OCRPL is a community of students and faculty dedicated to advancing global south scholarship for global impact
Albert Sundararaj Walters
Research Tutor
albert.walters@ocrpl.org
Specialty: Islamic Studies
Short Biography
The Revd Dr Albert Sundararaj WALTERS is an ordained Anglican priest. He was formerly Vicar-General in the Episcopal Diocese of Iran and Dean of Students and lecturer at Seminari Theoloji Malaysia (STM). He was also a lecturer at St Mark’s Anglican Theological College, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He has served as pastor in a number of parishes in West Malaysia. He was seconded for three years by the Diocese of West Malaysia to work as a mission partner with the Church of Bangladesh during which time he was principal of St Andrew’s Theological College in Dhaka.
He studied theology at Bishop’s College, Kolkata (BD), Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary, Seoul (MTh), and received his PhD in Theology (Islamic Studies) from the University of Birmingham, UK. Currently he is a senior lecturer and an adjunct faculty member at STM and an itinerant preacher and lecturer. He is a passionate advocate of harmonious interfaith engagement and has authored two books and written a number of scholarly articles and book chapters.
Research interests
- Islam, Christian-Muslim Relations
- World Religions
- Interfaith Dialogue
- Ecumenism
- Theological Education
- Anglicanism.
- Major World Religions (esp. Islamic Stuides)
- Christian-Muslim Relations
- Worship & Liturgy and Interfaith Dialogue
Publications/ Journal Articles
- Books
- Knowing our Neighbour: A Study of Islam for Christians in Malaysia (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia:
Council of Churches of Malaysia, 2007) - We Believe in One God? Reflections on the Trinity in the Malaysian Context (Delhi: ISPCK, 2002)
- Chapters in Multi-Author Books
“Christian-Muslim Relations in New Malaysia: Overcoming Barriers, Building Bridges” in Elaine Wei-Fun Goh, Kah-Jin Jeffrey Kuan, Jonathan Yun-Ka Tan, and Amos Wai-Ming Yong (eds.) From Malaysia to the Ends of the Earth: Southeast Asian and Diasporic Contributions to Biblical and Theological Studies (Claremont, CA: Claremont Press, 2021) - “Evangelism and Witnessing in Multireligious Malaysia: Towards a Fresh Approach” in Muthuraj Swamy & Stephen Spencer (eds.) Witnessing Together: Global Anglican Perspectives on Evangelism and Witness (London: Anglican Communion Office, 2019)
- “Challenges and Prospects of Theological Education in Bangladesh” in H S Wilson & Wati Longchar (eds.) Diversity of Theological Education in Asia: A Search for Cooperation and Mutual Enrichment (Taiwan: PTCA, 2019)
- “Nurturing of Inter-Religious Harmony and Building Peace” in Mathews George Chunakara (ed.) Prophetic Witness to the Truth and Light in Asia (Chiang Mai, Thailand: CCA, 2018)
- “Professor David Thomas – A Representative Reminiscence” in Douglas Pratt, Jon Hoover, John Davies & John Chesworth (eds.) The Character of Christian-Muslim Encounter: Essays in Honour of David Thomas (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2015)
- “Islam in Malaysia” in John S Augustine (ed.) Religious Fundamentalism: An Asian Perspective (Bangalore, India: South Asia Theological Research Institute, 1993)
- “The Challenge of Vision 2020 and the Christian Family” in S Batumalai (ed.) Vision 2020: A Malaysian Christian Response (Kuala Lumpur: S Batumalai, 1992)
- Journal Articles
“Civilizational Madani: A Christian Response” in JAWHAR Journal of Civilisational Studies. Volume 19 (2023): 44-54 - “Confiscated Bibles returned, but ‘Allah’ controversy continues in Malaysia – Commentary” in Network for Inter faith Concerns Christian-Muslim News Digest. Issue 1(23) 2015
“Malaysia: Some Key Issues Affecting Christian-Muslim Relations” in Network for Inter faith Concerns
Christian-Muslim News Digest Issue 4 2009 - “Anglican National Identity: Theological Education and Ministerial Formation in Multifaith Malaysia” Journal of Anglican Studies. 6.1 (June 2008): 69-88
- “Issues in Christian-Muslim Relations: A Malaysian Christian Perspective” in Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. 18:1 (2007): 67-83
- Encyclopaedia and Dictionary Articles
“The Ecumenical and Evangelical Christian Movements” in Volume 10: Religions and Beliefs of The Encyclopaedia of Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Editions Didier Millet Publishers, 2005. - “Interfaith Dialogue and Religious Pluralism” in Volume 10: Religions and Beliefs of The Encyclopaedia of Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Editions Didier Millet Publishers, 2005.
“Malaysian Theology” in Virginia Fabella & R S Sugirtharajah (eds.) Dictionary of Third World Theologies (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2000) - Book Reviews
Review of The Anglican Church in Burma: From Colonial Past to Global Future by Edward Jarvis. Penn State University Press, 2021. - Review of Religious Discourse, Social Cohesion and Conflict: Studying Muslim-Christian Relations by Frans Wijsen. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 25:4 (2014): 557-559
- Review of A Local Church Living for Dialogue: Muslim-Christian Relations in Mindanao-Sulu (Philippines) 1965-2000 by William LaRousse. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 13:2 (2002): 257-258.