CONTEXTUALIZING CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS IN MUSLIM CONTEXTS

Abstract

Church-state relations in Central Asia have never been cozy, but they are now taking a turn for the worse as Islam flexes its political muscles. This article examines the possible consequences from two very different ways the Protestant community might handle this issue, both there and in other parts of the Muslim world. The first model examines the trend for Christians, both local and foreign, to push for legal protections based on Western concepts of human rights. The second one is drawn from the example of the ancient “Eastern Church Catholicos Timothy,” and is proposed as an exercise in contextualization.