Join us in a conversation with Rev. Dr. David Grafton, Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford International University, about his new book Muhammad in the Seminary: Protestant Teaching About Islam in the Nineteenth Century along with Prof. Jerusha T. Rhodes, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York.

From the abstract: “Throughout the nineteenth century, Islam appears regularly in the curriculum of American Protestant seminaries. Islam was not only the focus of Christian missions but was studied as part of the history of the Church as well as in the new field of Comparative Religions. In addition, Arabic was taught as a cognate biblical language to help students better understand biblical Hebrew. Passages from the Qur’an were often read as part of language instruction. This book examines the curriculum from the first hundred years of seven prominent Protestant seminaries and asks what we might learn about how Islam was taught and viewed in the era when seminaries were the first graduate schools, and seminary libraries held some of the most important collections on religion in the United States [emphasis added]. Why is it that Islam was pervasive then but is rarely examined in graduate theological education today, especially when Islam is a such a prominent part of American society and history?”

Register

Date & Time:

Tuesday, April 8, 2025
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM EST
Burke Library, Union Theological Seminary
3041 Broadway, New York, NY 10027