Openness and Commitment in Islamic Comparative Theology: A Solution to the Apparent Conflict

Document Type : The Quarterly Jornal

Authors

1 . PhD in Comparative Religious Studies (sub-discipline: Christian Theology), Faculty of Religions and Mysticism, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran (Corresponding Author).

2 Department of Abrahamic Religions, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran.

10.22081/jpt.2025.73649.2320

Abstract

In the confessional approach to comparative theology, the tool of comparison with another religious tradition is employed to achieve a deeper understanding of one's home tradition, while maintaining the boundaries of its orthodoxy and orthopraxy. At first glance, this approach appears to face a fundamental challenge: the conflict between openness toward the "other" religion and commitment to the "home" religion. This primary conflict, as an epistemological challenge, is the central problem of this research. The objective is to answer the following question: How, in Islamic comparative theology, can commitment to the home tradition remain intact despite openness toward other religious traditions? The research is conducted using a descriptive-analytical method. The results indicate, first, that in the literature of confessional comparative theology—as a faith-based discipline—"truth" refers to the truth consistent with, or based on, the revelation and manifestation present in the "home" religious tradition. Thus, the theologian seeks to gain a more precise understanding of the truth and normativity of the "home" or "self" tradition through comparison. Second, the scope of commitment to the home tradition is limited to primary norms (Level-1 religion) and secondary norms (the essentials of Level-2 and Level-3 religion); beyond these two norms, there lies a vast "area of vacuum" (Manatqat al-Faragh) for openness. Consequently, the relationship between the circles of openness and commitment is one of mutual exclusivity (disjunction). These two realms do not overlap, and thus, openness causes no detriment to commitment.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

