Mary in the Qur'an: Introduction

Abstract

In this introductory essay, we situate the topic of Mary, mother of Jesus, in the Qur'an as a possibly fruitful bridge toward better understanding between Christians and Muslims. In particular, we introduce a number of essays responding to the book Mary in the Qur'an: Friend of God, Virgin, Mother co-authored by Muna Tatari and Klaus von Stosch. Zahra Mohagheghian will introduce an online conference that she organized in November 2023 on this book, and what it meant for her as a female Muslim researcher from Iran to engage in such a comparative theological project. Finally, Pim Valkenberg will connect this initiative to a number of contemporary initiatives centered around Mary as bridge toward better understanding between Muslims and Christians, and focus on the form of comparative theology advocated in the book Mary in the Qur'an.