Religious Studies Center

Preface to Second Edition 

Arnold H. Green 

Mormons and Muslims: Spiritual Foundations and Modern Manifestations, ed. Palmer, Spencer J., (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University 2002), v-viii. 

Professor of history, Brigham Young University; Director, BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies 

When a new manuscript is first suggested to any institutions editorial board, its members usually ask certain questions, including, "Is there a market for it?" and "Are its messages in harmony with the institutions values?"

When a volume such as Mormons and Muslims goes out of print and is considered for a second edition, the number of requests from interested readers provides an objective measure for answering the "market question." The "values question" requires more subjective reflection and entails a few related questions: What are the messages in this volume? Has their appropriateness and relevance modified since the original date of publication? Do Latter-day Saints have interests in learning what members of the Church have said about Islam and what knowledgeable Muslims have said about their own faith? Is it appropriate for the Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to stimulate such interests? If so, why?

Of course, Church members' attention to other faiths ought not to be and has not been limited to Islam. It has, for example, been directed toward Judaism, as symbolized by such conference anthologies as Truman G. Madsen, ed., Reflections on Mormonism: Judeo-Christian Parallels (Bookcraft, 1978) and Raphael Jospe, Truman G. Madsen, and Seth Ward, eds., Covenant and Chosenness in Judaism and Mormonism (Farleigh Dickenson University Press, 2001).

Latter-day Saints have also initiated dialogue with Protestant Christianity, as indicated by treatises like Roger R. Keller, Reformed Christians and Mormon Christians: Lets Talk (Pettingill, 1986) and Craig Blomberg and Stephen E. Robinson, How Wide the Divide? A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation (InterVarsityPress, 1997).

Now, the second edition of Mormons and Muslims, BYUs Islamic Translation series, and the winter 2002 issue of BYUStudies represent a comparable outreach in the direction of Islam.

The late BYU professor Spencer J. Palmer, a pioneer and symbol of Latter-day Saint outreach generally, organized a conference called "Islam: Spiritual Foundations and Modern Manifestation" in 1981, editing the presentations into this book, published in 1983. As a mission president and temple president in Korea, author of The Expanding Church (Deseret Book, 1978), and coauthor of the BYU textbook Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint View (BYU Scholarly Publications, 1990), Professor Palmer valued people of all "kindreds" and "tongues," considering them beloved children of God.

We note Professor Palmers main observations in the introduction, that Islam is the worlds fastest growing religion numerically, that Islamic sciences contribution to Western civilization is becoming better understood, and that Western stereotypes of Islam still need to be overcome. In addition to these comments, we consider the basic messages of Jeffrey R. Holland (the West, to its own disadvantage, has neglected to inform itself about Islam), Omar Kader (we should not oversimplify Islam as a monolithic power), and David M. Kennedy (it is important to recognize religious-cultural differences, then to find peaceful ways for either resolution or coexistence). Each of these assertions is as valid today as it was then.

Of course, as Hugh Nibley might note, there is no such thing as flawless scholarship, only varying degrees of flawed information, and even the least defective academic writings become dated. Therefore, interested Latter-day Saints and others who take up this volume should consider it neither definitive nor comprehensive. Rather, they ought to use it as a departure point-not a final destination-for their enquiry into Islamic religion and culture.

In his Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know (Houghton Mifflin, 1987), E. D. Hirsch aimed to provide contexts of a minimal vocabulary needed by U.S. citizens to function effectively as such, an endeavor adaptable to other cultures. Mormons and Muslims helps deepen prior basic knowledge and furnishes new vocabulary conducive to achieving cultural literacy about Islam. For example, most readers know that Muslims worship Allah; such fundamental knowledge is enhanced through learning that the Arabic word Allah derives from the same Semitic root as the Hebrew word Elohim. In addition, by exploring the contexts of just a few of the Arabic words listed in the index (e.g., hadith, hajj, jihad, Kaba, Quran, Ramadan, and Shiite), readers can advance far toward becoming culturally literate in Islams history, theology, and culture. It is useful to distinguish between how such terms are used by teachers (internal to Islam and tending to employ argument by authority) of an ideal orthodoxy and how they are used by external analysts (using participant observation) of "popular Islam" in such settings as rural villages and teeming urban neighborhoods.

