Deliberate separation policies manufactured Christian ignorance of Islam

Evidence

This suspicion was natural enough, in fact, inevitable, in the circumstances in which Christians lived. Since the authorities put so much pressure upon Muslims within Christendom to convert them, upon Christians within Islam to isolate them, and upon merchants and others to prevent any communication of intelligence at all, the two societies lived side by side as ignorantly of each other as possible. The way was nowhere open to an ordinary Christian to get to know Islam better, because he was prevented from knowing Muslims, from communicating freely and usefully with them. He was brought up to expect to be in a relationship of force and violence with them. It is difficult to erect learning upon a foundation of ignorance, to establish understanding in minds formed amid inherited prejudice and suspicion. Had more ordinary people been reasonably well-informed, the learned also would have achieved higher standards. In many ways they had a sound knowledge, which is remarkable enough; and occasionally they had more. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1479

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels Aziz’s and Razack’s claims that Islamophobia is institutionally manufactured rather than a natural byproduct of contact — here the barrier is physical/ecclesiastical policy, there juridical/security policy.
• DEEPTHINKING: Explicitly argues that inherited prejudice plus enforced ignorance makes learning structurally impossible — a mechanism claim about why interfaith hostility is not corrigible by mere contact.