Professor Tim Seidel, director of 草莓社区's Center for Interfaith Engagement, introduces Turkish journalist and author Mustafa Akyol during an Oct. 10 lecture and discussion on campus. (Photos courtesy of the Center for Interfaith Engagement)

鈥楲et us compete in doing good鈥�: Turkish author鈥檚 explorations bridge religious differences with 鈥楾he Islamic Jesus鈥�

by Christopher Clymer Kurtz

Why does the Qur鈥檃n praise Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a 鈥渨oman above all women鈥�? Why does it venerate Jesus as 鈥渢he Messiah,鈥� and even 鈥渢he Word of God,鈥� while insisting that he is not divine and that Christians should not believe in the Trinity?

Mustafa Akyol signs books after the lecture.

These and many more questions framed a recent discussion with Turkish journalist and author Mustafa Akyol. The event 鈥� titled 鈥淭he Islamic Jesus: A bridge between Islam and Christianity?鈥� 鈥� was hosted by 草莓社区鈥檚 (CIE) on Oct. 10.

Met by an engaged audience with no shortage of questions, Akyol presented insights about Jesus from a Muslim perspective and about the possibilities of interfaith relations among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, said CIE Director .

鈥淢ustafa invited us to explore new ways of thinking about and relating across religious difference,鈥� he said. 鈥淗is closing comments were telling, quoting the Quran: 鈥楲et us compete in doing good.鈥欌��

In his new book The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims (St. Martins Press, 2017), Akyol explores 鈥渢heological pathways鈥� between Christianity and Islam. The book has received praise from , , , , and more.

Another of his books,聽聽(W.W. Norton, 2011), was longlisted for the Lionel Gelber Prize, a literary prize awarded by the University of Toronto for the best nonfiction book in English that seeks to deepen public debate on significant international issues, and聽praised by 聽as 鈥渁 forthright and elegant Muslim defense of freedom.鈥� It has also been published in Turkish, Malay, and Indonesian.

Akyol studied political science and history at Bogazici University and is currently a senior visiting fellow of . He has been a columnist in Turkish national and regional newspapers since the early 2000鈥檚, and a regular contributing opinion writer for聽 since 2013. In addition, he has lectured and spoken widely on numerous platforms including TEDxWarwick, where he spoke about聽, and has been a commentator on public affairs programs including the BBC鈥檚 鈥淗ardtalk鈥� and CNN鈥檚 鈥淔areed Zakaria GPS.鈥�

The event was co-sponsored by CIE, Campus Ministries and the Bible and religion department.