From Polemic to Partnership: Accessible Islamic Texts

Authors: Rabbi Ben Abrahamson
Conference: 3rd International Dialogue Of Civilization And Tolerance Conference 2026
Keywords: Classical Islamic texts, tafsir, Ibn Hazm, Artificial intelligence, Muslim-Jewish Dialogue, Ahl al-Kitab, covenant, digital Humanities, religious education, Tolerance, family and community

Abstract

This paper presents three recent projects of the Al-Sadiqin Institute as a model for how new media and artificial intelligence can serve responsible religious dialogue, family and community life, and community trust. The first project is the release of Volume 1 of a complete English translation of Ibn Hazm’s al-Fiṣal fī al-Milal wa-l-Ahwāʾ wa-l-Niḥal, accompanied by notes and critical commentary. The second is the release of thirty-four volumes of Tafsīr al-Qurʾān: A Complete English Translation of Classical Qurʾānic Commentaries, presenting accessible English renderings of major classical commentaries including al-Ṭabarī, al-Baghawī, al-Qurṭubī, al-Bayḍāwī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Jalālayn, al-Suyūṭī, and al-Shawkānī. The third is the construction of a translated, segmented corpus of ninety-five major Islamic works prepared for AI-assisted querying and research. Together, these projects address a central challenge of the digital age: religious communities increasingly encounter each other through short media fragments, online controversy amplified by algorithms, and inherited polemical summaries rather than through primary sources. By making core Islamic materials searchable, readable, and critically annotated, the Institute seeks to move Muslim-Jewish dialogue from goodwill alone to documented source-based engagement.

The goal is not to erase religious difference, but to identify neglected building blocks within Islamic tradition that can support mutual recognition, honest disagreement grounded in sources, and a covenantal model of coexistence. In this way, digital humanities and AI can strengthen rather than weaken family and community life, provided that they are anchored in textual responsibility, human dignity, and respect for inherited religious law.