Christian–Muslim Encounters and Dialogues over the Centuries: Bringing Peace and Harmony
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Theologies".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 985
Editor
Interests: Christian and Muslim understandings of God; Catholic theology; Christology; Mariology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The historical relationship between Muslim and Christians dates back to the seventh century C.E. when Islam began to spread throughout the Middle East, Africa, and the Indian subcontinent; by the early eighth century, parts of Europe were under Muslim control. Consequently, this Special Issue seeks to understand Christian–Muslim interactions over the centuries. Recent studies of Syriac texts reveal early interactions between Christians and Muslims, the beginning of centuries of Christian–Muslim dialogues, debates, and perspectives that continue into the present day.
We invite submissions that will examine how Christians and Muslims have interacted in different contexts over the past 1400 years. We anticipate that most articles will be historical in nature. Some articles, though, may explore contemporary paths for rebuilding relationships between Muslims and Christians in pursuit of mutual understanding and peaceful co-existence.
Some possible topics include the following:
- Exploration of past historical relationships between Muslims and Christians.
- Biblical ways of reorienting Christian–Muslim relationships.
- Qur’anic perspectives on Christians and their historical impact.
- The Crusades and their impact.
- Conservative Christian evangelical theology and Islam.
- Various Christian–Muslim dialogues, debates, and perspectives over the centuries (e.g. John of Damascus; Patriarch Timothy I and Caliph Al-Mahdi; Abū Qurra and Caliph al- Ma’mūn; Thomas Aquinas; Ibn Tamiya; Ramon Lull; Nicholas of Cusa; Ludovico Marracci, etc.).
- Case studies of peaceful Muslim–Christian coexistence.
- Case studies of Christian–Muslim conflicts.
- Christian–Muslim relations in particular countries or regions.
- Persecution and implementation of Shariah Law.
- The role of European missionaries in the past and their relations with Muslims.
- The role of the Catholic Church in Muslim–Christian dialogues.
- Dialogical ways of restoring relationships in the twenty-first century.
- Mutual Christian–Muslim pursuits of peace and prosperity.
We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send these materials to the Guest Editors, Dr. Robert Fastiggi (fastiggi.robert@shms.edu), and the Assistant Guest Editor, Rev. Aftab Yunis Hakim (aftabyunis@gmail.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor team for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.
Deadline for abstract submission: April 30, 2026
Deadline for full manuscript submission: August 31, 2026
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Robert Fastiggi
Guest Editor
Rev. Aftab Yunis Hakim
Guest Editor Assistant
Affiliation: Lahore College of Theology, Lahore, Pakistan
Interests: Christology; Biblical Theology; World Christianity; Relational Theology
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- Christian–Muslim interactions
- tawhid
- dialogues
- conflicts
- peaceful coexistence
- evangelical theology
- missionary movements
- imperialism
- colonialism
- Christendom
- Christology
- persecution
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