John of Damascus sexualized Hagar to racialize Muslims as a degraded people

Evidence

The identification of the Hagarenes, described as a lowly, racially degenerate race, with the Muslims is another way in which the appearance of Islam was explained. John of Damascus, who wrote about the Hagarenes, claimed the black stone of the ka’aba was worn smooth because “Abraham has sexual intercourse with Hagar on it.” This race was constructed along theological lines, and much like the Saracens, the Hagarenes were a community that was alienated from God. — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 156

Categorization

• QUESTION: The black stone worn smooth by Abraham’s sex with Hagar is a striking detail — worth chasing the original Jihad (John of Damascus) source to understand the polemical logic.