Clerical fear of Islam rested on paper reasons rather than real danger

Evidence

If the clerical attitude to Islam was formed by fear, this was largely based upon ‘paper’ reasons, rather than upon the probabilities of everyday life; its doctrinal menace was theoretical, In all the circumstances, there is nothing remarkable about the mediaeval willingness always to believe the worst about Islam, or in the open and admitted hostility of the Muslim and Christian communities. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1504

Categorization

• QUESTION: ‘Paper reasons’ — would be worth tracing what texts actually generated this fear versus everyday contact.
• XREF: connects to: Clergy feared Islam mainly for condoning sins men would commit anyway