Islam and the Bible
A public lecture by Walid Saleh (University of Toronto)
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Royce 314
UCLA
The Bible played and continues to play a central role in the religious imagination of the Islamic tradition. Although the Hebrew Bible is not part of the scripture of Islam, the Bible was the reference starting point for the Islamic religious tradition, both the creation of the world and the Abraham story playing the role of the central myths to a world the Qur'an came to inhabit. The most talked about person in the Qur'an is not Muhammad but Moses. The Bible thus occupied a liminal position, in the center, and on the periphery simultaneously. This ambivalent relationship, was one of creative tension, both pulling the Islamic tradition to know more about the Bible, but also uneasy about its counter claims. The relationship between Islam and the Bible is a complex story, and the ambivalence of the relationship has meant that this relationship is ever changing, and utterly unpredictable. The lecture will attempt to understand the nature of this relationship and its relevance for Islam.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
For more information please contact
Amy Bruinooge, Center for Near Eastern Studies
Tel: (310) 825-1455
cnes@international.ucla.edu
www.international.ucla.edu/cnes/events
Sponsor(s): Joy & Jerry Monkarsh Family Fund, UCLA Center for the Study of Religion
