The story of Abraham, as understood by Christians and Muslims, has always had a formative influence on the central theological dicta of Christianity and Islam. In theologies that perceive class struggle and oppression of the poor as issues distinctly within the purview of religion to address, the role of Abraham is remarkably significant. In re-telling the story of Abraham from the perspective of the oppressed, Abraham becomes an archetypal monotheist within a new reading of history, one which sees God on the side of the exploited masses. / This thesis examines and compares the socio-theological themes connected to the interpretation and application of the life story of Abraham in these two faith traditions. it does so by comparing the position of the Iranian religious ideologue known to many as one who had a major role in inspiring the Iranian youth to revolution in 1978--79, Dr. 'Ali Shari'ati, with Latin American liberation theology. It suggests that the affinity of their goals leads them to use similar methodologies---symbolism and constant interplay between text, context and reader---and ultimately, to create images of Abraham that are as much related to each other as they are to their own faith tradition.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.21206 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Darwish, Linda. |
| Contributors | Levy, Dean Barry (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Faculty of Religious Studies.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001658682, proquestno: MQ50509, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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