Riddell, Peter G. 1951–

PERSONAL: Born September 14, 1951, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; son of Gordon (an accountant) and Nancy Marianne (a homemaker; maiden name Golby) Riddell; married Anna Mae Cooper (an educator); children: Rachel Mary, James Gordon. Education: Sydney University, B.A., 1974; Sydney Teacher 's College, diploma in education, 1976; Australia National University, Ph.D., 1985; postdoctoral studies at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1988–90. Religion: Christian.

ADDRESSES: Office—London School of Theology, Green Lane, Northwood, Middlesex HA6 2UW, England. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: International Development Program of Australian Universities and Colleges, Canberra, English-language advisor and director of English-language training task force, 1985–93; World Vision Australia, Canberra, regional manager of East and Southeast Asia, 1993–95; London School of Theology, London, England, director of Centre for Islamic Studies and Muslim-Christian Relations, 1996–. Sessional lecturer, St. Mark's School of Theology, Charles Stuart University, Australia, 1995–; visiting lecturer, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1999–2001.

MEMBER: Royal Asiatic Society (Malaysian branch), Royal Society of the Arts (fellow).

WRITINGS:

Transferring a Tradition: 'Abd al-Ra'uf al-Singkili's Rendering into Malay of the Jalalayn Commentary, Centers for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of California at Berkeley (Berkeley, CA), 1990.

Reading Technical English, International Development Program of Australian Universities and Colleges (Canberra, Australia), 1990.

(Editor, with Tony Street, and contributor) Islam: Essays on Scripture, Thought, and Society: A Festschrift in Honour of Anthony H. Johns, Brill (New York, NY), 1997.

Islam and the Malay-Indonesian World: Transmission and Responses, University of Hawaii Press (Honolulu, HI), 2001.

(With Peter Cotterell) Islam in Context: Past, Present, and Future, Baker Academic (Grand Rapids, MI), 2003.

Christians and Muslims: Pressures and Potential in a Post 9/11 World, Intervarsity Press (Leicester, England), 2004.

Contributor to books, including Fundamentalisms, edited by C. Partridge, 2001; Christians and Muslims in the Commonwealth, edited by Anthony O'Mahoney and Ataullah Siddiqui, 2001; Islam in Southeast Asia: Political, Social, and Strategic Challenges for the Twenty-first Century, edited by K. S. Nathan, Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, 2004. Contributor to journals, including Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations.

SIDELIGHTS: Peter G. Riddell is a scholar of Islam who writes from a Christian's perspective. He has written several books about the Islamic religion and culture. In his book Islam in Context: Past, Present, and Future, written with Peter Cotterell, Riddell summarizes the origins of Islam, its relationship to Christianity over the centuries, and Islam's current struggle with extremists among its adherents. Booklist reviewer John Green noted that "the information Riddell and Cotterell relay is accurate and well organized." Brian L. Fargher, writing in the International Bulletin of Missionary Research, felt that the section of the book covering current issues about Islam is too brief "to give anything but the sketchiest outline of the context of a world crisis." Fargher concluded, however, that Islam in Context is "excellent for anyone looking for an introductory textbook to the Islam-Christianity debate."

Riddell is also the author of Islam and the Malay-Indonesian World: Transmission and Responses, which discusses the state of the Islamic religion in Southeast Asia. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies reviewer Robert W. Hefner noted that Riddell spends much of the book discussing pre-twentieth-century Islamic philosophy and history outside of Southeast Asia, and Hefner deemed this approach necessary for a book aimed at audiences who are not overly familiar with Islam. "The scope of coverage is nonetheless remarkable," Hefner stated, "offering the most comprehensive overview of the development of Islamic thought in Southeast Asia yet available."

Riddell told CA: "My mother was a very good writer and accomplished poet, and she whet my appetite for writing initially. In terms of my own specialisation, the chief influence on my work has been my former Ph.D supervisor, Professor Anthony H. Johns.

"The favourite of my books is Islam and the Malay-Indonesian World: Transmission and Responses, because it represents the culmination of my research over a twenty-year period. I am delighted with the positive reception it has received.

"I hope [my work] will stimulate both Christians and Muslims to interact in more positive ways, to set aside individual agendas, and to have far greater genuine respect for each other's views and perspectives."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July, 2003, John Green, review of Islam in Context: Past, Present, and Future, p. 1849.

International Bulletin of Missionary Research, January, 2004, Brian L. Fargher, review of Islam in Context, p. 45.

Journal of Islamic Studies, January, 2001, Mustansir Mir, review of Islam: Essays on Scripture, Thought, and Society: A Festschrift in Honour of Anthony H. Johns, pp. 79-83.

Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, February, 2003, Robert W. Hefner, review of Islam and the Malay-Indonesian World: Transmission and Responses, p. 163.