Islamic theology of religious pluralism: building Islam-Buddhism understanding

Drawing from the teachings of the Qur’an about human unity and religious diversity and also the history of Islam-Buddhism coexistence, this chapter looks at the chances, challenges and opportunities for building Islam-Buddhism understanding in the age of rising Asian Islamophobia and Muslim-Buddhist conflicts in Asia. The chapter draws its content from the teachings of the Qur’an regarding how it views the role of religion in human history and its attitudes towards different religions. It also highlights that the distortion of the Qur’an’s positive views about religions is largely the result of political and economic developments in Muslim history – an interplay between religion and politics in the post-Muhammadan era. Finally, the chapter urges the Muslims to view other religions such as Buddhism from the perspective of the Qur’an – i.e. Ahl al-Kitāb perspective which recognizes religious pluralism