Professors encourage students to immerse themselves in studies related to their own field. For example, scholars of medieval France can benefit by examining the lines of inquiry, institutional structures and processes, and conceptual explanations that have materialized in studies of medieval England. Noting Omar Kader's observation that Islam and Mormonism are scripture-based religions existing within-and so interfacing with-changing socioeconomic, political, and cultural environments, Latter-day Saints and members of other faiths can search out issues related to their own beliefs. That is, they can redirect some of the questions raised in this book about Islams interaction with a world in flux in order to attain greater self understanding.

So, for example, how does a religion arising in a particular ethnic-language culture maximize its universal appeal and integrate converts from diverse racial backgrounds? How does or should a majority religious culture encourage the practice of its values in community and nationwide contexts while respecting the rights of minorities? How does a religion esteeming the natural family protect and sustain that vital institution while providing all family members, including wives and daughters, full opportunities for spiritual and intellectual development?

September 11, 2001, looms as a watershed between this volumes first and second editions. That any religious culture can produce fanatics who wrest religion to justify violent extremism is symbolized by figures like Nathuram Godse (Gandhi s Hindu assassin), the Reverend James Jones (Christian leader of the 1978 "Jonestown massacre"), and Baruch Goldstein (Jewish perpetrator of the 1994 Hebron massacre). Islam-lacking a boundary-setting central hierarchy, possessing a strong theology of sovereignty, and still nursing grievances about European imperial rule-has produced its own share of fanatics, as exemplified by Osama bin Ladin's al-Qa'ida network and similar movements.

Threatened by such violent zealotries, national governments justifiably take measures to protect their shores and their citizens. Yet wise, God-fearing men and women need not fear to reach out to their counterparts in other faiths, including Islam. Knowing from experience the distresses of being demonized and ostracized, Latter-day Saints in particular ought to become familiar with, to befriend, and to encourage the positive elements-persons, ideas, and institutions-constituting the great majority of Islamic religion and culture. Such are the explicit messages of Elder Carlos E. Asay, David M. Kennedy, and Spencer J. Palmer and, by extension, the implicit messages of all other contributors. 
 

Table of Contents 

Introduction: page 1

1. Understanding Islam: page 11 

Daniel C. Peterson

2. Brigham Young University: A Special Commitment to Faith: page 45

Noel B. Reynolds

3. Gods Love for Mankind: page 51

Elder Carlos E. Asay

4. A Context of Brotherhood: page 63

David M. Kennedy

5. Islam and Modern Trends: page 67

   Haji Alamsjah Ratu Perwiranegara 

   Panel Discussion

   Mormons and Muslims:

   Values, Lifestyles, and Faith 

6. In Search of Understanding: page 85

David C. Montgomery

7. Comments on Common Ground: page 87

Spencer I. Palmer

8. Personal Reflections: page 93

Orin D. Parker

9. Religion in Village Life: page 99

Robert 1. Staab

10. Thoughts on Islam: page 105

Omar Kader

11. The Muhammad-Joseph Smith Comparison

Subjective Metaphor or a Sociology of Prophethood?: page 111

Arnold H. Green

12. Pre-Islamic Arabian Prophets: page 135

William J. Hamblin

13. The Idea of Redemption in Christianity and Islam: page 157

Mahmoud Mustafa Ayoub 

Panel Discussion

Women and Worship:

Islam in the Mosque and in the Home 

14. Religious Practices of Egyptian Muslim Women: : page 173

Jane I. Smith

15. Muslim Women and Shrines in Shiraz: page 183

Anne H. Betteridge

16. Moroccan Womens Integration of Family and Religion: page 195

Donna Lee Bowen

17. Another Islam: Contemporary Indonesia: page 205

Frederick M. Denny

18. The Perceptible and the Unseen:

The Qur'anic Conception of Man's Relationship

to God and Realities beyond Human Perception: page 209

Umar F. Abd-Allah

Index: page 265

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