Christian rulers simultaneously hoped to convert Muslims and feared Muslim contagion

Evidence

Innocent’s reaction (and that of many Christian Europeans) to this situation was mixed. On the one hand, euphoria and optimism fueled hopes that Muslim subjects could be converted and the frontiers of Christendom pushed ever further through fresh conquest. On the other hand, the new Muslim subject was feared: his sympathies might lie with Muslim rulers outside the Christian kingdom, and contact with Christians could lead to the latter’s becoming Muslim, rather than the Muslim becoming Christian. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1007

Categorization

• XREF: This conversion-anxiety mirrors the internal tension in Innocent’s own policy and connects to studies of the ‘anxiety of influence’ in colonial assimilation projects generally. — connects to: Merely negotiating with Muslim rulers could brand a crusader as a traitor