Medieval Christian observers overlooked the central role of Qur’an recitation in Muslim cities

Evidence

An unexpected omission was the reading aloud of the Qur’an, which takes an important part in the life of a Muslim city, where the Qur’an reader is an artist much in demand. It may have been of this that one Christian was thinking when he contrasted Christian psalmody with the abhominabilis melodia of Islam. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1196

Categorization

• XREF: The recitation-as-art form parallels the Sikh or Jewish cantorial traditions and the broader theme of sound as devotion; ties to the reader’s soundscape interests. — connects to: For Muslims the Qur’an’s rhythmic style proved its divine origin; Medieval attacks on the Qur’an obscured its evident piety to unlearned readers