Christian–Muslim Relations

This reference work, the first of three, brings together extracts from the major writings by Christians and Muslims that reflect their awareness of one another and the attitudes they formed in the years 600–1500. Nearly all the writings originated in communities around the Mediterranean Sea, where in this period the great number of encounters took place. Over 130 extracts appear here in English, many translated for the first time, with introductions, notes and suggestions for further reading. They represent a wide range of genres, cultural settings, political contexts, religious persuasions and languages. On the Christian side topics include: condemnations of Muhammad as a fraud and the Qur’an as a fake, depictions of Islam as a sign of the final judgement and accusations that it was a Christian heresy. On the Muslim side they include: demonstrations of the Bible as corrupt, proofs that Christian doctrines were illogical and accounts of Christian and Muslim scholars collaborating together. The introduction provides a historical and geographical summary of Christian–Muslim encounters in the period, a short account of the religious, intellectual and social circumstances in which encounters took place and works were written, and an outline of the main topics of argument.