Journal of Islamic Studies > Volume 28, No. 1, 2016

Takfeer in Judaism and Christianity: A Comparative Study from an Islamic Perspective / Khaled Mohammed Al-shunyber

In religious debates, the notion of the relationship among communities of different faiths occupies an important place. The religious communities manifest different positions towards one another. Among the issues of importance in religious studies is that of rulings on followers of different faiths. This research aims to identify the rulings related to followers of different faiths in general, with particular reference to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The research follows a deductive approach. Among the important findings of the research are: ruling a follower of a different faith to be a disbeliever is typical of all faiths with scriptures; and the ruling is recognized in their "holy" books and by their scholars. The research recommends that due attempts have to be made to properly understand the beliefs of others, and to reject bias and abuse of statements taken out of context for distortion or persecution purposes. Ruling that someone is a disbeliever is one thing, but denying his human rights is another thing that must be rejected.