Faces of Muhammad

Western Perceptions of the Prophet of Islam from the Middle Ages to Today

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, Church, Church & State, Middle East Religions, Islam
Cover of the book Faces of Muhammad by John Tolan, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John Tolan ISBN: 9780691186115
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: June 11, 2019
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: John Tolan
ISBN: 9780691186115
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: June 11, 2019
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

Heretic and impostor or reformer and statesman? The contradictory Western visions of Muhammad

In European culture, Muhammad has been vilified as a heretic, an impostor, and a pagan idol. But these aren’t the only images of the Prophet of Islam that emerge from Western history. Commentators have also portrayed Muhammad as a visionary reformer and an inspirational leader, statesman, and lawgiver. In Faces of Muhammad, John Tolan provides a comprehensive history of these changing, complex, and contradictory visions. Starting from the earliest calls to the faithful to join the Crusades against the “Saracens,” he traces the evolution of Western conceptions of Muhammad through the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and up to the present day.

Faces of Muhammad reveals a lengthy tradition of positive portrayals of Muhammad that many will find surprising. To Reformation polemicists, the spread of Islam attested to the corruption of the established Church, and prompted them to depict Muhammad as a champion of reform. In revolutionary England, writers on both sides of the conflict drew parallels between Muhammad and Oliver Cromwell, asking whether the prophet was a rebel against legitimate authority or the bringer of a new and just order. Voltaire first saw Muhammad as an archetypal religious fanatic but later claimed him as an enemy of superstition. To Napoleon, he was simply a role model: a brilliant general, orator, and leader.

The book shows that Muhammad wears so many faces in the West because he has always acted as a mirror for its writers, their portrayals revealing more about their own concerns than the historical realities of the founder of Islam.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Heretic and impostor or reformer and statesman? The contradictory Western visions of Muhammad

In European culture, Muhammad has been vilified as a heretic, an impostor, and a pagan idol. But these aren’t the only images of the Prophet of Islam that emerge from Western history. Commentators have also portrayed Muhammad as a visionary reformer and an inspirational leader, statesman, and lawgiver. In Faces of Muhammad, John Tolan provides a comprehensive history of these changing, complex, and contradictory visions. Starting from the earliest calls to the faithful to join the Crusades against the “Saracens,” he traces the evolution of Western conceptions of Muhammad through the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and up to the present day.

Faces of Muhammad reveals a lengthy tradition of positive portrayals of Muhammad that many will find surprising. To Reformation polemicists, the spread of Islam attested to the corruption of the established Church, and prompted them to depict Muhammad as a champion of reform. In revolutionary England, writers on both sides of the conflict drew parallels between Muhammad and Oliver Cromwell, asking whether the prophet was a rebel against legitimate authority or the bringer of a new and just order. Voltaire first saw Muhammad as an archetypal religious fanatic but later claimed him as an enemy of superstition. To Napoleon, he was simply a role model: a brilliant general, orator, and leader.

The book shows that Muhammad wears so many faces in the West because he has always acted as a mirror for its writers, their portrayals revealing more about their own concerns than the historical realities of the founder of Islam.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism by John Tolan
Cover of the book The Pursuit of Laziness by John Tolan
Cover of the book The Mexican Heartland by John Tolan
Cover of the book Votes, Vetoes, and the Political Economy of International Trade Agreements by John Tolan
Cover of the book A Sparrowhawk's Lament by John Tolan
Cover of the book More Than You Wanted to Know by John Tolan
Cover of the book Statistical and Thermal Physics by John Tolan
Cover of the book Across the Board by John Tolan
Cover of the book The Mystery of the Invisible Hand by John Tolan
Cover of the book Amazing Arachnids by John Tolan
Cover of the book Purposive Interpretation in Law by John Tolan
Cover of the book Mass Flourishing by John Tolan
Cover of the book Waiting for José by John Tolan
Cover of the book Life on a Young Planet by John Tolan
Cover of the book The Rhetorical Presidency by John Tolan
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy