First Christian reactions to Muslim conquests ignored the invaders’ religion entirely

Evidence

Yet the Apocalypse (like Sophronios) shows little interest in or knowledge of Islam: if this is a response to the Dome of the Rock, it is to the symbolic enemy presence in the holy city. No attempt is made to refute the Islamic Christology inscribed in the stones of the new building; the Ishmaelite is described repeatedly as “pagan,” with no effort to understand his religion. He is irretrievably other, barbaric—what he believes cannot be of interest to the steadfast Christian. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 335 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

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 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

In writings about Islam penned by famous Christians like Jerome and Bede, it is worth remembering that much of the so-called knowledge produced about Islam was based on folk tales about monsters and mythical narratives about the East and its associated mysteries. These early works were nothing but musings and conjecture, written by individuals who had never opened the pages of a Qur’an or met a Muslim. — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 143 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Earliest Christian accounts ignored Islam’s religious dimension entirely — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 293; Christians ignored Islam’s actual beliefs because they read Muslim conquests as divine punishment — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 123; Early Christian accounts of Islam were written without any contact with Muslims — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 143 (+17 more)

Broader Connections

• Earliest Christian accounts ignored Islam’s religious dimension entirely #corroborates (0.95) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 293
• Early Christian apocalyptic writing ignored Islamic doctrine entirely. #corroborates (0.95) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 335
• Early Christian accounts of Islam were written without any contact with Muslims #complicates (0.85) — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 143
• Northern Christians largely ignored Islam rather than attacking it #complicates (0.75) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 581
• Medieval Christian polemic against Islam was ineffective self-consolation since Muslims never engaged it #complicates (0.75) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2419
• Early Christian responses to Islam aimed to slow conversions away from Christianity #complicates (0.75) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 314
• Islamic conquests disestablished Christianity without systematic persecution #complicates (0.75) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 115
• Christians under early Islamic rule faced real but strictly limited tolerance #complicates (0.75) — Robert Irwin, For Lust of Knowing, 54
• Medieval Christians showed no curiosity about pagan invaders’ religions #complicates (0.75)
• Christians attacked Islam as a religion only after mass conversion began #complicates (0.75)
• Medieval Christians lacked the words ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslim’ entirely #complicates (0.75)
• Medieval Christian hostility toward Islam was generalized hatred, not nuanced comparison #complicates (0.75) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1477
• Christianity lacked Islam’s founding experience of political triumph #complicates (0.75) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 232
• Medieval Christians viewed Islam only as a negative foil to Christianity #complicates (0.75) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1280
• Early Christian anti-Muslim apologetics aimed to silence opponents, not convert them #complicates (0.75) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 358