Uncovers what Christian seminaries taught about Islam in their formative years Throughout the nineteenth century, Islam appeared regularly in the curricula of American Protestant seminaries. Islam was not only the focus of Christian missions, but was studied as part of the history of the Church as well as in the new field of comparative religions. Moreover, Arabic was taught as a cognate biblical language to help students better understand biblical Hebrew. Passages from the Qur'an were sometimes read as part of language instruction. Christian seminaries were themselves new institutions in the nineteenth century. Though Islam had already been present in the Americas since the beginning of the slave trade, it was only in the nineteenth century that the American public became more aware of Islam and had increasing contact with Muslims. It was during this period that extensive trade with the Ottoman empire emerged and more feasible travel opportunities to the Middle East became available due to the development of the steamship. Providing an in-depth look at the information about Islam that was available in seminaries throughout the nineteenth century, Muhammad in the Seminary examines what Protestant seminaries were teaching about this tradition in the formative years of pastoral education. In charting how American Christian leaders' ideas about Islam were shaped by their seminary experiences, this volume offers new insight into American religious history and the study of Christian-Muslim relations.
David D. Grafton is Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace. He is the author of several books, including The Contested Origins of the 1865 Arabic Bible and An American Biblical Orientalism.
In clear and lively prose, David Grafton traces the development of Protestant seminaries in the United States during the nineteenth century, a formative period for American higher education. Examining seven institutions that range from Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts to Union Theological Seminary in New York, he opens windows into expanses of American history that include interfaith understanding and Christian-Muslim relations. Historians of American education and of American religion will appreciate this fascinating book, as will scholars in seminaries, divinity schools, and religious colleges as they reflect on where American theological education has been and where it should go in an ever more closely connected country and world. -- Heather J. Sharkey, author of A History of Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Middle East
