Ben White, Fall 2005, Pedagogy and Methodology in Islamic Studies

Annotated Bibliography on Islamic Views of Christianity Before the Crusades

Articles

Brodeur, Patrice C. “Christianity and Islam.” Pages 142-48 in vol. 1 of the Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World. Edited by Richard C. Martin. 2 vols. New York: Thomson/Gale, 2004. A brief, summative entry on the relationship between Islam and Christianity, though the material is weighted more towards the negative relations between Christendom/the West and Islam and less on general Islamic attitudes towards Christianity. Good recent bibliography on Christian/Muslim relations.

Fiey, J.M. “NASĀRĀ.” Pages 970-973 in vol. VII of The Encyclopedia of Islam. New Edition. Edited by C.E. Bosworth et al. 9 vols. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1993. Detailed article explaining mainly the social/political relationship between Christians and Muslims throughout the Islamic world. Weighted toward pre-modern history.

Holmberg, B. “NASTŪRIYYŪN.” Pages 1030-1033 in vol. VII of The Encyclopedia of Islam. New Edition. Edited by C.E. Bosworth et al. 9 vols. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1993. A brief look at the Nestorians, in particular, and their position within the areas formerly controlled by the Sasanian Empire.

Hughes, Aaron. “Al Andalus.” Pages 46-49 in vol. 1 of the Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World. Edited by Richard C. Martin. 2 vols. New York: Thomson/Gale, 2004. A brief, summative entry on the inter-religious relations between Muslims, Jews and Christians in medieval Spain.

Saffron, Janina M. “Identity and Differentiation in Ninth-Century al-Andalus.” Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies 76 (2001): 573-598. Saffron outlines the many ways that the ulama in Cordova and the surrounding areas sought to defend pristine Islam from the acculturation, intermarriage, and conversion the umma was experiencing in medieval Spain. A balanced piece in light of Menocal’s work (see below).

Books

Norman, Daniel. Islam and the West: the Making of an Image. Oxford: One World, 1993 [1960]. This now classic work is both dense and serious. Norman outlines the European/Christian polemics and attacks on Islam during the medieval period and shows how cultural biases create mischaracterizations of “the other”. Of importance for our own period is his introduction, which shows how relationships early on helped clear the way for later more hostile encounters in the Middle Ages. Only in the last chapter does he offer his own musings on how the relationship should go forward for both sides. A good work read in conjunction with Said.

Fletcher, Richard. The Cross and the Crescent: Christianity and Islam from Muhammad to the Reformation. London: Penguin Books, 2003. An excellent, short introduction to Muslim-Christian relations and their variety from the time of Muhammad up to the Reformation. This book would be particularly helpful for introductory students in Islam, showing how in many cases Muslims and Christians worked together in academia, commerce, and politics.

Goddard, Hugh. A History of Christian-Muslim Relations. Chicago: New Amsterdam Books, 2000. Goddard’s comprehensive, well-documented work is an excellent choice as a basic “textbook” for an introductory class on Muslim/Christian relations from their inception. Goddard’s work is balanced. He does not attempt to “beat up” one side or the other, but outlines the realities of a relationship where one side is up, while the other is down, and vice-versa. His own view of the solution to the problem (dialogue) is readily apparent in the last two chapters, wherein he calls the more ideologically minded of each side to set aside differences for the sake of peace.

Menocal, Maria Rosa. The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 2002. A highly readable work because of its narrative eloquence and lack of documentation. Menocal’s reading of this situation in al-Andalus is provocative and ethically driven, though one wonders if she is looking through rose-colored lenses. A good read for undergraduates that one could problematize in lecture.

Ridgeon, Lloyd, ed. Islamic Interpretations of Christianity. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2001. Essays from a one day conference at the University of Glasgow in 1997. This collection of material from prominent British scholars of Islam presents the evidence for wide-ranging Islamic views of Christianity, addressing both ancient texts and modern writers. For advanced undergraduates in Islam.

Primary Sources

Newman, N.A., ed. The Early Christian-Muslim Dialogue: A Collection of Documents from the First Three Islamic Centuries (632-900 A.D.). Translations with Commentary. Hatfield, PA: Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute, 1993. While IBRI, the publisher, has a decidedly missionary bent, this volume itself is useful in its collection of texts in English translation.

Smith, Colin, Charles Melville and Ahmad Ubaydli, eds. Christians and Moors in Spain. 3 vols. Warminster, England: Aris and Phillips, 1988-92. This series of volumes sets out all of the principal primary texts for reconstructing Christian/Muslim relations in Andalusia, both in their original languages and in English translation. The first two contain Christian texts and the last houses the Muslim texts.

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