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The
Muslim Jesus in a Danish Context
1
Marie Juul Petersen, translator of the
Danish edition of Tarif Khalidi’s The
Muslim Jesus
In the pamphlet "Jesus in Islam", the
Danish professor Jes Asmussen
2 brings a
story told by a Danish vicar, Ove Bruun
Jørgensen, who served as army chaplain
for the Danish UN soldiers in Gaza in
1961. Ove Bruun Jørgensen spent much of
his time talking to the locals and he
was surprised to find how popular
stories about Jesus were among Muslims
in the area. He wrote down one of them –
a story told to him by an old
Palestinian farmer:
In a town near the Dead Sea lived a wise
man who could read the stars. One night,
when looking at the stars, he saw that a
special child was to be born in
Bethlehem.
It was a child that would become greater
than any other human being, but the king
of Jerusalem and Bethlehem would want to
hurt him. When he saw this, the man
decided to go to Bethlehem to find the
child and his parents. He walked all the
way to Bethlehem where he found Joseph
and Maria and their child. He kissed the
child’s feet and told him that he would
be greater than any other human being,
and that he would be the saviour of the
world. But, the man said to Joseph and
Maria, people want to hurt you, and you
have to leave this place. Go to Egypt
and stay there until your boy grows up.
Joseph packed his mule with their few
belongings, and then the little family
left – heading for Egypt. They walked
through Gaza, Khan Yunis and Rafah, and
whenever they were lost, they looked at
the stars for direction. This way, they
found Egypt in the end. Today, the stars
they followed are called Jesu path to
Egypt.
When he had told the story to the
chaplain, the Palestinian man said:
“Every time I tell this story, I feel so
strange, so strongly. We Muslims often
think about Jesus – much more than
people do in your Christian Europe”.
This story is an example of the role
that Jesus plays in modern Islam.
Another example is the fascinating poem
about the crucifixion of Jesus, written
by the poet Sayyab in the 1960s. In
Islamic history and traditions, we find
numerous of such stories, sayings and
anecdotes, testifying to the important
role that Jesus has played and still
plays for many Muslims. Each in their
way, the stories show that the
relationship between the two religions
is much more complex and nuanced than
often assumed, and that there are many
bonds binding them together.
Tarif Khalidi has collected many of
these stories in his book, The Muslim
Jesus. We are happy and proud to present
the Danish translation of this wonderful
book today. The Muslim Jesus consists in
a collection of 303 short stories about
Jesus’ actions and sayings – what
Khalidi calls the Muslim gospel. The
stories show how Muslims throughout
time, in different places and in
different ways have adopted the figure
of Jesus to their own religious
traditions, finding in him expressions
of their own beliefs.
Khalidi has collected the stories from
8th to 18th century Islamic literature,
and they have their origins in an area
stretching from Spain to India. The
stories were told and written down in
Arabic, but have been translated into
English by Tarif Khalidi. With a
thorough and very informative
introduction and comments to each story,
Khalidi places this unique collection in
a broad cultural, theological and
historical context.
Even though the Muslim Jesus is an
Islamic invention, the Jesus we meet in
these stories does not always reflect
the strict orthodoxy of his creators, as
Khalidi says in his introduction. There
is an important distinction between the
Quranic Jesus and the Jesus we meet in
the Muslim gospel. Whereas the Quran
Islamizes Jesus by detaching him from
specifically Christian concepts, the
stories in Khalidi’s Muslim gospel
present a more diverse, vivid and
narrative image of Jesus. Some of the
stories reflect Jesus’ sayings in the
new Testament gospels, especially the
Sermon on the Mount – others stem from
pre-Islamic ascetics and are part of
Near Eastern traditions of wisdom
literature. Some stories are ascetic and
strict, others philosophical and deeply
spiritual, and yet others full of humour.
One of my personal favourites is the
story of Jesus and the quarrelling
couple:
A couple is arguing in loud voices when
Jesus walks by. What is wrong with you
two, he asks. Look at her, the man says
and points at his wife with disgust.
When we married, she was young and
beautiful, the skin on her face was
smooth and without wrinkles. Now she
looks like an old woman. Listen, Jesus
says. When you eat, don’t stuff
yourself, but eat slowly. This way your
face will regain the smoothness of your
youth. The woman follows his advice and
the couple lives happily ever after.
Despite their differences, all the
stories and sayings express a sincere
joy of narration. They are written in a
vivid and lucid language, and they have
a short and concise form with easily
understandable and clear points. In one
story, Jesus is asked: “Which of your
deeds is the best?” He answers: “Leaving
alone that which does not concern me”.
