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{en} Jesus and Muhammad: Parallel Tracks, Parallel Lives (2011) is a book by Francis E. Peters.

Abstract

"Jesus and Muhammad are two of the best known and revered figures in history, each with a billion or more global followers. Now, in this intriguing volume, F.E. Peters offers a clear and compelling analysis of the parallel lives of Jesus and Muhammad, the first such in-depth comparison in print. Like a detective, Peters compiles "dossiers" of what we do and do not know about the lives and portraits of these towering figures, drawing on the views of modern historians and the evidence of the Gospels and the Quran. With erudition and wit, the author nimbly leads the reader through drama and dogma to reveal surprising similarities between the two leaders and their messages. Each had a public career as a semi-successful preacher. Both encountered opposition that threatened their lives and those of their followers. Each left a body of teaching purported to be their very words, with an urgent imperative that all must become believers in the face of the approaching apocalypse. Both are symbols of hope on the one hand and of God's terrible judgment on the other. They are bringers of peace--and the sword. There is, however, a fundamental difference. Muslims revere Muhammad ibn Abdullah of Mecca as a mortal prophet. Although known as a prophet in his day, the Galilean Jew Jesus was and is believed by his followers to have been the promised Messiah, indeed the son of God. The Quran records revelations received by Muhammad as the messenger of God, whereas the revelations of the Gospels focus on Jesus and the events of his life and death. A lasting contribution to interfaith understanding, Jesus and Muhammad offers lucid, intelligent answers to questions that underlie some of the world's most intractable conflicts."--Publisher description.

Editions and translations

Published in New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2011.

Contents

Clearing the Ground. -- The art of portraiture ; The long quests ; History and revelation ; Saints and their lives ; In the eyes of the believers ; Polemic and history ; Two foreign countries ; Parallel tracks, parallel lives -- The Settings. -- Jesus and first-century Palestine ; The context for Muhammad ; The prophets in place -- Opening the Files. -- The dossier on Jesus ; The dossier on Muhammad ; The New Testament and the Quran -- The Critic at Work: Coming of Age. -- Jesus' infancy narratives ; The "infancy gospel of Islam" ; Where do we stand? -- The Living Voice. -- Jesus speaks ; Muhammad speaks, or sings ; Q and the Hadith -- The Message: Jesus in Galilee. -- The shape of the gospels ; John the Baptist and Jesus ; The twelve ; Spreading the good news ; An itinerant preacher ; What was the good news? ; The kingdom ; Messiahs and the Messiah -- Signs and wonders ; A Jewish teacher ; The man and the message -- The Message: Muhammad at Mecca. -- A preliminary exercise ; The man Muhammad ; The call to prophecy ; An experience of the unseen world ; A heavenly journey ; Identification, validation ; Muhammad's public preaching ; The Muslims pray ; Growing pressures ; The Satanic Verses ; Threats of the judgment ; The seal of the prophets ; Identifying the prophet ; Two prophetic reformers ; The plot against Muhammad ; A resort to violence ; The migration ; Two versions of the good news -- Act Two: Tragedy and Triumph. -- Jesus in Jerusalem ; Muhammad at Medina ; Politics and piety ; A New Dawn: The Aftermath, the Legacy. -- Jesus, the aftermath ; Muhammad, the legacy ; Portraits from life -- Spreading the Word. -- Without the Lord ; How the message spread ; Making Christians ; Without the prophet ; The missionary impulse ; Conversion and assimilation ; Making Muslims

External links

• [ Google Books]