Overview

From the time of Martin Luther's writing of ""On War Against the Turk"" in 1529 to American Lutheran military chaplains serving in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Lutheranism has had a symbiotic relationship with Islam in the Middle East, framed across cultural and religious borders. There have been those who have crossed these ""borders"" to engage in mission and dialogue. In Piety, Politics, and Power, David Grafton examines the origins of the American Lutheran missionary movement in the Middle East, with a focus on its encounter with Muslims and the varied Lutheran theological responses toward Islam. The narrative is placed within historical contexts to provide an overarching background of Middle Eastern history and Christian-Muslim Relations. The survey covers Lutheran missionary communities in Persia, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jerusalem and the West Bank, including the work of the Lutherans working for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missionaries, the Anglican Church Missionary Society, the Lutheran Orient Mission, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Whether enthusiastic Pietists seeking the conversion of Muslims and Jews; cautious theologians in dialogue with Islam, Judaism, or Oriental Orthodoxy; or social activists working on behalf of refugees in Egypt and the West Bank, Grafton argues that these Christian missionaries were all enmeshed in the politics of the communities in which they lived, and either contributed to or suffered from the realities of Middle Eastern and international politics. Given the current reality of ""Pax Americana"" in the Middle East, the author asks the driving question about the role of American Lutheran missions and Lutheran-Middle Eastern Muslim dialogue in the age of American power in the Middle East.

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9781606081303

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Reviews

[Piety, Politics, and Power] fills a large gap in the story of Protestant missions in the Middle East. How American Lutherans have attempted to engage Islam through dialogue since 1969 is the central concern of this detailed study. Grafton reflects carefully on the twentieth-century rise of American power within the Middle East, a geo-political factor that continues to impact every form of Christian ministry in the region. --Stanley H. Skreslet, F. S. Royster Professor of Christian Missions, Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education, Richmond, Virginia In Piety, Politics, and Power, David Grafton surveys Lutheran missions in the Middle East as they were 'forced to change and transform [themselves] again and again' in the context of turbulent histories. Its narrative stretches from Luther, who regarded Turks as God's 'punishment in a world gone awry, ' to the recent efforts of American Lutherans, who have been trying to promote conversations with Muslims, Jews, and other Christians. This book is clear, wide-ranging, and important. --Heather J. Sharkey, Assistant Professor, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania

Author Information

David D. Grafton is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, and has been active in Christian-Muslim dialogue within the U.S., England, and the Middle East. He is the author of The Christians of Lebanon (2003).

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