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Part of a series on the Islamic prophet Muhammad

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this is a sub-article to Non-Islamic views of Muhammad

This article is concerned with the historical changes and development of the Image of Muhammad in the West.

While Muslim tradition has glorified and mythologized Muhammad over centuries, Western tradition has widely vilified him.^[1]

Contents 1 Middle Ages 1.1 Early impressions 1.2 The Crusades 1.3 A more accurate picture begins to emerge 1.4 Later Middle Ages 2 Modern Times 3 Individual views 3.1 Jerry Vines 4 References 5 Further reading 5.1 Encyclopedias

[edit] Middle Ages

[edit] Early impressions

Christians first became aware of Islam when Muslim forces captured Jerusalem in the year 638. The Arabs subsequently conquered large areas of Christian territory, reaching as far west as Spain by 711, and Muslim raids became a threat in southern France and Italy. However, Western Christians had little knowledge of the new religion of these invaders or its founders. Arabs were already familiar from pre-Islamic times and their raids were treated as a scourge like those of the pagan Vikings or Hungarians.^[2] Translation of the work of John of Damascus provided the West with some information about Muhammad's life but "was nearly always used abusively." Another influential source was the “Letters of a Saracen” written by an Oriental Christian and translated into Latin from Arabic. From the 9th century onwards, highly negative biographies of Muhammad were written in Latin. ^[3] The West also gained some knowledge of Muhammad through the Mozarabs of Spain in the 11th century. In 12th century, the Qur'an was ordered to be translated into Latin so that its teaching could be refuted by Christian scholars. ^[3]

[edit] The Crusades

By the 11th century, Western Christendom was no longer on the defensive against Islam. The Normans had taken Sicily from the Arabs in 1060, and Spanish Christians had recaptured Toledo in 1085. But the most important military campaigns against Islam were the Crusades, which began in 1095. These fuelled a demand for information about the religion of the enemy, with little concern about its accuracy. The accounts that appeared in Europe between 1100 and 1140 often focussed on the life of Muhammad. ^[4]Medieval scholars and churchmen held that Islam was the work of Muhammad who in turn was inspired by Satan. Fantastic legends and fables emerged. For example in order to show that Muhammad was the anti-Christ, it was asserted that Muhammad died not in the year 632 but in the year 666 - the number of the Beast. A verbal expression of Christian contempt for Islam was expressed in turning his name from Muhammad to Mahound, the "devil incarnate". ^[5] Muhammad was often regarded as a sorcerer. In La leggenda di Maometto he is taught from childhood the black arts by a heretical Christian villain who escaped imprisonment by the Church to Arabia and set up a false religion by selectively choosing and perverting text from the Bible and the Old Testament to set up Islam. It also ascribed the Muslim holiday of Friday "dies veneris" (day of Venus) to his followers depravity and reflected in their multiplicity of wives.^[6]

[edit] A more accurate picture begins to emerge

Alongside these popular superstitions, a more scholarly approach began to arise. The conduit for increased knowledge about Islam was Muslim Spain, where Christians had translated scientific works from Arabic into Latin. Interest in the authors of these works and their religion increased. Churchmen believed that a more accurate knowledge of Islam and its beliefs would help them in their efforts to convert Muslims or at least improve their ability to fight them in theological arguments. The Spanish Jew Pedro de Alfonso, who became physician to the English king Henry I "wrote the first book containing some information of objective value about Muhammad and Islam".^[7]

[edit] Later Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, especially in places where there was frequent Christian-Muslim conflict, it was popular to depict Muhammad being tortured by the demons in Hell. One such example is in Dante's The Divine Comedy in which Muhammad is in the ninth ditch of the eighth circle of hell. One common allegation laid against Muhammad was that he was an impostor, who to satisfy his ambition and his lust propagated religious teachings which he himself knew to be false. At one point Muhammad was transformed into Mahound, the prince of darkness.^[8]

Some Christians believed Muslims worshipped Muhammad giving rise to the term Mohammedan, while others simply believed he was a Christian heretic.^[9]Still other Middle ages European literature often referred to Muslims as "pagans", or by sobriquets such as the paynim foe. These depictions such as those in the Song of Roland represent Muslims worshipping Muhammad (spelt e.g. 'Mahom' and 'Mahumet') as a god, and depict them worshipping various deities in the form of "idols", ranging from Apollo to Lucifer, but ascribing to them a chief deity known as "Termagant".^[10] John of Damascus coined the pejorative phrase "false prophet".^[11] and Alvarus of Cordoba proclaimed him the Anti-Christ in the 9th century. The number of the beast "666" was used to represent the period of time Muslims would hold sway of the land. In the 12th century Peter the Venerable saw him as the precursor to the Anti-Christ, and successor of Arius.^[9]When the Knights Templar were being tried for heresy reference was often made to their worship of a demon Baphomet, which was notable by implication for its similarity to the common rendition of Muhammad's name used by Christian writers of the time, Mahomet. All these and other variations on the theme were all set in the "temper of the times" of what was seen as an Muslim-Christian conflict as Medieval Europe was building a concept of "the great enemy" in the wake of the quickfire success of the Muslims through a series of conquests shortly after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, as well as the lack of real information in the West of the mysterious east.^[8]

There are accusations that the Knights Templar and Freemasons worshiped an idol named Baphomet. The etymology of this idol is questioned, and some speculate that it is a variation of a deformation of the Latinised named of Muhammad.

[edit] Modern Times

Watt states that since then the Western view of Muhammad has been much changed, particularly during the last two centuries. ^[12] In Watt's view some of the world's urgent political problems might be easier to solve if Christians and Muslims had a deeper respect for each other's religion, something which is so difficult for West to do due to its "deep-seated prejudice" against Muhammad. ^[13] While it is never possible to achieve pure objectivity in the case of Muhammad, since any judgment about him is bound to writer's culture and system of values, yet a measure of objectivity is attainable. ^[14]

[edit] Individual views

Here follows some quotes from notable Christians:

[edit] Jerry Vines

American preacher and former pastor of the nation's third largest Southern Baptist church, the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida.

“

They would have us believe that Islam is just as good as Christianity. Christianity was founded by the virgin-born son of God, Jesus Christ. Islam was founded by Muhammad, a demon-possessed pedophile who had 12 wives, the last one of which was a 9-year-old girl," [15]

”

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Ernst, Carl (2004). Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-5577-4. 
• Esposito, John (1998). Islam: The Straight Path. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511233-4. 
• Esposito, John (1999). The Islamic Threat: Myth Or Reality?. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513076-6. 
• Reeves, Minou (2003). Muhammad in Europe: A Thousand Years of Western Myth-Making. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0814775646. 
• Schimmel, Annemarie (1992). Islam: An Introduction. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-1327-6. 
• Schimmel, Annemarie (1995). Mystische Dimensionen des Islam. Insel, Frankfurt. ISBN 3458334157. 
• Watt, W. Montgomery (1961). Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-881078-4. 
• Watt, W. Montgomery (1974). Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-881078-4.  New Edition.

[edit] Encyclopedias

• "Various articles". Encyclopedia of Islam Online. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912.
• "Various articles". The New Encyclopedia Britannica. (2005). Encyclopedia Britannica, Incorporated; Rev Ed edition. ISBN 978-1593392369.