Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History

by Armour, Rollin S.

• ISBN13: 9781570754074
• ISBN10: 1570754071
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-01
• Publisher: Orbis Books

Summary

Beginning with Muhammad and his historical and cultural context, this book recounts the tale of the thirteen-century-long encounter of Western and Islamic civilizations. Armour uses the best of contemporary research to show how events such as the Crusades and the Reconquista of Spain have indelibly shaped the mindset of the West toward Islam and vice versa. He reveals how the modern Western political and economic system -- marked by the globalization of capitalism, technology, and science -- has been perceived by the Islamic world as a Godless secular assault on all that is holy. He ends with the Arab-Israeli conflict and the events of 11 September 2001 as the latest concrete manifestations of the tragic encounter between the three "People of the Book."

Author Biography

Rollin Armour, Sr., is professor emeritus in the Christianity department at Mercer University, and has also taught at Stetson and Auburn Universities. He lives in Macon, Georgia

Table of Contents

List of Maps	x
Prologue	xi
Preface	xiii
Introduction	1	(3)
Muhammad and the Establishment of Islam	4	(22)
The Revelations and Early Years in Mecca	5	(4)
Muhammad's Move to Medina	9	(5)
Reclaiming Mecca	14	(2)
In Praise of Muhammad	16	(2)
Islam, the Religious System	18	(7)
Conclusion	25	(1)
The Spread of Islam	26	(13)
The Question of War	29	(3)
The Caliphate	32	(2)
Islamic Civilization	34	(2)
The Mediterranean	36	(1)
Invasions: Turks and Mongols	37	(1)
Conclusion	37	(2)
The First Christian Responses to Islam	39	(108)
Early Criticism of the Islamic Religion	41	(4)
The View from the West	45	(2)
History, Eschatology, and Martyrdom: The Martyrs of Cordoba	47	(3)
Islam in the Eyes of the Medieval West
A ``Deformed Image''	50	(2)
The Case against Muhammad	52	(6)
Islamic Practices	58	(1)
Positive Words on Islam	59	(2)
The Western Counteroffensive
The Reconquest of Spain and the Crusades to the Holy Land	61	(1)
The Recovery of Spain and Portugal	62	(1)
The Call for Crusade against the Holy Land	63	(1)
Factors behind the Crusades	64	(2)
The Significance of the Sermon	66	(1)
The Nature of Crusade	67	(2)
The Response to the Call	69	(1)
A Calamitous Beginning	70	(2)
The First Crusade	72	(2)
The Second and Third Crusades	74	(2)
Other Crusades	76	(2)
Results of the Crusades	78	(2)
Translating Islam
Peter the Venerable and the Spanish Connection	80	(6)
Christian Attempts to Convert Muslims
Peaceful Missions and Conversion by Force	86	(2)
The Mendicant Orders: Franciscans and Dominicans	88	(5)
Conversion by Force of Arms	93	(2)
Bridges from Christendom to Islam
Examples of Cooperation	95	(1)
The Philosophers and Islam	95	(1)
A Convert from Judaism	96	(1)
Thomas Aquinas	97	(2)
Sicily and Southern Italy: Cooperation and Forced Conversion	99	(4)
The Renaissance
Thoughts of Rapprochement and Dialogue	103	(1)
John of Segovia	104	(1)
Nicholas of Cusa	105	(4)
The Words of a Pope: Pius II	109	(2)
Theodore Bibliander	111	(2)
Conclusion	113	(1)
The Turks as a Sign of the End of the Age
Luther and de Susannis	114	(1)
Martin Luther	114	(6)
The Traditional Catholic View: Marquardus de Susannis and the De Iudaeis	120	(2)
The Sea Explorers and Western Colonialism
Europe Outflanks and Overpowers the Islamic World	122	(1)
Christopher Columbus	123	(1)
The Portuguese Navigators	124	(2)
A Shift in Power	126	(1)
Western Imperialism: The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries	127	(1)
Napoleon and the First Signs of Imperialism	128	(1)
Colonialism and Islam	129	(2)
Results of Western Colonialism	131	(2)
Modern Views of Islam
From Rejection to Acceptance	133	(1)
The Study of Arabic	134	(1)
Early Writers from the Enlightenment	134	(2)
Theological Views: Positive Elements in Islam	136	(1)
Theological Views: The Negative Side	137	(1)
Romanticism: The Middle East as Exotic	138	(1)
The Academic Study of Islam	139	(2)
Interreligious Dialogue	141	(3)
Is the Qur' an the Word of God?	144	(1)
From the Muslim Side	145	(2)
Zionism and the Establishment of the State of Israel	147	(20)
The Beginnings of Zionism	149	(3)
British Support for Zionism	152	(2)
British Power Interests and Israel	154	(1)
The Balfour Declaration	155	(1)
Palestinian Arabs	155	(4)
Early Settlers	159	(1)
The Failure of Attempts to Extricate Jews	159	(2)
The Creation of the State of Israel	161	(4)
The Nature of the Conflict	165	(1)
Summary	166	(1)
An Overview of Islam and the West Today	167	(16)
A Resurgent Islam	168	(7)
Problems between the West and the Islamic World	175	(3)
The West	178	(1)
Other Problem Areas	179	(1)
Islam in the West	180	(1)
Conclusion: The Place of Religion	181	(2)
Suggestions for Further Reading	183	(2)
Index	185