Another saying is “Be in the middle, but
walk to the side” and “The world is a
bridge, cross this bridge but do not
build upon it” – this latter one is
actually inscribed in one of the
buildings of the mughal emperor of India
The Muslim Jesus has been translated to
more than 20 languages, something which
reflects its relevance and topicality
all over the world. In a Danish context,
we hope that the book can contribute to
a focus on new topics and research
fields within theology and the history
of religion. Theologians often talk
about a common Jewish-Christian history,
Jewish-Christian culture or traditions,
and the study of Judaism has for many
years been an obvious object of study for
theology. But Islam is also a part of
this relationship – the three religions
are historically connected and for all
three of them, the concept of creation
has a central position. Despite this,
the study of Islam has only recently
been allowed its rightful place within
theology. Tarif Khalidi’s book about the
Muslim Jesus introduces a wide range of
interesting topics to embark on in
studies of Islamic theology and the
relations between Christianity and
Islam.
On a different level, the book
illustrates the significance that
popular hand down has for the
development of a religion. Previously,
texts about Jesus were measured on their
value as historical sources, which often
lead to a rejection of popular
traditions as irrelevant fiction. But
recent years have witnessed an
increasing interest in popular
hand downs.
Proverbs and anecdotes
as the ones we find in the Muslim gospel
and in the Christian apocryphal
traditions play a significant role in
the development and handing down of
religious traditions, ideas and
practices and as such, they are
important objects of study. The stories
and sayings of the Muslim gospel might
not bring us closer to an understanding
of the historical Jesus, but they can
tell us something about the people who
told the stories and about their
understanding of Jesus.
The Muslim Jesus is not just interesting
to theologians – it is an interesting
book for everybody who wants to know
more about Islamic culture, thought and
ideas. And as such, the book is highly
relevant in a Danish context. More than
200.000 Danes are Muslim, and Islam has
become an important part of Danish
society. We are a part of each other’s
life and we have to start getting to
know each other.
The Danish philosopher and theologian
Knud Ejler Løgstrup described his age as
dominated by what he called an
all-encompassing logic of duality – what
Americans call ‘the tyranny of the Or’ –
the tendency to organize everything
according to binary oppositions and
mutually excluding categories: Either
you are for something or you are against
it. There were only these two possible
standpoints, incompatible and hostile
towards each other, but at the same time
living on each other’s biases and
prejudices. This logic also seems to
dominate the Danish debate on Islam
today. Are you for Islam or are you
against Islam? Are you for freedom of
religion, anti-discrimination and multi-culturalism?
Or are you against jihad, terrorism and
the suppression of the freedom of
speech?
The Muslim Jesus can, as Khalidi writes
in his introduction, remind us that
relations between Islam and Christianity
have been different than this. There
have been times when Christianity and
Islam were more open to each other, more
aware of and reliant on each others
witness – and times when conversations
between thee two reached further and
deeper than today’s narrow and
simplistic discussions on veils and
cartoons.
Just like Christianity, Islam is not a
monolithic block made of concrete,
immovable and unchangeable. It is a
religion with multiple traditions and
expressions – a religion which develops,
moves and changes throughout history and
in dialectic interaction with the local
traditions and communities in which it
is embedded. Khalidi’s Muslim Jesus
gives us an insight into this
development.
And just like the book can teach us
something about Islam, it might also
teach us something about Christianity.
Islam’s views on Jesus can remind us of
hitherto overlooked or forgotten aspects
of Islam or they might present what is
well-known in a new light.
With the Danish translation of The
Muslim Jesus we hope to contribute to an
open and engaged conversation about
religion, based on a curiosity and
genuine interest in what divides and
unites Islam and Christianity.
K. E. Løgstrup once said: As important
as it is to live with each other in a
pluralist society, as important is it
not to settle for this pluralism and
spiritual idleness, but continue to do
what we can to find and convince each
other of shared connections and
commonalities. There is something common
that is worth talking about, there are
some common human conditions – we live
the same life, albeit in different ways.
As Grundtvig said: Whether we are
Christians or atheists, Muslims or Jews,
what we have in common is the mysterious
enigma of life and human existence.
These common conditions of human life
are what the small publishing firm Mimer
focuses on in their publications which
include Martin Buber, Knud Ejler
Løgstrup and Knud Hansen. We are proud
to add Tarif Khalidi’s book to our
publications – and thrilled that you
would come to Copenhagen to visit us. We
look forward to hearing you speak about
the Muslim Jesus. Before I give the
floor to you, on behalf of Mimer I would
like to thank Professor Jørgen S.
Nielsen for his excellent foreword to
the Danish edition of the Muslim Jesus.
Also, a big thanks to you and your staff
at Center for European Islamic Thinking
for taking the initiative to this event
and for organising it. Finally, let me
thank Grundtvigsfonden for their
economic support to the publication.
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