Christian Encounters W/iran Engaging Muslim Thinkers After the Revolution

'Dr Sasan Tavassoli has made a unique and important contribution to our understanding of the modern history and emerging contemporary context for religion in Iran. He has placed our understanding of the relationship between Christianity and Iran on a new footing, as he seeks to account for the understanding and image of Christianity in wider Iranian-predominantly Shi'i Muslim-culture and religious thought, and enables us to understand Iranian society as one of the most intellectually dynamic societies in the Muslim world today. While the book is at its most straight forward an exploration of Iranian Shi'i theological engagement with Christian thought since the Islamic revolution of 1979, it also provides important insights, creatively undertaken with curiosity and commitment, into the encounter between the Christian and the Islamic traditions in the modern world.' - Anthony O'Mahony, Heythrop College, University of London; 'This book will add to our understanding of intellectual currents in present-day Iran. Focussing as it does on what may be called three levels of Iranian Muslim approaches towards Christianity, it offers a series of instructive insights into internal Iranian Muslim thinking, and shows that while public statements may appear to be disinterested in matters western and Christian and dismissive of them, this is far from the case in more reflective circles. With his Iranian background and Christian faith, Sasan Tavassoli is unusually well placed to give an accurate and informed exposition of what has been taking place in Iran in recent decades. His book deserves to be read by a wide readership, and it will hopefully contribute towards improving understanding between Western thinkers and Iranian intellectuals.' - David Thomas, Professor of Christianity and Islam, School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham; editor of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations