Shabbir Akhtar & Galatians - Online Symposium

On 9 September 2026, PISAI and the Institute for the Study of Religion in the Middle East (ISRME) co-sponsored an online symposium devoted to the late Shabbir Akhtar’s groundbreaking book, The New Testament in Muslim Eyes: Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (Routledge, 2018), the first substantial Muslim commentary on a letter of St Paul. The event was moderated by David Marshall, Guest Editor of Islamochristiana, and attracted 212 registered participants from more than 30 countries. Martin Whittingham (Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies Oxford) introduced Akhtar’s life and work, followed by responses to the book from Saqib Hussain (Loyola Marymount University) and Scott Ryan (Claflin University), representing Muslim and Christian perspectives respectively. A panel discussion brought together Muhammad Modassir Ali (Hamad Bin Khalifa University), Ryann Craig (Georgetown University), Gabriel Reynolds (University of Notre Dame), and Elif Tokay (Istanbul University), followed by a plenary Q&A.
The symposium forms part of the wider Islamochristiana initiative on “Islam and St Paul”, which will be the theme of volume 52, scheduled for publication in April 2027.

The recording of the event is now available here: https://isrme.org/programs/detail/?slug=shabbir-akhtar-recording