Abstract

Growing up deeply immersed in mid-twentieth-century Catholic America, McAuliffe was drawn into Islamic studies through the classical languages and an exposure to theology in the ecumenical world heralded by Vatican II, in a society shaped by the influx of immigrants from many religions. In Toronto, a new world of religious studies opened to culminate, after Arabic and Persian studies, in research on Christians in the Qur'an. Progress in teaching Christians about Islam in Atlanta, Georgia, and mainly Muslims back at Toronto, led to involvement in practical Christian-Muslim relations in North America and service to the Church both there and internationally through the PCID. The author's major contribution to the field was as the general editor of the multi-volume Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an. By the time of the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York, the author was at Georgetown University in Washington, which led to deeper commitment to Christian-Muslim dialogue through the Building Bridges seminar and in response to the "Common Word" Muslim initiative. Throughout this work has been running the theme of the role of women in both Christian and Muslim traditions.

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