Loving our Neighbor,Honoring Muhammad

Abstract

This essay explores what it means for Christians to honor the Prophet Muhammad in the midst of public insults to Muhammad and Muslims. How might Muhammad be our neighbor, whom we are called to love, rather than our archenemy? The author outlines the complex roles and images of Muhammad as a paradigmatic figure for Muslim life, as well as the theological issues that surround the concept of prophecy in Islam and Christianity. He argues that we need to listen for and relate to the Muhammad carried by Muslim neighbors, in order to discern the multiple ways of Islam and to accept the challenge of mutual witness to God's ways in the world.