The Theology of Tariq Ramadan: A Catholic Perspective (Paperback)

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Product Description

Tariq Ramadan has emerged as one of the most influential Muslim theologians in the world today. In this important book, Gregory Baum presents for the first time an introduction to several key aspects of Ramadan's theological enterprise. Baum examines Ramadan's work historically within an interfaith perspective, drawing several parallels between Islamic and Catholic encounters with modernity. His comparison of the debates in the two traditions suggests that reform and renewal are compatible with the substance of both Catholic and Muslim traditions.
"Gregory Baum is a gift to the Church, and indeed to the world. A stalwart of the Vatican II era, he is now an eminence grise of North American Christianity in its efforts to engage the secular world through a confident and critical dialogue about meaning. In this remarkable and pioneering volume, he engages contemporary Islam through a typically generous reading of one of its most influential theologians, Tariq Ramadan. Avoiding the often silly but sometimes brutal polemics that have obscured the quality of Ramadan's reformist thought, Baum notes the striking affinities between Islam's and Catholicism's respective encounters with democracy, religious freedom, and critical reading of sacred sources, among other contested issues. Having absorbed the deepest insights of Catholic's recent revolution in self understanding--a revolution he helped to stimulate and advance--this unofficial, quietly charismatic ambassador of Christian intellectual innovation has provided invaluable insight into the mind of the person who has been termed the 'Muslim Martin Luther.' Baum, as he has in the past, is pointing the way forward for innovative and serious theological work; in the opening of sustained dialogue and conversation with the contemporary current of Islamic reform represented by figures like Ramadan, he rightly sees an opportunity for a renewal of Catholic theology in its service to the cause of reconciliation and peace." -- Scott Appleby, University of Notre Dame
"This book is a beautiful example of serious theological dialogue between two seminal theologians of our age: Gregory Baum and Tariq Ramadan. It is a balanced and significant contribution to scholarship about Ramadan's thought for at leas two reasons: first, it provides a very important perspective on the similarities that Catholicism earlier and Islam today have shared in facing the many challenges of modernity; and second, the conclusion Professor Baum reaches may be short, but is profound: 'the time for religious-secular dialogue has come.' " -- Patrice Brodeur, Canada Research Chair on Islam, Pluralism, and Globalization, Universite de Montreal

About the Author

Gregory Baum, professor emeritus at McGill University and the founding editor of The Ecumenist, is the author of many books, including Signs of the Times: Religious Pluralism and Economic Injustice and Religion and Alienation .

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press; 1st Edition, Co-publication edition (March 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0268022143
• ISBN-13: 978-0268022143
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,338,918 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Legendary Catholic Voice in Interfaith Relations Sees an Opening in Christian-Muslim Relations, May 12, 2009

By	David Crumm "Editor of www.ReadTheSpirit.com" (Canton, Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is a small book and easy to miss in the flood of new titles. So let me get right to the point: If you care about the future of interfaith relations globally, get this book. Read it. Talk about it with other people. Tell us what you think of its themes.

Gergory Baum isn't a household name in the U.S., but he certainly ranks among "legendary" names in inter-religious relations. Born in 1923, he is a Canadian Roman Catholic theologian who served as a major adviser at Vatican II on opening up the Catholic Church to other faiths. Specifically, he pushed hard and successfully for an end of Catholic efforts to convert Jews.

Now, well into his 80s, Baum has given us a short but clear-eyed roadmap for engaging a cutting-edge figure in international Islam: Tariq Ramadan. Whether you're drawn toward this controversial Muslim figure or you're suspicious of him, the fact is that Ramadan is one of the most important and innovative Muslim writers today.

Thinking about the long journeys of both Catholicism and Islam that have brought us all to this point in history, Baum writes that the faiths "were both embedded in a pre-modern culture and resisted the arrival of modernity, even if for different reasons." The catalyst to constructive dialogue can be three principles, Baum argues: "attention to the universal message regarding the human condition, attention to the changed historical circumstances, and attention to the Scriptures reread with a new sensibility."

Baum further argues that these same three principles already are at work in Ramadan's writings--that's the main reason Baum wrote this book.

Baum sees an "affinity" here that could provide a new doorway for dialogue. His roadmap also includes a list of issues to explore in which the two faiths share basic assumptions--and issues where their basic approach differs significantly. It's a mature, wisely charted course that Baum describes.

If you're engaged in interfaith relations at any level--or you're simply contemplating how Christians and Muslims might find a sense of community in this current, turbulent moment in history--listen to what Baum has to say here.