Encountering Islam

Students and researchers into the contemporary religious complexion of the UK and more specifically the development and diverse nature of the Muslim Umma in this country have been well served by recent authoritative academic studies. Lewis [1994], Gilliat-Ray [2010], and Geaves [2015] are such seminal studies. This text based on Richard Sudworth’s University of Birmingham PhD thesis adds to these valuable and essential texts. ‘After centuries of mutual animosity and stereotyping, Christian engagement with Islam’, Richard Sudworth suggests, ‘… is arguably the most pressing task for the church in its relations with Islam and Muslims today.’ But how is the Church of England as the numerically largest Christian Church in England and the established Church to engage with Islam in 21st century Britain? From its “established” status the Church of England has a particular national and local role in fostering inter-religious understanding, social cohesion, and mutual respect between diverse communities. In this study, Sudworth, an Anglican priest working in Sparkbrook, a majority-Muslim area of Birmingham, offers approaches and suggestions to provide working hypotheses for such a question. The subject of Christian-Muslim Relations provides the presenting arena to explore what political theologies enable the Church of England to engage with the diverse public square of the twentyfirst century.