Local folk superstitions were mistaken for authoritative Islamic doctrine by medieval critics

Evidence

In our own day superstitious Muslims are alleged to resort to the shrine of St Teresa of Lisieux in Cairo; and also the tomb of the Maronite Sharbel, at Anaya in Lebanon. Actions that would be normal for a Christian in this connection must be superstitious for a Muslim. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2312 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Alan of Lille took it for granted that Muslim doctrines were based on heretical interpretation of canonical Scripture, and formed his own polemic accordingly. Alexander III wrote similarly, although it is not clear that this pontiff put his arguments forward as acceptable to any and every Muslim, rather than to a single individual, the Sultan of Konya. Much later, Guido Terrena, representative of a highly educated public, used Scriptural authorities in the same way, condemning, for example, the regulations governing the Ramadan fast, by appeal to There were a number of attempts to determine which parts of Scripture Islam could accept. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 315 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Medieval Christian writers assumed Muslim doctrine derived from misinterpreted Scripture — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 315; Folk devotion crosses sectarian lines in the Middle East despite being labeled superstition — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2312; Even well-informed medieval authors chose implausible stories when framing Muslims

Related

• Medieval Christian writers assumed Muslim doctrine derived from misinterpreted Scripture (similarity 0.87)
• Folk devotion crosses sectarian lines in the Middle East despite being labeled superstition (similarity 0.87)
• Medieval polemicists could not distinguish authoritative doctrine from local superstition (similarity 0.82)
• Even well-informed medieval authors chose implausible stories when framing Muslims (similarity 0.82)
• Medieval Christians doubted Islam’s truth yet marveled at its success (similarity 0.80)
• Scholars perpetuated apocryphal Islamic legends despite knowing they lacked sources (similarity 0.80)
• Medieval Christian critics mirrored modern assumptions about Muslim shrine devotion (similarity 0.80)
• The social character of Islamic practice went unrecognized by medieval Christian writers (similarity 0.79)
• Medieval annotators traced specific Qur’anic verses to Arian and Nestorian heretical origins (similarity 0.79)
• Medieval interreligious polemics operated without shared evidentiary premises (similarity 0.79)
• Medieval authors mislabelled Islamic Christian and Jewish influences as heretical sects (similarity 0.79)
• Medieval writers ignored Islamic ritual because praising it served no polemic purpose (similarity 0.79)
• Theory outweighed direct observation in medieval European writing about Islam (similarity 0.79)
• Informed medieval polemicists still clung to untenable anti-Muslim fables (similarity 0.79)
• Medieval critics saw Islamic truths as deliberate bait for deception (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Folk devotion crosses sectarian lines in the Middle East despite being labeled superstition #complicates (0.80) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2312
• Medieval Christian writers assumed Muslim doctrine derived from misinterpreted Scripture #expands (0.78) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 315
• Even well-informed medieval authors chose implausible stories when framing Muslims #expands (0.75)