Christians clustered Muslims with Jews and heretics as devil-aligned enemies

Evidence

Many of the polemics against Islam are framed within concerns about Christian orthodoxy and typically include charges of idolatry and heresy. These writings often identify Muslims with Satan, a figure strongly implicated in many Muslim monsters. The Venerable Bede wrote, “the Saracens occupy the same ideological space as the erring, the worldly and the gentiles in opposition to the spiritual fraternity: in short, as enemies of the church they are in the company of Jews, Philistines, heretics and the devil.” Satan was among the many idols that Muslims were accused of worshipping. One of the earliest references to Muslim devil-worshippers is found in Jerome’s writings, where he refers to a Lucifer-worshipping cult in pre-Islamic, fourth century Arabia. — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 142

Categorization

• XREF: Identifies the ‘religious monster’ category slotting Muslims in beside Jews and heretics — a key structuring move in the reader’s thesis on demonization.
• DEFINE: Shows the ‘Muslim equals Satan-worshipper’ trope’s genealogy running from Jerome through Bede.