Christian and Muslim mutual denunciations paradoxically revealed their shared Jewish roots

Evidence

The reason for this is not too difficult to find. These two religions are both in a sense offshoots of the Jewish religious tradition and have considerable affinities both with one another and with Judaism. When throughout the Mid­ dle Ages and into early modern times Christendom and Islam were engaged in what Gibbon called “the Great Debate” and denounced each other as infidels, by the mere fact of so doing they were revealing their essential kinship. The Jews, like the rabbi in the story, agreed tactfully with both. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 317

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Said-adjacent work on how proximate rivals define each other through polemic — the ‘anxiety of influence’ between daughter religions.