Christian polemicists dismissed Muslim ritual washing as pagan effeminacy

Evidence

Ghusl is the so-called “major” ritual ablution, which the law ordains for … a man who is in a state of major ritual impurity… (It) consists in washing the whole body … Wudi’ is the minor ritual ablution which involves washing only certain parts; Shi’is perform it always before salat, and Sunnis most often, because ritual minor impurities are so easily incurred. It is strange that Pedro, a Jew by upbringing, should have argued that ritual washings are an effeminacy properly belonging to the worship of Venus and therefore appropriately prescribed by Muhammad. His statement was followed by the Legenda Aurea (loc. cit.) and constituted the opening passage of the extracts edited by the Anon. Min., who was much interested in ritual and law. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2332

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the ‘Complaints About Immodesty Go Way Back’ interest in how Christian/European writers misread Muslim ritual practice as mere sensuality. — connects to: Christians misread Islamic ritual by assuming it mirrored their own
• DEFINE: Clarifies the distinction between ghusl (major, whole-body ablution) and wudu (minor, partial ablution) and who performs each when.