Delving Into the Divine Love: Islam and Christianity Points of View
DarulQuran Academy is honored to announce that on September 8, 2023, it successfully held a conference with the aim of promoting and disseminating the spiritual teachings of the Abrahamic religions, fostering academic and theoretical cooperation in areas of common religious interest. This event was organized by the Comparative Religion Studies Group within the institute and was met with enthusiastic participation from attendees.
based on the two holy books, the Quran and the Bible. Following extensive research in various scientific and scholarly fields and drawing upon prevalent themes and historical studies in literary, mystical, and philosophical domains, the central topic of “Divine Love Mysteries in Islam and Christianity According to the Quran and the Bible” was chosen.
This theme was further explored in three main areas:
- The nature and origin of divine love in the Quran and the Bible.
- Divine love in Islamic and Christian literature.
- The significance and position of “reason” and “love” in Islamic and Christian traditions.
Distinguished scholars were invited to this conference from among Muslim and non-Muslim Islamic scholars and orientalists worldwide. The three prominent speakers included Dr. Rebecca Masterton, an expert in Comparative East Asian and African Literature, with a Ph.D. in French and Islamic Mystical Literature and a senior lecturer at the Islamic University of London, United Kingdom; Dr. Curtis Andrew Rigsby, Associate Professor of Comparative Thought and Philosophy at Hiroshima University, a researcher and scholar in the field of Comparative Religions, Comparative Philosophy, and Theology from Japan; and Dr. Rudolph Boshoff, a graduate of the South African Theological Seminary (SATS) with a master’s degree in theology and a researcher in Islamic and Christian studies with a comparative approach from South Africa.
The hosts of this conference were Dr. Marzieh Shariati, the Head of the Department of Comparative Religion Studies at the DarulQuran Academy, and Ms. Mona Khodaei, the Director of Public Relations at the DarulQuran Academy. The event was masterfully facilitated by Mr. Hossein Mahdi.
The conference commenced with a recitation of beautiful and inspiring verses from the Quran and the Bible, elegantly recited by Ms. Khodaei, and was officially inaugurated with an introductory speech by Dr. Marzieh Shariati.
During this nearly three-hour event, the invited scholars presented thought-provoking insights. Below, we briefly summarize some of the key points from their speeches:
Dr. Rebecca Masterton delivered an enlightening speech comparing certain Christian mystics to Islamic mystics. She also delved into the theoretical interpretation of Gregory’s mystical philosophy, an ancient Greek Christian mystic philosopher, and its relevance in the context of Islamic mysticism.
Dr. Rigsby discussed the typology of love and the various methods through which love is examined in the Christian tradition. He emphasized that love is not merely an emotion but a personalized logic that unifies all aspects of reality. Additionally, he mentioned that the distinctive feature of Christian tradition is the identification of eternal love relationships within God and the doctrine of the Trinity.
Dr. Rudolph Boshoff explored the proof of love for God in Jewish-Christian tradition and compared it with the teachings found in the Bible and the Quran. He argued that the Bible portrays God as a compassionate father who expresses deep love for humanity. In contrast, the Quran predominantly focuses on God’s satisfaction with human beings based on their actions and lacks a profound and mutual love relationship.
This event saw participants from approximately ten different countries, and at the end of the session, attendees had the opportunity to ask questions and receive responses from the esteemed speakers.
The Department of Comparative Religion Studies at DarulQuran Academy sincerely appreciates the participation of all attendees and offers its heartfelt thanks. For those who were unable to attend the conference, the institute has made the conference video available on its website for viewing.
To stay informed about future events and conferences hosted by this institute, please visit https://darulquran.co.uk/news/ or contact us via WhatsApp at +44 7538 461315.
