Al-Ghazali and the Christian-Muslim Controversy in the Middle Ages (Implications for Christian –Muslim Relations in Nigeria Today)

Abstract

Islam was a ‘minority faith’ in a large Christian domain in the sixth century of its existence with the emergence of Prophet Muhammedالنبي محمد  in the Arabian Peninsula. It struggled to prove its authenticity through various Islamic scholars like Al-Ghazali (450/1058-505/1111). The success was tremendous for Muslims. Today, the reverse is the case in many countries of the world, especially the Middle-East. The few surviving Christians have to prove their “faith” and “belief” in one God and in Jesus Christ his Son, through authentic spirituality and strong faith. They are continuously challenged by Muslims to prove that their Christian faith is indigenous to them. On their own side, they have to show cyrstally through their committed ecumenical solidarity and collaboration that they are not divided in their common Christian beliefالعقيدة المسيحية , though, might bear different Christian names. For their survival in these communities of Muslims also, it is important for them to deepen and manifest their knowledge and understanding of other world religions, especially Islam, which is posing the greatest challenge to Christians today , as well as show a committed readiness to dialogue with them.

With these vital tips in mind, one can consider one of the most famous Islamic scholars of the Middle Ages - and still relevant for Christian-Muslim dialogueالحوار المسيحي الإسلامي in the 21^st Century - who endeavoured to establish  the authenticity of Islam before their “conceived” Christian opponents, for as Charles A. Kimball (1995:202) describes the history of their relations vividly: “the history of Muslim-Christian interaction includes periods of great tension, hostility, and open war as well as times of uneasy toleration, peaceful co-existence, and cooperation to achieve shared goals”. Al-Ghazali based his own criticism on the Islamic understanding of the Unity of God and Divinity of Christ.  It is in the context of these two major disagreements between Christian and Muslim scholarsالعلماء المسلمين  that we shall discuss Al-Ghazali, especially as it relates to the present-day challenge of Christian minorities in large Muslim communities to prove authenticity of their faith and belief.