Contemporary Muslim Theology of Religions: The Adequacy of the Typology of Exclusivism-Inclusivism-Pluralism
Abstract
This study presents contemporary Muslim discourse concerning plurality of religions. How does contemporary Muslim theology of religions deal with the diversity and difference of faiths and religious traditions in the world? This discourse is often based on ideas of the threefold typology of exclusivism-inclusivism-pluralism that was developed in the context of Christian theology of religions.
After a presentation of the individual paradigms of the threefold typology, the study explores its usage in the context of Muslim theology of religions with its own specifics. Examples of different theological approaches of Muslim thinkers (Tim Winter, Muhammad Legenhausen, Reza Shah--Kazemi, Abdulaziz Sachedina, Asghar Ali Engineer, etc.) towards Non--Muslims are surveyed.
There are also problems with the threefold typology, both methodological and in its usage in the context of Muslim theology of religions. The concluding chapter thus poses a question, if there can be a better way in Islamic theology for examining the attitude towards non--Muslims, shaking off the problems of the threefold typology and in all probability being more observant to the contemporary situation of the plurality of religions and to the specifics of Islamic theology.