Common Ground Between Islam and Buddhism

Kazemi, an academic fellow to the Jordanian Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, authors this book, which compares Islamic values and practices with the teachings of the Buddha and Buddhist practices (such as invocatory prayer). In a well-written introduction, H.R.H. Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan explains that, after his leading of a movement to establish common ground between Christians and Muslims in 2007, he and his Muslim colleagues next turned to the Dalai Lama to chart similar territory with him, including the commissioning of this book. The Dalai Lama offers an enthusiastic foreword, but the contents of the book would likely be unsettling to many Muslims and Buddhists. The Prince and the author argue that the Buddha may be one of the Qur'an's unsung prophets, citing Qur'anic passages describing unnamed messengers sent to all of God's people. A core theme of the book is that Buddhists are among the Islamic Ahl al-Kitab, or People of the Book, which is traditionally limited to Christians and Jews. Kazemi boldly expands the category to include Buddhists since they follow a divinely revealed scripture. Sincere Buddhists may, despite the Dalai Lama's endorsement, bristle at Kazemi's disregard for central Buddhist tenets like reincarnation and non-theism. Though flawed, the author, the Prince, and the Dalai Lama are to be commended for this multi-faith resource.