Clinton Bennett's Home Page

Victorian Images of Islam (London, Grey Seal: 1992; Piscataway, N.J. : Gorgias Press, 2009)

Derived from my PhD thesis.

From Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations: 'This illuminating study sheds light into an overlooked corner of Victorian religious history'.

Dr. Avril Powell of SOAS in an article published by the Henry Martyn Centre, Cambridge (2003) wrote: 'in an important comparative study ... Clinton Bennett categorised six major British scholars as either "conciliatory" or "confrontational" in their approach to Muslims and Islamic societies.'

From the Journal of Islamic Studies: 'This book is a valuable contribution to the debate on the important question of Islam and the West ...the Baptist Minister complements the work of three Muslim writers, M. A Anees, Syed Z. Abedin, and Z. Sarder, Christian-Muslim Relations published ... by the same publisher ...'

In Search of the Sacred: Anthropology and the Study of Religions (London, Cassell: 1996). This book builds on research and teaching at Westminster, where I developed a major interest in methodology.

 From Theological Book Review:: 'This book cuts through a dense thicket ... it will be useful in many fields ... the study of religion, theology, inter-cultural-studies, and missiology'.

From Journal of Religious History: 'Clinton Bennett has written a gentle, generous and self-effacing book tracing the genealogy of his own and the more general discourse on religious studies. It is a book born of his experience as part of team teaching at Westminster College, Oxford ...'

Researching into Teaching Methods in College and Universities

(London, Kogan Page: 1996) co-written with two colleagues. My contribution draws on my M.Ed research.

In Search of Muhammad (London, Continuum: 1998). This book combined textual/historical research with an attempt at fieldwork.

 From Publishers Weekly: 'this ambitious study ... all adds up to an accessible and thorough glimpse into the identity of Muhammad.'.

From A. G Noorani's Islam and Jihad, 'Clinton Bennett's book, In Search of Muhammad is an earnest effort by a devout Christian to understand Muhammad, and places him in the ranks of others whose services Minou Reeves acknowledges in her survey of Western writing on Muhammad.' (p 53, London, Zed Books, 2002)

Rollin Armour writes, 'Bennett's book ... surveys a variety of issues in the study of Islam and is notable for the author's sensitivity to the religious aspects of Islam' Islam, Christianity and the West: A Troubled History (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2002 p 183)

See Dr Ahmed Shafaat's review on islamicperspectives.com

In Search of Jesus: Insider and Outsider Images

(London, Continuum: 2001)

In this book, I examine Christian, humanist, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu views of Jesus.

From Religious Studies Review: 'This book is an enjoyable read and would be valuable for the general reader interested in a trustworthy presentation of the "dazzling galaxy of Jesus images"'.

Michael James McClymond descibes the book as 'a valuable survey of Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim responses to Jesus' (Familiar Stranger: An introduction to Jesus of Nazareth, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B Eerdmans, 2004).

Muslims and Modernity: An Introduction to the Issues and Debates (London, Continuum, 2005)

Against the background of Islam's encounter with liberal modernity, this book provides an introduction to Muslim thinking on gender equality, minority and human rights, the nature of the Islamic state, peace and war. This research was supported with a grant from the Spalding Trust.

  Morris M. Mottale "Clinton Bennett's Muslims and Modernity contributes to the themes by introducing the reader to the ideological debates among Muslim intellectuals in Europe and the Islamic world, addressing the relationship between Islam and its response toward Western civilization, minorities, secularization and the separation between religion and state ...  (Canadian Journal of Political Science).

 

In Understanding-Christian Muslim Relations Past and Present (London, Continuum, 2008) I analyse key texts representing what I call confrontational and conciliatory approaches to relations between Christianity and Islam by contributors from both sides. Discussion is set in the wider context of civilizational, geo-political and economic interaction.

 

Mike Jones wrote, "Bennett has written a book that is detailed, informative, balanced and touches on both the politically correct and incorrect . He talks abut the issues that affect both Christians and Muslims. He raises questions about issues such as Mohamed and morality. He discusses people and situations that have contributed to the conflicted world in which we currently live. There is a wide variety of people who will find this a helpful book." (Christian Book Reviews, Calgary University, CA).

Douglas Pratt wrote, "Without doubt, this work is magisterial in
scope ... Bennett’s confrontation and conciliation category division provides a useful heuristic device even if, as his cross-category exemplars indicate, categories are not always as fixed or rigid as their definitions suggest. This book will undoubtedly repay careful reading and would make a most useful foundation text for a course in the history of Christian–Muslim relations." (Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations).

 

In Search of Solution: The Problem of Religion and Conflict (London, Equinox, 2008)

This book explores three conflict contexts in which religion is generally acknowledged to be at least a factor, although some minimize religion's role while others identify it as a major cause of violence. The book evaluates what role religion does play (or has played) in the Northern Ireland, Bosnian and Israel-Palestinian conflicts including the contribution of the women's movement in Ireland. I argue that scriptures can be used to justify conflict, so an alternative interpretative paradigm is needed if this tendency is to be reversed. I call this the "higher principle."  War has sometimes been necessary but  is immature. Peace is a mark of human maturity, God's ultimate ideal. With justice and greater solidarity between all people, the planet and other species, peace is the end goal of history.

 

Interpreting the Qur'an: A Guide for the Uninitiated (London, Continuum, 2009)

“This book introduces students to the Qur'anic text by relating it to the life of Prophet Muhammad and the development of the first Muslim community in the early seventh century. An interesting and relevant approach that will help the uninitiated make sense of this extremely complex text.” – Abdullah Saeed, Sultan of Oman Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies and Director of the Asia Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia.

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