History of Christian Muslim Relations (The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys)

Partly, after all, this improvement should be obvious within the context of the on-going army disagreement among the Byzantine Empire at the one hand and the < AbbaÅsid Empire and its successor-states at the different, targeted round the boundary among Asia Minor and Syria, yet on condition that this clash used to be now not new another issue needs to clarify the more and more acrimonious nature of a lot Byzantine literature approximately Islam. the recent tone can be obvious first within the writings of the Byzantine historian Theophanes the Confessor, whose paintings chronicles global occasions from 284ce to 813/197. As a part of this, in fact, he treats the arriving of Islam, and in this, like John of Damascus, he states that Islam is a heresy, yet he provides a few additional aspect that's new, and which has a slightly various flavour from John's writings. The genesis of Islam, Theophanes writes, is that Muh . ammad had epilepsy, and thanks to this he had a few issues of his spouse KhadõÅ ja, who had raised him from a modest property via marrying him. He then travelled to Palestine and Egypt, the place he met Jews and Christians, and the place he was once helped via a heretical Christian monk to place his non secular wisdom to stable use by means of claiming to be an apostle. The message of Islam, in accordance with Theophanes, comprises references to a sensual paradise, that's bought by means of somebody who kills or is killed by means of an enemy, a decision to fifty six the medieval interval i: the east jiha Åd, army battle, and a call for participation to intemperate dwelling, even though it's stated that additionally it is a suggestion to assist the oppressed. in this foundation Muh . ammad is defined as `the leader and fake prophet of the Saracens', and one more scurrilous observe is equipped by means of the recommendation that a few Jews believed in him as Messiah and accordingly embraced Islam; later, notwithstanding, they observed him consuming camel-meat and realised their mistake, yet they have been not able to go away the Muslim group in order that they advised Muh . ammad fake information regarding Christianity that allows you to impress him opposed to the Christians. 19 The tendency started by way of Theophanes used to be carried even additional by way of Nicetas of Byzantium, who in the midst of the ninth/third century was once invited by means of Emperor Michael III (842/227±867/253) to formulate replies to 2 letters which he had bought from Muslims, almost certainly from the caliph al-Mutawakkil. Nicetas's replies sought to guard his Christian religion, to reply to Muslim objections to Christian convictions approximately Jesus, and to problem Muslim assertions concerning the excellence of the Muslim religion and claims that Islam used to be the single real faith; they for that reason comprise polemical assaults on Islam and declarations of readiness to absorb hands if the chance arises, which makes transparent the level to which they need to be noticeable as owning a component of non secular propaganda in an environment of non secular war of words. Nicetas's crucial paintings was once his `Refutation of the publication Fabricated by way of the Arab Muh . ammad'. because the name makes transparent, it's a paintings that's essentially meant to undermine the Qur $ a Å n; it starts, even though, with a defence of the Trinity earlier than it proceeds to refute the Muslim scripture, that's defined as `a mendacity and pernicious booklet' that's `of odious and demoniac origin'.