What are the biggest theological problems between Islam and Christianity?
Well, the clearest one is the doctrine of the Trinity. Are there three Gods? [Is] there one God? Islam predicates itself on radical monotheism — that both in word and in deed the Godhead has to be completely unified under all circumstances, and three Gods is anathema to that. I think the interesting question is does that theological difference automatically have practical consequences? That is, can the two never reconcile, then, if such fundamental doctrines are different? And my reading of the Qur’an is that, yes, the Qur’an criticizes the idea of saying that there are three Gods while at the same time recognizing that devotion within people who believe that, and saying that, well, your devotion to God is commendable even though we disagree with you. And that’s the same process that comes out in scriptural reasoning — that on the practical level people are known as servants of God. You can recognize a servant of God regardless of their tradition. But to say that we’re all the same bas
