Historicizing non-European cultures allowed Mohammed to be treated as a historical actor

Evidence

Two, the capacity for dealing historically (and not reductively, as a topic of ecclesiastical politics) with non-European and non-Judeo-Christian cultures was strengthened as history itself was conceived of more radically than before; to understand Europe properly meant also understanding the objective relations between Europe and its own previously unreachable temporal and cultural frontiers. In a sense, John of Segovia’s idea of contraferentia between Orient and Europe was realized, but in a wholly secular way; Gibbon could treat Mohammed as a historical figure who influenced Europe and not as a diabolical miscreant hovering somewhere between magic and false prophecy. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 330

Categorization

• DEFINE: Illustrates contraferentia (encounter between Orient and Europe) being realized secularly in Gibbon’s treatment of Mohammed.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 330
• XREF: connects to: Historical actors act under circumstances transmitted from the past, not freely chosen; Specific political motives, not a linear intolerance narrative, shaped medieval Islam portrayals — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1374; Hegel’s philosophy consigned Islam to historical irrelevance after its early contribution (+4 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Historical actors act under circumstances transmitted from the past, not freely chosen; Specific political motives, not a linear intolerance narrative, shaped medieval Islam portrayals — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1374; Hegel’s philosophy consigned Islam to historical irrelevance after its early contribution (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Hegel’s philosophy consigned Islam to historical irrelevance after its early contribution #complicates (0.75)
• Medieval Europeans modeled Muhammad’s Arabia on their own society #complicates (0.72)