Christian depictions of Islam in both conventions derive from Christian perceptions of Judaism

Evidence

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

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to my reading on how the West constructs the non-Western other via already-established internal categories (similar to Edward Said’s orientalism framework explored in The Bias of Communication and Communication as Culture).