Kenneth Cragg

The Rt Rev (Albert) Kenneth Cragg DD (8 March 1913 – 13 November 2012) was an Anglican bishop and scholar^[1] who commented widely^[2] on religious topics for more than fifty years, most notably Muslim-Christian relations.^[3]

Born on 8 March 1913 and educated at Blackpool Grammar School and Jesus College, Oxford he was awarded the Grafton Scholarship^[4] in 1934 ^[5] and ordained in 1937.

He began his career with a Curacy at Higher Tranmere Parish Church, Birkenhead after which he was Chaplain of All Saints', Beirut, Rector of Longworth,^[6] Professor of Arabic and Islamics, Hartford Seminary, Connecticut and Warden of St Augustine's College, Canterbury before his elevation to the Episcopate as Assistant Bishop of Jerusalem in 1970.^[7]

There was at that time no Bishop of Egypt, and Cragg was given responsibility for the oversight of the Anglican communities in that country, until, in 1974, as a result of the reorganisation of the Anglican Church in the Middle East, a new Bishop was appointed.^[8]

He was then appointed Reader in Religious Studies, at Sussex University,^[9] following which he was Vicar of Helme (and an Assistant Bishop within the Wakefield Diocese).

A prolific author,^[10] in 1982 he retired to Oxford.

He married, in 1940, Melita Arnold. She died in 1989.^[11]

Publications

• The Call of the Minaret (1956) Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 56-8005 (1964 edition, Galaxy Books).
• Sandals at the Mosque - Christian Presence Amid ISLAM (1959) SCM Press.
• Alive to God - Muslim and Christian Prayer compiled with an Introductory Essay by Kenneth Cragg (1970) Oxford University Press, SBN 19 213220 2.
• The Event of the Qur'an - Islam in its Scripture (1971) George Allen & Unwin, ISBN 0-04-297024-5.
• The Mind of the Qur'an - Chapters in Reflection (1973) George Allen & Unwin, ISBN 0-04-297030-X.
• This Year in Jerusalem - Israel in Experience (1982) Darton, Longman & Todd, ISBN 0-232-51534-4.
• Muhammad and the Christian (1984) Darton, Longman & Todd.
• The Pen and The Faith - Eight modern Muslim writers and the Qur'an (1985) George Allen & Unwin, ISBN 0-04-297044-X.
• The Christ and the Faiths (1986) SPCK.
• Readings in the Qur'an - Selected and Translated by Kenneth Cragg (1988) Collins Liturgical Publications, ISBN 0-00-599087-4 (pbk.).
• Troubled by Truth - Life-Studies in Inter-Faith Concern (1992) Pentland Press, ISBN 1-872795-71-4.
• Returning to Mount Hira' (1992) Bellew.
• The Arab Christian - A History in the Middle East (1992) Mowbray, ISBN 0-264-67257-7.
• The Lively Credentials of God (1995) Darton, Longman & Todd.
• Palestine - The Prize and Price of Zion (1997) Cassel, ISBN 0-304-70075-4.
• Muhammad in the Qur'an - The Task and the Text (2001) Melisende, ISBN 1-901764-13-3.
• Am I not Your Lord - Human Meaning in Divine Question (2002) Melisende, ISBN 1-901764-21-4.
• The Iron in the Soul - Joseph and the Undoing of Violence (2009) Melisende, ISBN 978-1-901764-55-0.

Translations

• Hussein, Muhammad Kamel City of Wrong - A Friday in Jerusalem (1954) Cairo. Translation from Arabic published 1959 by Djambatan, Amsterdam.

References

1. ↑ The Times, Monday, 12 Aug 1963; pg. 7; Issue 55777; col B Anglican Mission To The World (Toronto Congress) “The political frontier"-The Rt Dr Kenneth Craggs
2. ↑ The Times (61142): p. 10, col. E. 27 January 1982. It would be odd to imagine that Palestinians would forget in three decades what Jews remembered for 18 centuries  Missing or empty |title= (help)
3. ↑ Interview with Bishop Cragg
4. ↑ The Times, Monday, 1 October 1934; pg. 7; Issue 46873; col C Ecclesiastical News Grafton Scholarship
5. ↑ Wound up 1996/7
6. ↑ Crockford's Clerical Directory2008/2009 Lambeth, Church House Publishing ISBN 978-0-7151-1030-0
7. ↑ The Times, Thursday, 18 December 1969; pg. 10; Issue 57746; col E Church News Canon Appointed Bishop
8. ↑ "Bishops of the Diocese of Egypt". Official website of the Episcopal Anglican Diocese of Egypt. Retrieved 2011-04-08.  "The Rt Rev Kenneth Cragg". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-11-27. 
9. ↑ During which time he also served as an Assistant Bishop within the Diocese of Chichester > Who's Who 2008: London, A & C Black, 2008 ISBN 978-0-7136-8555-8
10. ↑ Amongst others he has written "The Call of the Minaret", 1956;"Counsels in Contemporary Islam", 1965; "The Event of the Qur'ān", 1971; " Palestine: the prize and price of Zion", 1997; "Muhammad in the Qur'ān", 2002; "The Qur'an and the West", 2006 British Library catalogue accessed Thursday 28 August 2008 20:12
11. ↑ "The Rt Rev Kenneth Cragg". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-11-27.