Publications/Jan 24, 2022

The Bloomsbury Reader in Christian-Muslim Relations, 600–1500

The Bloomsbury Reader in Christian-Muslim Relations, 600–1500 lead image

David Thomas, ed. The Bloomsbury Reader in Christian-Muslim Relations, 600–1500. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022.

From Bloomsbury

This Reader brings together nearly 80 extracts from major works by Christians and Muslims that reflect their reciprocal knowledge and attitudes. It spans the period from the early 7th century, when Islam originated, to 1500.

The general introduction provides a historical and geographical summary of Christian-Muslim encounters in the period and a short account of the religious, intellectual and social circumstances in which encounters took place and works were written.

Topics from the Christian perspective include: condemnations of the Qur'an as a fake and Muhammad as a fraud, depictions of Islam as a sign of the final judgement, and proofs that it was a Christian heresy. On the Muslim side they include: demonstrations of the Bible as corrupt, proofs that Christian doctrines were illogical, comments on the inferior status of Christians, and accounts of Christian and Muslim scholars in collaboration together.