Islam's Jesus

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments My interest in writing a book discussing the role of Jesus in Islam began more than twenty years ago while I was doing research on the personification of evil in the Islam, al-Dajjal tradition. Jesus was in one sense the personification of good in the Islamic tradition. Coming to the United States and teaching at a Catholic university heightened my feeling that a book such as this one was an important and necessary contribution to the scholarly and public debate about religion here and in the world. In the list of tasks one must undertake when preparing a book, perhaps the most enjoyable is the writing of the acknowledgments section. Not only is it the place where one is able to show his or her gratitude to the many people and groups that made the author’s life bearable and the project a success, but it indicates just that: the project was a success and now it’s over. With that I will now commence with my own joy and acknowledgments. I am indebted to the many people who have given invaluable support at various stages in this work. The insightful comments of Dr. Marcia Hermansen of Loyola University Chicago on the first draft of the book made an indispensable contribution to this project. Dr. John Haught of Georgetown University also read the entire manuscript and provided me with a Christian perspective on many of the issues I address in the book. Similarly, I am thankful to Dr. Christopher Leighton, director of the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies, for providing me with crucial sources on the messianic traditions in both Judaism and Christianity. I am also thankful to the numerous unnamed people with whom I have spoken about the subject and who have enhanced my understanding of Jesus. As a professor with a substantial teaching load, I am especially grateful for receiving the Grauel Fellowship from John Carroll University in 2007. The fellowship allowed me to spend one semester concentrating on research and was important in getting this project off the ground. I would like to thank the members of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at John Carroll University for their continuing support during this project and beyond. I am also very thankful to my graduate assistants, especially Gillian Haluskar and Carson Bay, for their valuable comments. I want to thank my executive assistant, Patrick Laughlin, who provided great support and useful ideas. The students in my courses here at John Carroll who have asked me numerous questions regarding Jesus and Islam have helped me more than they might imagine. I am appreciative of my friend and classmate Kasim Kirbiyik, who is a member of the Documentation Database staff at the library of the Center for Islamic Studies in Istanbul, for providing me with invaluable research support. It gives me pleasure to acknowledge the editors at the University Press of Florida for their guidance and support without which this project would not have been possible. I have to emphasize that all errors and inaccuracies are mine, and I would appreciate any comments that readers have. I would like to thank my wife, to whom I dedicate this book, and my children for their support and understanding during my work on the project. Even my youngest daughter, who often reminded me that I forgot to take her to the children’s museum, has been patient and thoughtful. Most important, I would like to thank God for giving me health and the ability to produce this work. Acknowledgments 184 ...