Enlightenment thinkers produced contradictory, instrumentally motivated views of Islam

Evidence

The Enlightenment saw the birth of scholarship on Islam that was both realistic and sympathetic. For instance, in contrast to the vicious medieval demonization of Muhammad, several philosophers published tracts arguing that Muhammad was not an impostor. Voltaire defended Muhammad as a great thinker and founder of a rational religion even as he (and other Enlightenment critics of organized religion) condemned Islam quite acerbically. Daniel explains Voltaire’s contradictory stances: “We must say that Voltaire first thought an attack on Islam useful for an attack on religion generally; and later saw the advantage of treating the facts less passionately, in order to recommend natural religion at the expense of Christian belief.” — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 91

Categorization

• XREF: Voltaire’s instrumentalism foreshadows Kumar’s later thesis about empire deploying Islamophobia strategically. — connects to: Enlightenment thinkers retained older anti-Muslim stereotypes — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 161; Boulainvilliers reframed Muhammad as an Enlightenment deist — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 165; Renan’s lecture claimed Islam’s fixed essence makes Muslims mentally closed and inherently inferior. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 195 (+15 more)

Broader Connections

• Muslim depictions served as foils for unrelated domestic critiques #expands (0.50) — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 106
• Western hostility to Islam shifted from theological to political rationales across the centuries #expands (0.45) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 106
• Preconceptions about Muslims filter out information that contradicts them #expands (0.40)