Islam and Religious Pluralism

Jul 6, 2026

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Islam and Religious Pluralism examines religious diversity as a core challenge for contemporary religious thought, focusing on how different faiths can be understood, evaluated, and related to salvation. The study analyzes and critiques answers to the problem of pluralism, especially the religious pluralism advocated by John Hick, and then develops an Islamic response grounded in Islamic sources. It also frames key questions about truth, authenticity, and the scope of divine mercy and guidance across religions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages200

Reading Time8 h 24 min

Introduction

Contents

Part One: Liberalism and Pluralism

Introduction to Part One

Political Liberalism

From Liberal Protestantism to Religious Pluralism

John Hick's Religious Pluralism

Soteriological Religious Pluralism

Epistemological Religious Pluralism

Mystical Experience

Alston on the Epistemic Value of Religious Experience

The Epistemological Challenge of Religious Pluralism

ISLAMANDRELIGIOUS PLURALISM MUHAMMAD LEGENHAUSEN Islamic Studies Dept.Center for International and Cultural Studies The phenomenon of religious diversity is one of the questionswith which today's religious thought is faced.Muslim thinkershave tried to deal with this question according to theirintellectual tendencies and positions.Obviously none of theanswers proposed is perfecty right and ultimate,and so the doorshould remain open for further discussion.The present study isthe effort ofone Muslim thinker,in which he tries to analyseand criticize some of the answers to the question of religiousdiversity,especialy the religious pluralism which is advocated byits famous proponet John Hick.Then he goes on to propose anIslamic ansver on the basis of Islamic sources. Mohammad Legenhausen has a PH.D in philosophy from RiceUniversity in U.S.A.He has taught philosophy at someAmerican universities and is now teaching Western philosophyand philosophy of religion in Iran. ISLAM ANDRELIGIOUS PLURALISM 。 MUHAMMAD LEGENHAUSEN Islamic Studies Dept.Center for Intcrnational and Cultural Studies Published by Al-Ioda 76-78 Charing Cross Road London WC2H OBB Tel:02072408381,Fax:02074970180 E-mail:alhoda@alhoda.com URL:http://www.alhoda.com Book Title:Islam and Religious Pluralism Author:Muhammad Legenhausen Copyrightc 1999 Al-Hoda Circulation:3000 First Published in Great Britain 1999 ISBN:1-870907-03-5 Price:8 Pound Printed in I.R.Iran All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced,storedin a retrieval system,or transmitted,in any form or byany means,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording or otherwise,without the prior permission ofthe publishers. # Introduction The phenomenon of religous diversity is one of the questions with which today's religious thought isfaced.The existence of communities in which peopleof different religious traditions live together and theexpansion of social relationships andcommunication at the threshold of the thirdmillennium are among the reasons for payingattention to this vital issue.The main question ishow to better understand and account for thediversity of religions?Is one of these faiths the onlyauthentic,perfect and true religion and are othersinvalid and untrue human constructions?Or can wesee the light of the truth in all the world's religionsso they are to be regarded as different mirrors inwhich the sunlight of truth and salvation is reflected?If only the adherents of one particularreligion can obtain salvation,then how is God'smercy,love,and guidance to be understood?On theother hand,if the possibility of salvation obtains forall adherents of various religions,then how candifferent people with such radically differentreligious convictions attain salvation?Suchimportant and vexed questions as these are the mainproblems of religious diversity. Muslim thinkers have tried to deal with thesequestions according to theirintellectualtendenciesand positions.Obviously none of the answersproposed is perfectly right and ultimate,and so thedoor should remain open for further discussion.Thepresent study is the effort of one Muslim thinker,inwhich he tries to analyse and criticizes some of theanswers to the question of religious diversity,especialy the religious pluralism which is advocated by its famous proponet John Hick.Then he goes onto propose an Islamic answer on the basis of IslamicSources. Of'course the publication of this book does notnecessarily mean that the Islamic Culture andCommunication Organization subscribes to thewhole content of the book.We are grateful to Dr.Legenhausen for his effort to take the currentdiscussion of religious diversity seriously and to findan Islamic response to it.We should also thank Mr.Saced Edalat Nezhad,the director of the departmentof Islamic Studies,who proposed the idea andsupervised its process to the end.We also thank ourbrothers at the Taha Cultural Institute whoCO-operated with us in th

FAQs

What main problem of religious diversity does the book address?

The book analyzes and critiques approaches to religious diversity, with particular attention to religious pluralism advocated by John Hick, before proposing an Islamic answer grounded in Islamic sources.

How does the book relate religious pluralism to John Hick’s view?

It explains that even when religions differ radically in convictions, the possibility of salvation for adherents of various religions raises questions about how divine mercy and guidance can be understood for all.

What is the book’s approach after critiquing existing answers?

After analyzing and criticizing proposed answers to religious diversity, it develops an Islamic response based on Islamic sources.

Who is Mohammad Legenhausen, according to the document?

Muhammad Legenhausen holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Rice University, taught philosophy at American universities, and teaches Western philosophy and philosophy of religion in Iran.

Jul 6, 2026

Upload by Riley