Drawing upon the work of Muslim women interpreters of the Qur'an, feminist theology, and semantic analysis, Never Wholly Other offers a novel re-interpretation of the Qur'anic discourse on religious "otherness." Lamptey challenges notions of clear and static religious boundaries.

Contents ; Acknowledgments ; Note on Transliteration, Translation and Gendered Language ; Introduction ; Part One: Historical and Contemporary Approaches to Religious 'Otherness' ; Chapter 1: 'Self' and 'Other' in Historical Islamic Discourse ; Chapter 2: Sameness and Difference in Contemporary Islamic Approaches to Religious Diversity ; Part Two: Conceptual and Hermeneutical Foundations of Muslima Theology ; Chapter 3: Contemporary Muslim Women Interpreters of the Qur'an: Hermeneutical Approach and Conception of Difference ; Chapter 4: From Sexual Difference to Religious Difference: Feminist Theological Approaches to Religious Difference ; Chapter 5: From Holistic Interpretation to Relational Hermeneutics: Toshihiko Izutsu's Semantic Analysis of the Qur'an ; Part Three: A Muslima Theology of Religious Pluralism ; Chapter 6: Lateral and Hierarchical Religious Difference in the Qur'an ; Chapter 7: Relational Mapping of the Semantic Field of Taqwa: Concepts of Hierarchical Religious Difference ; Chapter 8: Never Wholly 'Other': Sameness, Difference and Relationality ; Glossary of Arabic Terms ; Bibliography ; Index ; Index of Qur'anic Verses

Jerusha Tanner Lamptey brilliantly incorporates important ideas from multiple disciplines in an attempt to challenge prevailing views on a critical topic. In responding to the question, 'How does the Qur'an depict the religious Other?,' Lamptey makes the case for nuance and openness. This is a paradigm-challenging book and one that constitutes a significant contribution to the study of Islam and, indeed, religion.

"Jerusha Tanner Lamptey brilliantly incorporates important ideas from multiple disciplines in an attempt to challenge prevailing views on a critical topic. In responding to the question, 'How does the Qur'an depict the religious Other?,' Lamptey makes the case for nuance and openness. This is a paradigm-challenging book and one that constitutes a significant contribution to the study of Islam and, indeed, religion." --Mohammad Hassan Khalil, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Adjunct Professor of Law, Michigan State University "How do American Muslim women interpret the Qur'an and construct a theology of religious pluralism? This splendid book is an introduction to both Muslima theology, and to the extraordinary women who have created and shaped it by interpreting the Qur'an for a modern, Western context. Through this book, Jerusha Tanner Lamptey adds her own significant voice to that important conversation." --Amir Hussain, Professor of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University "Jerusha Tanner Lamptey's book is a timely contribution to the discourse on pluralism and religious diversity. Focusing on the American social context, Lamptey's construction and expression of a Muslima theology of religious pluralism is an immensely worthy and notable engagement with the theology of religions field. By providing a Muslim female approach to the study of diversity and pluralism within a theological framework, Lamptey has succeeded in producing a novel piece that makes a very significant contribution to the scholarly discussion of both Islamic feminism and religious pluralism. This work will be of interest to many scholars in the field as well as lay people, and is a delightful read." --Farid Esack, Professor in the Study of Islam and Head of the Department of Religious Studies, University of Johannesburg

Selling point: Critiques existing contemporary Islamic scholarship on religious diversity Selling point: Reconceptualizes religious difference, particularly the distinction between two genres or types of religious difference Selling point: Introduces Muslima theology, a new genre of theology Selling point: Uses interdisciplinary insights garnered from Qur'anic hermeneutics, feminist theology, identity theory, and semantic analysis Selling point: Offers a close reading of the Qur'anic text

Jerusha Tanner Lamptey is a scholar of Islam, theology of religions and comparative theology. She is currently Associate Professor of Islam and Ministry at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She previously taught at Georgetown University, where she also received her Ph.D. in Theological and Religious Studies with a focus on Religious Pluralism in Catholic and Islamic Thought. She has published several articles and book chapters on religious pluralism, ecumenical relations, John Paul II, Vatican II, and African traditional religion.

Selling point: Critiques existing contemporary Islamic scholarship on religious diversity Selling point: Reconceptualizes religious difference, particularly the distinction between two genres or types of religious difference Selling point: Introduces Muslima theology, a new genre of theology Selling point: Uses interdisciplinary insights garnered from Qur'anic hermeneutics, feminist theology, identity theory, and semantic analysis Selling point: Offers a close reading of the Qur'anic text