Controlled selection of authentic Islamic sources made the most effective Christian polemic

Evidence

Facts were used polemically by this author, while first making sure that they were facts indeed; it is curious that he made little or nothing of the events between the call to the prophethood and the Prophet’s death. In spite of this, and perhaps because of its economy and sobriety, his work remains more impressive polemically than most Christian controversial writing; his copious use of extracts from Islamic sources effortlessly effects his comparatively limited ends. He achieved what others attempted, because he alone knew the secret of self-discipline in the choice of material. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1327

Categorization

• SEED: A method note applicable to contemporary polemics and counter-narratives: quoting opponents’ own authentic sources, with sobriety rather than passion, achieves more than indiscriminate attack — could seed an essay on rhetorical self-discipline.