* قرآن کریم
اسحاقی، پیمان. (27/05/1402). محمد| به‌مثابۀ عنصری در فرهنگ مادی و غیرمادی مسلمانان [ویدئو]. قابل دسترس در:  https://www.aparat.com/v/e34tc89
پیروجعفری، مرتضی؛ فخار نوغانی، وحیده؛ و مسعودی، جهانگیر. (1401 «الف»). بررسی راهبرد «معرفت‌شناسی اختلاف باور دینی» در الاهیات تطبیقی. نقد و نظر، 27(106)، صص 167‑195.
پیروجعفری، مرتضی؛ فخار نوغانی، وحیده؛ و مسعودی، جهانگیر. (1401 «ب»). «الهیات تطبیقی» و «الهیات ادیان»: الهیات رقیب یا مکمّل؟. پژوهشنامۀ کلام، 9(17)، صص 71‑100.
پیروجعفری، مرتضی؛ فخار نوغانی، وحیده؛ و مسعودی، جهانگیر. (۱۴۰۲). الاهیات تطبیقی جدید: معرفی، بررسی و تحلیل روش‌ها و رویکردهای آن. الاهیات تطبیقی، 14(30)، صص 1‑16.
تریسی، دیوید. (۱۳۷۴). الاهیات تطبیقی (مترجم: بهاءالدین خرمشاهی). ارغنون، 2(5 و 6)، صص 271‑292.
جوان، مریم. (۱۳۹۵). بررسی پیش‌فرض‌های فلسفی الاهیات تطبیقی (استاد راهنما: جعفر مروارید). پایان‌نامۀ کارشناسی ارشد، دانشگاه فردوسی مشهد.
رستگار، مصطفی؛ مفتاح، احمدرضا؛ و صادق‌نیا، مهراب. (۱۴۰۴). گسترۀ مقایسه‌ورزی در الهیات مقایسه‌ای: مقایسۀ «الهیات‌ها» یا مقایسۀ «دین‌ها»؟. معرفت ادیان، 17(64)، صص 124‑140.
صادق‌نیا، مهراب. (۱۳۹۷). الهیات تطبیقی: تلاشی برای توسعۀ فهم متون مقدس. مطالعات تطبیقی قرآن کریم و متون مقدس، 1(1)، صص 31‑48.
کلونی، فرانسیس. (۱۳۹۰). درآمدی بر الاهیات تطبیقی (مترجم: مالک شجاعی جشوقانی). کتاب ماه دین، 15(170)، صص 43‑49.
مُقری، احمد. (۱۳۹۲). گفت‌وگوی ادیان در چالش با هویت دینی با تأکید بر الهیات تطبیقی (استاد راهنما: مهراب صادق‌نیا) پایان‌نامۀ کارشناسی ارشد، دانشگاه ادیان و مذاهب قم.
همتی، همایون. (۱۳۸۰). بازسخنی در الهیات تطبیقی. نامۀ فلسفه، 5(11)، صص 149‑159.
هینترشتاینر، نوربرت. (۱۳۹۲). ادیان جهانی چگونه با یکدیگر مواجه می‌شوند؟ پروژۀ الاهیات تطبیقی (مترجم: م. خلیلی زند). کتاب ماه دین، 17(197)، صص 271‑292.
Anselm of Canterbury. (n.d.). Proslogium (S. N. Deane, Trans.). In Medieval Sourcebook. New Jersey: Fordham University. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/ anselm-proslogium.asp.
Burrell, D. (2011). Towards a Jewish‐Christian‐Muslim Theology. Oxford: Wiley‐Blackwell.
Carlson, K. (2007). What is ‘Normative’ in Theology. Academia. https://b2n.ir/t66747.
Clooney, F. (1993). Theology after Vedānta: An Experiment in Comparative Theology. Albany: SUNY Press.
Clooney, F. (1995). Comparative Theology: A Review of Recent Books (1989–1995). Theological Studies, 56(3), pp. 521‑550.
Clooney, F. (1996). Seeing through Texts: Doing Theology among the Śrīvaiṣṇavas of South India. Albany: SUNY Press.
Clooney, F. (2010). Comparative theology: Deep learning across religious borders (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford Wiley-Blackwell.
Cornille, C. (2019). Comparative Theology: More than Comparing Theologies [Paper presentation]. 2019, July. International Conference on Comparative Theology, Melbourne, Australia.
Cornille, C. (2023, January, 21). Email message to the responsible author.
Cornille, C. (2019). Meaning and Method in Comparative Theology. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Cornille, C. (2023, June, 25). Personal conversation with the responsible author at Bonn University.
Cornille, C. (2024, September, 27). Personal conversation with the responsible author on Zoom.
Cunningham, P. A., Hofmann, N. J.; & Sievers, J. (2007). The Catholic Church and the Jewish People: Recent Reflections from Rome (Abrahamic Dialogues) (1st ed.). New Jersey:‎ Fordham University Press.
D’Costa, G. (2009) Roman Catholic Reflections on Discerning God in Interreligious Dialogue: Challenges and Promising Avenues. In Criteria of Discernment in Interreligious Dialogue (C. Cornille Ed.). Eugene: Wipf & Stock.
Dupuis, J. (1997). Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism. Maryknoll: Orbis Books.
Ensminger, S. (2014). Karl Barth’s Theology as a Resource for a Christian Theology of Religions. London: Bloomsbury.
Erickson, M. J. (Ed.). (2001). The Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology (Rev. ed.). Crossway.
Fitzgerald, T. (1997). A Critique of ‘Religion’ as a Cross‐Cultural Category. Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, 9(2), pp. 91‑110.
Fredericks, J. (2010). Introduction. In The New Comparative Theology (F. Clooney Ed.). London: T&T Clark.
Goudarzi, M. (2023). Unearthing Abraham’s Altar: The Cultic Dimensions of dīn, islām, and ḥanīf in the Qurʾan. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 82(1), pp. 77-102.
Haight, R. (2000). Jesus, Symbol of God. Maryknoll: Orbis Books.
Hussain, S. (2021). The Bitter Lot of the Rebellious Wife: Hierarchy, Obedience, and Punishment in Q. 4:34. Journal of Qur’anic Studies, 23(2), pp. 66‑111.
Legenhausen, M. (2023, April, 14). Personal conversation with the responsible author at Imam Khomeini Institute.
Müller, M. (1874). Chips from a German Workshop. New York: Scribner, Armstrong.
Neville, R. (2017). Religion-Specific or Trans-Religious? [Video]. Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions. Retrieved 2017 March 6, from https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2017/03/06/video-religion-specific-or-trans-religious
Universität Bonn. (n.d.). CV of Prof. Dr. Klaus von Stosch. International Center for Comparative Theology and Social Issues. Retrieved 2025, 5, Dec, from https://www.ctsi.uni-bonn.de/en/about-us/team/klaus-von-stosch-1/cv
Tracy, D. (2005). Comparative Theology. Encyclopedia of Religion (L. Jones, Ed. Vol. 13). Detroit: Macmillan Reference.
Von Stosch, K. (n.d.). Souvenir of Bonn: A Conversation with Klaus von Stosch on Comparative Theology (In the process of publishing).
Von Stosch, K. (2014a). Is Comparative Theology Catholic? Studies in Interreligious Dialogue, 24(1), pp. 59-67.
Von Stosch, K. (2014b). Understanding and appreciation: a reply to Marianne Moyaert. Studies in interreligious dialogue, 24(1), pp. 74-77.
Wilhelm, J. (1910). Loci Theologici. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. (New Advent). New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/ 09320a.htm.

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics