Medieval Christian infighting outweighed the shared threat of Islam

Evidence

Having seen the dissenting attitudes present during the fall of Constantinople, we can see the theological divisions within Christianity were so great, not even the threat of a Muslim invasion would convince them to accept theological compromise. With this information, I will now show how it bears significance on the discussion found in modern scholarship on Islamophobia, which, when describing the history of Islamophobia, often and frequently ignore such tensions. These authors end up reading Christianity as being more unified than it is. By examining these historical portrayals of Islamophobia, I hope to argue that while Islam has been viewed as an enemy by Christendom, the theological dissension within Christianity sometimes caused Christian churches to view each other as worse than a foreign enemy. Relative to the threat of a Muslim invasion, the thought of accepting another’s creed could be seen as more disruptive. — Ali Qureshi, The Fall of Constantinople, 45

Categorization

• SEED: An angle for an essay on how Islamophobia scholarship flattens intra-Christian conflict, using the fall of Constantinople as a case in point.
• XREF: Echoes the ‘enemy of my enemy’ dynamic and intra-group schism literature, and modern parallels in inter-sectarian hostility outweighing external threats. — connects to: Medieval Christendom defined itself by expelling threatening forces beyond its perimeter; Luther weaponized images of Islam to attack Catholicism as well as Turks — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 154; Luther portrayed Islam as a faith that spreads only by violence — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 151 (+17 more)

Broader Connections

• The essay critically assesses the contemporary scholarship on Christian Islamophobia, arguing that it often overlooks the internal Christian divisions and portrays Christianity as a monolithic… #corroborates (0.85)
• Intra-Christian schism outweighed the foreign threat for Orthodox Byzantines. #exemplifies (0.80) — Ali Qureshi, The Fall of Constantinople, 61
• Historical scholarship overstates Christianity’s unity against adversaries. #corroborates (0.70) — Ali Qureshi, The Fall of Constantinople, 62