Pope Francis, Prophet Muhammad, & Palestine
Three podcast conversations about my recent work
Why has Pope Francis made dialogue with Muslims a priority of his papacy? How might Catholics view the Prophet Muhammad? What does Catholic social teaching have to say about advocating for Palestinian rights?
These are questions I’ve been pondering a lot lately, and they are the impetus behind much of my recent work. So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to talk about them in three new podcast interviews. I really enjoyed these conversations—with scholars and friends I really respect—and wanted to share them with you here. I also invite you to join the conversation in the comments section below.
Pope Francis and Islam: My new book project
Matthew Shadle, a Catholic theologian who runs the Substack publication, Window Light, invited me to discuss my new book project, which focuses on Catholic-Muslim dialogue under Pope Francis. You can listen to the episode here, on Apple Podcasts, or via other platforms.
A quote from the interview:
"Another reason that I want[ed] to do this book is because I want to draw attention to the Muslim side of things and how they have actively been engaging with Francis… Pointing out the initiative that Muslims are taking in this relationship is also really important.”
Beyond the topic of Pope Francis, Matt and I talked about Catholic-Muslim relations at the parish level, and my favorite way to introduce young kids to religious diversity: through children’s books!
The Prophet Muhammad and Catholic theology
My colleague Younus Mirza hosts ‘The Islamic Mary’ podcast, which offers Muslim scholarship and spiritual reflection on Mary/Maryam, as well as on Muslim-Christian relations more broadly. I spoke with Younus about my PhD dissertation, which offered a Catholic view of the Prophet Muhammad. You can listen to the full conversation here and on Apple Podcasts.
Here is a video excerpt of our conversation, where I talk about the Prophet Muhammad’s joy:
Israel-Palestine and Catholic social teaching
Finally, I was interviewed by Daniel Bannoura, a Palestinian Christian scholar, on the ‘Across the Divide’ podcast, which brings together American and Palestinian Christians to explore how our faith compels us to push for social justice in the Holy Land. I spoke about recent initiatives among U.S. Catholics, including the sign-on letter on Israel-Palestine and an article about how Catholic social teaching can inform Catholic advocacy on behalf of Palestinian rights. You can listen here, and follow Across the Divide on Instagram here and on Patreon here.
Here’s the video version of my conversation with Daniel:
Join me in ‘digging our well’ in the comments section: How would you answer the questions I posed at the beginning of this post?