Background
Clinton Bennett was born on October 7, 1955, in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. In 1966, Bennett migrated to Australia with his parents, Howard Bennett (1922–1997) and Joan Bennett (1922–2007) and his two siblings.
(This study, which looks at traditional and alternative id...)
This study, which looks at traditional and alternative ideas of the true Jesus, traces both the quest of the historical Jesus within the Christian movement, and the encounter between the Jesus story and the world beyond the Church. The book analyzes a range of insider and outsider images of Jesus, some popular, some scholarly, some hotly debated. It draws on popular literature, religious tradition, art and even film to elucidate its quest for Jesus.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0826449166/?tag=2022091-20
2002
(Can democracy flourish in Muslim society? What does the Q...)
Can democracy flourish in Muslim society? What does the Qur'an say about women, minorities, human rights? Are Islam and the West on a collision course? After 9/11, much has been written about the inevitability of a clash between Islam and the West, as their worldviews compete for global supremacy. Recent developments have done little to challenge this thesis, or the West's negative image of Islam. The author compares and contrasts contributions from "traditional" and "progressive" Muslims. Voicing at least two Muslim opinions in each area of debate, this book challenges the idea that all Muslims think identically. While Muslims and Modernity is designed primarily for use an undergraduate textbook, reference to accessible Internet material, to literature and to popular as well as scholarly sources will broaden its appeal to a general readership. This book's discussion draws on post-colonial theory, feminist analyses, anthropology, cultural and religious studies, politics and philosophy.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0826454828/?tag=2022091-20
2005
(For centuries Christians and Muslims have engaged with ea...)
For centuries Christians and Muslims have engaged with each other in manifold ways, peaceful and otherwise, be it in scholarly study, or in war and colonization. Today, Christians represent an influential body of opinion that largely perceives Islam, post 9/11, as a threat. Yet Muslims represent approximately one third of the world's population. Improved understanding between Christians and Muslims is therefore crucial and a prerequisite for universal peace and justice. This book aims to investigate Islam's place in the world, Muslim aspirations vis-a-vis non-Muslims and the realities of how Muslims are perceived and how they perceive others. Each chapter analyses accessible texts from central thinkers and commentators, broadly split into two camps: confrontational or conciliatory. Christian-Muslim relations are set in the wider context of civilizational, geo-political and economic interaction between the Muslim world and the historically Christian West.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0826487831/?tag=2022091-20
2008
(This volume in the Studying World Religions series is an ...)
This volume in the Studying World Religions series is an essential guide to the study of the Islamic faith. Clearly structured to cover all the major areas of study, including historical foundations, scripture, society, thought, ethics, rituals, spirituality and aesthetics, this is the ideal study aid for those approaching Islam for the first time. Rather than attempting to cover all the material, the critical and methodological issues that students need to grasp in the study of Islam - and religion in general - are drawn out, and the major contemporary debates explored. With helpful suggestions for further study, pointing students towards material such as primary sources (scriptures), films and novels and including ideas for teaching, discussion topics and exercises, Studying Islam is the perfect companion for the fledgling student of Islam.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0826495508/?tag=2022091-20
2010
(Five women have served as leaders of Muslim countries, na...)
Five women have served as leaders of Muslim countries, namely Megawati Sukarnoputri (Vice President of Indonesia, 1991-2001 and President 2002-4), Benazir Bhutto (PM of Pakistan, 1988-90 and 1993-6), Sheikh Hasina (PM of Bangladesh, 1996-2001), Khaleda Zia (PM of Bangladesh, 1991-5 and 2001-6) and Tansu Çiller (PM of Turkey, 1993-6). This is an extraordinary record and somewhat of a challenge to the widespread perception that Muslim women are oppressed. Four of the women belonged to political families by birth or marriage, raising interesting questions about the extent to which this played a role alongside their skills and personal qualities in their rise to power. To what degree did culture rather than Islam aid and abet their roles, or indeed is it sustainable to distinguish Islam from culture. This study of the role of these five powerful Muslim women uses their life and work to explore relevant issues, such as the role of culture, gender in Islam and the nature of the Islamic state.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0826400876/?tag=2022091-20
2010
Clinton Bennett was born on October 7, 1955, in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. In 1966, Bennett migrated to Australia with his parents, Howard Bennett (1922–1997) and Joan Bennett (1922–2007) and his two siblings.
