MUSLIM INTELLECTUAL RESPONSES TO CHRISTIANITY: THE COMPARATIVE RELIGION WORKS OF H.M. ARSJAD TH. LUBIS AND H. YUSUF AHMAD LUBIS

Abstract

This article examines the Muslim intellectual response to Christianity in early 20th-century Indonesia through a study of the works of H.M. Arsjad Th. Lubis and H. Yusuf Ahmad Lubis, two prominent figures of Al Jam’iyatul Washliyah. The method used is a literature study with a historical and philosophical approach, analyzed through Muhammad Legenhausen’s theory of religious pluralism. The research findings show that both figures employed an apologetic approach that emphasized the superiority of Islamic teachings while critically addressing Christian doctrines—particularly concerning the oneness of God, the deity of Jesus, and the authenticity of the Gospel. Their works reflect a pattern of deontic-religious pluralism, namely the belief in the exclusivity of Islamic truth as the final revelation. Nevertheless, a moral-dialogical approach was also adopted through debates and the writing of da’wah literature in local languages. This study strengthens the argument that interreligious dialogue within the Indonesian Islamic tradition has deep intellectual roots and offers a model of religious response that is firm yet rational and peaceful.