For Academics
Scholarship at the intersection of Qurʼanic studies, biblical studies,
and Christian-Muslim relations
Who This Page Is For
This page is for university and seminary students engaging Islam for the first time in a serious academic context, for graduate researchers in Islamic studies, missiology, or comparative religion, and for scholars and theologians whose work touches the intersection of the Qurʼan and the Bible.
The growing list of resources here assumes academic seriousness. They are texts, scholars, and institutions that are pioneers in the field.
Mark Harlan
Harlan, Mark
“The Qurʼan and the Bible: Competitors or Companions?” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 60, no. 2 (June 2025): 236–69. Examines the relationship between the two scriptures through the lens of Qurʼanic intertextuality and ecumenical dialogue.
Harlan, Mark
“Christian Zionism: A Missiological Emergency.”
Journal of the Evangelical Missiological Society, Vol. 3, no. 1 (2023): 89–107. A missiological critique of Christian Zionism’s impact on global witness and interfaith relations.
Harlan, Mark
“The Role of Ishmael in the Divine Drama: Act 1”
Journal of Linguistics, Culture & Religion, Vol. 3, no. 2 (2022): 55–69.
Harlan, Mark
“The Role of Ishmael in the Divine Drama: Act 2”
Journal of Linguistics, Culture & Religion, Vol. 4, no. 1 (2023): 77–95.
Ground-breaking Scholarship in the Field
of Qurʼanic studies, biblical studies, and Christian-Muslim relations.
Qurʼanic hermeneutics and biblical intertextuality
Galadari, Abdulla
Qurʼanic Hermeneutics: Between Science, History and the Bible
A rigorous engagement with how the Qurʼan reads and rereads biblical and rabbinic material. Essential for any researcher working on Qurʼan-Bible relations.
Galadari, Abdulla.
Metaphors of Death and Resurrection in the Qurʼan: An Intertextual Approach with Biblical and Rabbinic Literature
Bloomsbury, 2021. Extends Galadari’s intertextual method to one of the most theologically significant themes in the Qurʼan.
Phillips, Gabriela Profeta
“The Qurʼan and Its Biblical Under-text: New Perspectives on Non-Muslim Readings of the Qurʼan”
Explores how non-Muslim engagement with the Qurʼan’s biblical substratum opens new possibilities for interfaith hermeneutics.
Block, C. Jon.
Expanding the Qurʼanic Bridge: Historical and Modern Interpretations of the Qurʼan in Christian-Muslim Dialogue
University of Exeter, 2011. A comprehensive survey of how the Qurʼan has been read in Christian-Muslim dialogue, with special attention to ecumenical trends. Freely available online.
The Qurʼan and the death of the Messiah
Abu Rabeʾa, Iyad
Good Friday: The Death of the Messiah on the Cross — A Qurʼanic Study
Through critical review of major commentators and detailed analysis of wafāʾ and al-Nisāʾ 4:157–158, argues that the Qurʼan’s own wording affirms both the death and crucifixion of the Messiah. A significant contribution to the academic debate.
Abu Rabee, Iyad.
“The True Meaning of Al-Injīl in the Qurʼan”
Journal of Linguistics, Culture & Religion. A focused lexical and exegetical study of a term central to Qurʼan-Bible relations.
Al-Saber, Ayoub.
“Distortion and Divine Revelation”
Excerpt from a study of the Messiah in the Qurʼan, in Ayoub Al-Saber and Timothy Michael Paulson, Good News of a Word from Him: An Examination of the Messiah in the Generous Qur’an, privately published, 2026. Engages the Qurʼan’s own language on the identity and mission of the Messiah. Significant as the work of a Muslim scholar engaging these questions from within the tradition.
Rashid, Ungaran & Harlan, Mark
“Son of God in the Gospel of John”
Examines the theological meaning of “Son of God” in the Gospel of John and its implications for Christian-Muslim dialogue. Co-authored with a former professor of comparative religion at the International Islamic University Malaysia. Available on the BridgingScriptures website.
Muslim-idiom translation studies
The Bible Translator, Vol. 74, Issue 3, December 2023. A dedicated issue on translation theory and practice for Muslim-context Bible translation. Essential for students in missiology and Bible translation.
Historical origins of Islam
Donner, Fred.
Selected papers on early Islamic history
A University of Chicago historian whose work argues that Islam originated as a broadly monotheist movement inclusive of Jews and Christians. His papers are freely available online and important for understanding the earliest Christian-Muslim relations.
Historical origins of Islam
Qurʼanic studies, biblical studies, and Christian-Muslim relations. Full profiles and links
to their publications are available in the Recommended Scholars section of this site.
Academic Programs & Research Centers
For students seeking formal academic training in Christian-Muslim relations,
the following institutions offer the most rigorous programs available.
Dallas International University
Offers undergraduate and graduate courses on the Bible, the Qurʼan, Islam, and Christian service (prefix “AC”). Mark Harlan is Senior Faculty.
https://www.diu.edu/
Network of Centers for Christian-Muslim Relations (NCCMR)
Online Diploma in Christian-Muslim Relations, taught in English over 12 months, in partnership with Domuni Universities.
https://nccmr.org/
Woodberry Intercultural Institute
Peace College seminar for mid-career practitioners. Annual Al-Azhar Seminar in Cairo with instruction from senior Muslim scholars.
https://www.woodberryinstitute.org/
Center for Muslim-Christian Studies, Oxford
An independent Christian-based academic center where Christians and Muslims study together in the context of living relationships.
https://www.cmcsoxford.org.uk/
Center for Muslim and Christian Studies, Houston
Courses on the Qurʼan and Bible in which Christians and Muslims study together. Research and seminar programs.
https://www.cmcshouston.org
The Wisdom of the Prophet Sulaiman: Arabic-English, Selected and Translated from the Ancient Texts. Al Kalima. Journal of Language, Culture and Religion 4:2 (2023), 108-111.
https://www.diu.edu/documents/jlcr/jlcr-4.2-2023.pdf
Explore Further
Explore curated resources, insightful articles, and recommended scholars to deepen your understanding and continue your learning journey.