timothy Wright, OSB
     Dialogue: A Bridge between the Oneness of God and the Unity of Humanity  150
        Mohammad Ali Shomali
Selected Bibliographies   157
List of Contributors   161

Editorial Reviews

Share this book with a friend. Witness how serious Muslims and monks share face to face, each from their own tradition. We treasure each other’s Way to God.
Sister Mary Margaret Funk
Our Lady of Grace Monastery Beech Grove, Indiana

EBOOK COMMENTARY

Two special features of this volume make it particularly useful: it presents the Shi'ite perspective with which even those who know Islam well are less familiar; it deals with spiritual topics, like meditation and prayer, which are often neglected. In this book, we find monks and Muslims learning from one another and sharing what they have discovered, thus encouraging all of us on the way of dialogue.
Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt and Delegate to the League of Arab States


Share this book with a friend. Witness how serious Muslims and monks share face to face, each from their own tradition. We treasure each other’s Way to God.
Sister Mary Margaret Funk
Our Lady of Grace Monastery Beech Grove, Indiana

From the Publisher