SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

theological discussion between the Islamic and Coptic theologians. They seemed seriously committed to careful and congenial discernment of the manner and extent to which their understanding of God was similar or identical, and what the remaining issues were which divided them. Clearly, there was a general motivation on both sides to maintain a genuine fraternal understanding of each other and to pursue a relationship of mutual faith in God. Al-Nadim reports a surprising story about an Islamic cotton worker with remarkable theological and philosophical perception. His name was Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Kullab. He belonged to a faith community called the Nabitah al-Hashwiyah. He was an innovative thinker and disagreed on a number of issues with the most noted theologian and leader of his Muslim community, Abbad ibn Sulayman. One of the key disagreements between them demonstrates the openness of some of the Muslim theologians to the Islam-Christian dialogue. It has to do with ibn-Kullab's perception of the role of revelation from God as the foundation of truth and true religion, particularly the Johannine description of Jesus' role in Christian revelation. Ibn-Kullab claimed that the Christian's were right in their notion that the Word of Allah is Allah. Sulayman suggested that if ibn-Kullab saw things in that way it meant in effect that he was a Christian, even if he claimed a place in the Islamic faith community. Ibn-Kullab responded that if Sulayman did not see it as he did, Sulayman did not take divine revelation and the Qur'an with adequate seriousness.

from me this saying, 'The Word of Allah is Allah'. If he had lived we would have overcome the Muslims." 7 This narrative demonstrates a rather more inquisitive, congenial, and forthcoming attitude on the part of Islamic theologians than on the part of Coptic Christian theologians, though it is profoundly clear how substantive and neighborly the dialogue really was. That is, the conversation between this Islamic theologian, ibn-Kullab and the Coptic theologian, Pethion, quite obviously took place in a Christian sacred space, namely, within the Cloister where Pethion lived or worked. Interestingly, ibn-Kullab was remarkably open to Christian theological concep-tualization, though Pethion, despite his sense of the blessedness of his relationship with ibn-Kullab, is still thinking in terms of the objective of overcoming Islam. I suppose he means that if ibn-Kullab's perception of theology and influence in the Muslim community had endured, Egyptian Islam would have become indistinguishable from some form of Coptic Christianity. Al-Nadim informs us that Abu al-'Abbas al- Baghawi continues the story of ibn Kullab, the innovative Islamic theologian, by reporting that when one of his colleagues, Muslim or Christian we cannot tell from the narrative, asked ibn Kullab "What have you to say about the Christ (al-Masih)?", ibn Kullab replied, "The same thing that the Sunnites (Ahl al-Sunnah) among the Muslims say about the Qur'an." 8 This is obviously a reference to a comparison of John 1:14, on the one hand, and Suni theology of holy scripture, on the other. The Johannine passage informs us that "The Logos became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld its glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." The comparable Sunnite doctrine of sacred scripture holds that the Qur'an is an incarnation in material form of the divine Logos or revelation, in the same way. Conclusion It does not require much reflection to see and nostalgically appreciate this tenth century picture

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter Ibn Nadim then ells the story of one of ibn- Kullab's Islamic admirers named Abu al-Abbas al-Baghawi who said,

We visited Pethion, the Christian, who was in Dar al- Rum on the West Side (of Baghdad). The conversation flowed on until I asked him about Ibn- Kullab. Then he said, "God be merciful to 'Abd Allah. While he was sitting beside me in this cloister, he pointed in the direction of the church and learned

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