Earliest Christians saw Muslim conquerors as secular Arabs, not religious foes

Evidence

Hence it should not be surprising that the earliest Christian commentators on the Muslim conquests have little to say about Islam or its prophet. One searches in vain in these texts for the words “Muslim” or “Islam,” or indeed for any indication that the invaders have religious motives. The earliest Syriac texts, for example, speak of “kings” rather than caliphs, “Arabs” (Tayy) rather than Muslims. Muhammad is mentioned rarely, and primarily as a military and political—rather than a spiritual—leader. Several chroniclers supposed that the new Arab invaders must have been idolaters like the Arab tribesmen of an earlier era. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 293

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Shows the earliest Christian response to Islam was not religious othering but secular/political categorization — the ‘religious rival’ frame came only later, sharpening claims about when and why Islam was constructed as theological opponent.
• XREF: Contradicts the modern assumption that Islamophobia has ancient roots — genealogy shows Islam as religious enemy is anachronistic for the 7th-8th century Christian writers themselves.