Muhammad in Europe: A Thousand Years in Western Myth-Making

New
Paperback
2003
$41.58

Generations of Western writers--from the Crusades to the present day--have written portraits claiming to depict the life and personality of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Over the course of thirteen centuries, stubbornly biased and consistently negative representations have persisted, presenting images which bear no resemblance to the noble man familiar to Muslims. Muhammad in Europe traces this consistent tradition of distortion and provides an account of the reasons behind it.
Drawing on works dating from the Middle Ages to the last decade of the twentieth century and spanning Latin, Italian, French, German, and English language sources, the book culminates with a critical analysis of Salman Rushdie's controversial novel, The Satanic Verses.

Synopsis

Generations of Western writers--from the Crusades to the present day--have written portraits claiming to depict the life and personality of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Over the course of thirteen centuries, stubbornly biased and consistently negative representations have persisted, presenting images which bear no resemblance to the noble man familiar to Muslims. Muhammad in Europe traces this consistent tradition of distortion and provides an account of the reasons behind it.

Drawing on works dating from the Middle Ages to the last decade of the twentieth century and spanning Latin, Italian, French, German, and English language sources, the book culminates with a critical analysis of Salman Rushdie's controversial novel, The Satanic Verses.

$41.58

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: Oct 2003
ISBN 10: 0814775640
ISBN 13: 9780814775646

Media Reviews

An engaging and enlightening book. It does a superior job of showing how the West has contributed to the current clash of civilizations.
-Sixteenth Century Journal

A deep study of the veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety . . . This scholarly work renders high service in promoting understanding not only internationally but in plural societies which have a Muslim presence.
-Frontline

In this well-written and timely work . . . Reeves makes a serious effort to be fair to the authors surveyed in her work regardless of the views held.
-Choice

Reveals rivalry and confrontation, but also fascination for the exotic as she points out clich s and distortions that have shaped western views of Islam and its founder. -Book News, Inc.

Author Bio

Born in Tehran, Minou Reeves was, until 1979 a career diplomat. At the time of the Iranian Revolution, she was Queen Farah's international secretary. She is the author of Female Warriors of Allah, and is now a Fellow of the Institute of Linguists at London. She currently lives in Worcestershire, working as a freelance writer, translator and language consultant.