Medieval Christians understood Muslims as revering biblical prophets and Jesus

Evidence

It was common to speak of Islam as appropriating distinct functions to the greater prophets. ‘Among the Muslims there is an important article of belief’, said William of Tripoli, ‘that Abraham is the friend of God, Moses again the spokesman of God, Jesus, son of Mary, the word and spirit of God, and Muhammad messenger of God.’ These descriptions are taken from the Qur’an, and were adopted by Mandeville. Tripoli pointed out that the Qur’an praises Jesus and Mary and the ‘holy fathers of the Old Testament’ and added that it claims to be the fifth Book sent down from Heaven. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 126

Categorization

• QUESTION: How did William of Tripoli’s relatively accurate knowledge of the Qur’an circulate among later medieval writers — was he a source for Mandeville’s adoption of these very descriptions?
• XREF: connects to: By 1250 the unity-of-God doctrine was common Christian knowledge about Islam; Medieval monks reacted with horror to Muslim reverence for Christ; Medieval Christian praise of Muslims often promoted conversion theory.