Islam and the Muslims in the Anglo-American Literary Tradition: The Historical Roots and the Reiterations

The relationship between Islam and the West was first troubled by biblical texts pejorative of the Arabs, and the rise of Islam in the seventh century aggravated this negative view of Arabs and Muslims. Although the brilliant Muslim civilization in Spain mitigated this negative image, Western fears of Europe’s Latin Christianity being caught by the pincer of Muslim Spain in the West and Levantine Islam from the East gave rise to the Crusades that sought to drive a wedge between the two flanks of Islam by seizing the Holy Land and thereby neutralizing the Islamic threat. The Crusades, virulent religious wars spanning two centuries, gave rise to reviling images of Islam and its prophet which persisted for two more centuries, only to be aggravated still further by the dreaded Turkish threat. A respite came with growing trade links between Europe and the Levantine provinces of the Ottoman Empire. Wealth accruing from sound, effective trade agreements with the alien Ottoman power facilitated a more open-minded outlook. Mutual material benefits led to a more respectful understanding of the dreaded Muslim adversary and a growing interest in its heritage. Thus, mutual material interest, based on equity, forms a sound basis for Western–Islamic understanding. Momentary, localized disruptive factors should not be allowed to ruffle a would-be strategic, long-term understanding between the two sides, or cancel present, past or future improvements in relations. The Crusades arose, we are told, because of Christian pilgrims falling victim to local bandits who infested the Holy Land due to a local breakdown in government. American reiterations of Medieval European polemics against Islam arose from feelings running high due to the Barbary Wars