Bennett completed his final year of primary education in Australia then attended Maclean High School. Bennett returned to England to train for ordination at Northern Baptist College, Manchester while also taking Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology at the University of Manchester where he developed his interest in world religions. He completed his Master of Arts degree in 1985 and his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1990 (both from Birmingham University). In his master and doctor' researches he analyzed Western approaches to Islam against the background of colonialism and Christian mission, especially in India. His special interest focused on how ideological presuppositions influenced scholars’ assessments of Islam.
Bennett became Ordained Baptist minister in 1978 and then he served as a tutor from 1983 to 1986. He was clerical officer in Government of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia from 1972 to 1974. Clinton Bennett worked at Baptist Missionary Society, Bangladesh as missionary from 1979 to 1983. In Birmingham Ethnic Education and Advisory Service in Birmingham, he was a tutor from 1983 to 1986. In British Council of Churches in London he took a position of an executive secretary from 1987 to 1992. From 1992 he is working as a senior lecturer at Westminster College.
From 1998 to 2001 he was an associate professor of religion at Baylor University, Texas. There, he was cross-listed as a member of Asian Studies faculty.
Dr. Bennett has taught courses on Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Methodology (in Religious Studies), Ethics, World Religions, Area Studies (Asia and the Americas), World Cultures and on aspects of theology and Christian ministry during his career. For several years, he taught on-line for the Centre for the Study of Jewish-Christian Relations, Cambridge, was an honorary Visiting Research Fellow at Birmingham University and worked as a principal officer (local government rank) and clerk to governors at a community school. Dr. Bennett is an author of ten books, co-written one and has edited and guest edited journals. He has advised Oxford University Press, Routledge International, Ashgate Press and Continuum International.
He currently teaches Religious Studies part-time at the State University of New York at New Paltz and at Marist College, Poughkeepsie and writes for various publications. He also teaches, sometimes on-line and sometimes in residence, for the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, based at Madingley Hall.
Between 1979 and 2011 he was an accredited minister of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. In 2012, he became a recognized clergyperson of the Alliance of Baptists and a naturalized United States citizen. In 2014, he was named by the Alliance to serve on the National Council of Churches Interreligious Relations and Collaboration on Topics of Mutual Concern Convening Table.
(Five women have served as leaders of Muslim countries, na...)
2010(Can democracy flourish in Muslim society? What does the Q...)
2005(This study, which looks at traditional and alternative id...)
2002(For centuries Christians and Muslims have engaged with ea...)
2008(This volume in the Studying World Religions series is an ...)
2010(Victorian perceptions of Islam were not monochrome. Some ...)
Quotations:
“My first book, Victorian Images of Islam, argued that some Western writers questioned the prevailing attitude of cultural and religious superiority that led to a belittling of everything non-European. My second book In Search of the Sacred combined my interest in methodology in religious studies generally with a specific focus on anthropology. This book, which seems to have filled a gap, was built on my teaching. My collaborative book Researching Teaching Methods drew on my use of small-scale, qualitative research that I performed because I wanted more exposure to social research methodology."
“I think that academic writing can be fun. I dislike dry, multiple-footnoted, impersonal prose. Clifford Geertz has influenced me enormously. So have post-modern writers, especially Michel Foucault and (dare I admit this?) Salman Rushdie. My new book on Muhammad explores the insider/outsider issue. Does any text have a single, true meaning that can be discussed, or are all of our readings mediated by the hermeneutical lenses we wear? I hope this book has something worthwhile to say.”
Bennett is a fellow of Royal Asiatic Society, Royal Anthropological Institute and British Association for the Study of Religions.
Bennett married Rekha Sarker on April 12, 1996. He has one step-son: George.
