Biblical Jews served as the medieval model for Christian depictions of Muslims

Evidence

In Christian art, it is a common practice to represent biblical Jews as if they were Muslims. Perhaps the most striking examples are some of the works of Rembrandt van Rijn. In David and Uriah, for instance, the two men’s Ottoman-style turbans play a dominant part in the composition (fig. 1). Later, in the nineteenth century, it became more common to imagine biblical Israelites wearing not the Turkish turban but the Arab headscarf or kaffiyeh. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 153 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

In Christian art, it is a common practice to represent biblical Jews as if they were Muslims. Perhaps the most striking examples are some of the works of Rembrandt van Rijn. In David and Uriah, for instance, the two men’s Ottoman-style turbans play a dominant part in the composition (fig. 1). Later, in the nineteenth century, it became more common to imagine biblical Israelites wearing not the Turkish turban but the Arab headscarf or kaffiyeh. American popular culture has continued to quote this tradition. When we see the kaffiyeh on the heads of the Israelites led to the Promised Land by Charlton Heston, we are not surprised. In The Ten Commandments Hollywood builds on an artistic practice established during the previous five centuries and more. The Jews of Europe and North America have themselves accepted this pictorial language. Modern illustrators of Passover Haggadot often show the Children of Israel tending their flock in flowing robes and kaffiyeh, looking very much like traditional Palestinians. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 151 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

For Western Christians, Islam could either be caricatured as polytheistic idolatry, or rationalized as Christian heresy. Writing in the twelfth century, Peter the Venerable recognizes these alternatives when he declares that he really does not know whether Muslims are “pagans” on account of their false belief, or “heretics” on account of their deviant practice. Although many readers have followed Norman Daniel in distinguishing between “two entirely separate conventions” in the depiction of Islam, one “fanciful” and the other “realistic,” it is crucial to recognize the extent to which in both conventions religious difference is based on Christian perceptions of Judaism and Jewish identity. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 234 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: An English Qur’an translation inflated mentions of Jews and Christians to manufacture animus — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 1887; Medieval crusaders modeled their conquest on Titus’s capture of Jerusalem.; Medieval Christian art equated Jews and Muslims under shared imagery — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 394 (+17 more)

Broader Connections

• Christian art historically clothed biblical Jews in Muslim dress #exemplifies (0.97) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 153
• European art has historically depicted biblical Jews as Muslims #corroborates (0.95) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 151
• Christian depictions of Islam in both conventions derive from Christian perceptions of Judaism #corroborates (0.93) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 234
• Medieval Christian texts deemed Muslims convertible but Jews a fixed physical threat #complicates (0.82) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 297
• Medieval Christianity repudiated Muslims at a distance but Jews from within #complicates (0.75) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 228