A Case Study of the Practice of Hospitality to Extend Christ's Welcome to Arab Muslim Women
[Thesis]
Krstulovich, Donna Hardee
Johnson, Alan R.
Assemblies of God Theological Seminary
2020
284
Ph.D.
Assemblies of God Theological Seminary
2020
Both Christian and Muslim women practice hospitality. This shared value of hospitality can open opportunities for friendship and faith conversations, but Muslims and Christians often remain isolated from one another in the same neighborhoods due to both real and perceived differences. This study develops a theory to extend Christ's welcome to Arab Muslim women through the practice of hospitality. First, by researching the primary sources of both faiths, the Bible, the Qur'an, and Hadith to compare and contrast the scriptural foundations for the biblical and Islamic practice of hospitality. Second, by analyzing case study and focus group interviews conducted on-site at Maranatha Chapel Assembly of God Church in Evergreen Park, Illinois to determine how socio-cultural factors facilitate and hinder the practice of hospitality among Christian and Arab Muslim women in that context. Fifteen women from the English-speaking congregation, eighteen women from the Arabic-speaking congregation as well as seven Arab Muslim women from the community participated in this research.