This book, Trialogue of the Abrahamic Faiths, edited by the late Dr. Ismail Raji al-Faruqi is certain to be hailed as a historical milestone in Muslim-Christian-Jewish dialogue. Perhaps not since the early Middle Ages when the grand courts of Damascus, Baghdad, and Qurtubah (Cordova) witnessed numerous dialogues and debates between the adherents of these three Abrahamic faiths, has there been such a successful effort made by religious scholars to communicate with one another on matters of faith and understanding. This book, readers may note, goes beyond the modern-day ostensible studies in comparative religion, and each of the contributing scholars envinces an appreciation and more-than-cursory knowledge of all the three faiths. The authors take up three major topics: The Other Faiths, The Nation-State as a Form of Social Organization, and The Faith-Community as a Transnational Actor for Justice and Peace. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim contributors offer their respective enlightened views on the subjects discussed.

Author Leonard Swidler himself is one of the American originators of the term trialogue (words among three persons), and here he raises it to a new level as he shares the podium with professors Reuven Firestone and Khalid Duran. These three professors, beginning with Firestone and Judaism, present their faith traditions and the challenges as well as possibilities for genuine trialogue. Each offers invaluable insights into the ways they share Hebraic roots and Abrahamic traditions and how their beliefs and practices have evolved through the centuries up to and including the present. Throughout the text, readers are encouraged to pause for reflection and/or discussion of the key points presented by the authors. This is a fascinating, enlightening, and highly recommended introduction to these three great faith traditions and how they evolved and are practiced today.

Recently, the term "Abrahamic religions" has been used with exceeding frequency in the academy. We now regularly encounter academic books, conferences, and even positions (including endowed chairs) devoted to the so-called "Abrahamic religions." But what exactly are "Abrahamic religions"? Although many perceive him as the common denominator of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Abraham remains deceptively out of reach. An ahistorical figure, some contend he holds the seeds for historical reconciliation. Touted as symbol of ecumenicism, Abraham can just as easily function as one of division and exclusivity. Like our understanding of Abraham, the category "Abrahamic religions" is vague and nebulous. In Abrahamic Religions, Aaron Hughes examines the creation and dissemination of this term. Usually lost in contemporary discussions is a set of crucial questions: Where does the term "Abrahamic religions" derive? Who created it and for what purposes? What sort of intellectual work is it perceived to perform? Part genealogical and part analytical, this book seeks to raise and answer questions about the appropriateness and usefulness of employing "Abrahamic religions" as a vehicle for understanding and classifying data. In so doing, Abrahamic Religions can be taken as a case study that examines the construction of categories within the academic study of religion, showing how the categories we employ can become more an impediment than an expedient to understanding.

This volume addresses the promise and peril of post-9/11 interfaith trialogue. In fifteen clearly written and insightful essays, distinguished scholars of different faiths and divergent world views guide readers toward an informed understanding of the role of religion and the basic teachings of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks on the United States. Acknowledging commonalities, these essays also shed light on the essential differences among the teachings of the Abrahamic traditions and raise pivotal questions regarding humanity's future: What prompted the carnage? What has changed since then? What remains to be achieved? Dispelling ignorance about the religious other is a necessary but only a first step toward achieving a durable and effective trialogue. In an increasingly perilous and interconnected world where the effects of globalization are yet to be fully recognized, interfaith trialogue holds out the hope of genuine movement toward a more peaceful coexistence.

In an age when "collisions of faith" among the Abrahamic traditions continue to produce strife and violence that threatens the well-being of individuals and communities worldwide, the contributors to Encountering the Stranger--six Jewish, six Christian, and six Muslim scholars--takes responsibility to examine their traditions' understandings of the stranger, the "other," and to identify ways that can bridge divisions and create greater harmony.