Muhammad in the Seminary: Protestant Teaching about Islam in the Nineteenth Century

David D. Grafton

ISBN 10: 1479831468 / ISBN 13: 9781479831463

Published by NYU Press -, 2024

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 6666-GRD-9781479831463

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Muhammad in the Seminary: Protestant Teaching about Islam in the Nineteenth Century
• Publisher: NYU Press -
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1479831468
• ISBN 13: 9781479831463
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Uncovers what Christian seminaries taught about Islam in their formative years

Throughout the nineteenth century, Islam appeared regularly in the curricula of American Protestant seminaries. Islam was not only the focus of Christian missions, but was studied as part of the history of the Church as well as in the new field of comparative religions. Moreover, Arabic was taught as a cognate biblical language to help students better understand biblical Hebrew. Passages from the Qur’an were sometimes read as part of language instruction.

Christian seminaries were themselves new institutions in the nineteenth century. Though Islam had already been present in the Americas since the beginning of the slave trade, it was only in the nineteenth century that the American public became more aware of Islam and had increasing contact with Muslims. It was during this period that extensive trade with the Ottoman empire emerged and more feasible travel opportunities to the Middle East became available due to the development of the steamship.

Providing an in-depth look at the information about Islam that was available in seminaries throughout the nineteenth century, Muhammad in the Seminary examines what Protestant seminaries were teaching about this tradition in the formative years of pastoral education. In charting how American Christian leaders’ ideas about Islam were shaped by their seminary experiences, this volume offers new insight into American religious history and the study of Christian-Muslim relations.

About the Author

David D. Grafton is Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace. He is the author of several books, including The Contested Origins of the 1865 Arabic Bible and An American Biblical Orientalism.