Graetz framed Islam’s rise as relief from Christian theological conflict in Palestine

Evidence

Like Geiger, Graetz’s representation of Islam and Jewish life under it, was to a great extent determined by his conception of Christianity and Orthodox Judaism. To appreciate better Graetz’s depiction of the Islamic environment for Jews, it is necessary to recognize that in his monumental History of the Jews, his description of Islam’s rise came hard on the heels of his lament over the Christianization of Palestine. Now, where there were only churches and monasteries, “bishops, abbots and monks lorded it over Palestine, and turned it into a playground of dogmatic wranglings [Tummelplatz dogmatischen Gezänkes] over the simple or dual nature of Christ.” — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 389

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘playground of dogmatic wranglings’ image parallels how scholars in the law-merchant literature evaluate a system’s desirability by the contending parties it hosts.